Thinking about using Webflow in your agency? This blog post outlines some of the advantages when leveraging this new no-code tool.
So you are working at an advertising, creative or digital agency and are considering to use Webflow for some of your upcoming client projects? You might be using Wordpress as your current platform of choice and some of your clients might even specifically request Wordpress as their preferred CMS, however today I wont be talking about the Webflow related benefits for your client. Instead I will highlight the advantages for you when using Webflow as a service provider Let's get started...
Yes, plugins can be great as they extend the functionality of Wordpress immensely. Need a membership platform? There's a plugin for that. Need to accept donations for a non-profit client? There's a plugin for that. Want to integrate a booking system? There is a plugin for that as well. The downside is of course that you have to manage all these plugins, keep them up to date and make sure they don't clash with each other or with the newest version of Wordpress or the theme you might be using. While you can sell your client a monthly or yearly maintenance package, this kind of work still takes up time that might be better spent working on other, more lucrative projects. Webflow doesn't have any plugins and can provide certain features natively, so maintenance for you (or for your client) is way less of an issue. Of course, some functionality might not be available inside Webflow yet, so you might need to use an external service (such as Memberstack for membership sites) – you should always check if the features your client requires are available in Webflow or via other providers.
If you are an agency that uses pre-made themes and adjusts those to fit your client's needs, you will be happy to hear that while there are templates available for Webflow, there are no updates required. You wont have to ensure that a plugin works nicely with your theme either. Many designers simply build their client site from scratch in Webflow or purchase a template that they then modify. Nevertheless since there aren't different template versions or Webflow versions to consider, which makes your team's life much easier.
Security plugins, prevention of spam, malware or hacking. Security is taken care of by Webflow, so you don't have to install any special plugins or monitor for intruders. Again, less hassles for you and more time spent on other projects.
There is less time needed for your designer to explain to your developer how things should look like and behave. Everything can be built directly in Webflow (including animations and transitions) and there is no endless back and forth between your designer and developer to ensure that everything looks like it's supposed to. You can also send a staging link (with Webflow's own .io domain) to your client, who can check the site in his own web browser, which is way more accurate than viewing a prototype developed in another tool like InVision. It is still recommended to do your initial design in Figma, Sketch or Adobe XD, but then you can directly go into the development stage via Webflow.
Your clients can easily update text, links and images on their site without having to dive into a sometimes confusing backend of Wordpress. Via the Webflow CMS they can update their blog or news section, and add other items that are set up inside their CMS like new team members, products or other dynamic items that follow the same layout/structure but differ in content. And since Webflow's Editor is easy to use for clients – check out the intro video below – you have to deal with less support calls to your team.
All in all using Webflow helps you save time and money. Why? Because you spend less time on maintenance tasks and admin, have less support questions from clients to deal with and can thereby work on more projects that are great for your bottom line. You can let your developers work on high-end projects and don't keep them occupied with website tasks that your (Webflow) designers could easily do in less time. Also, if your team does have to deal with less frustrating issues like plugin conflicts it might be a little happier with their role as well! Lastly, Webflow has a dedicated website which outlines some additional reasons why the platform might be just the right choice for your agency, read their Webflow vs Wordpress article here.
This is the first part of a three part series "Webflow for ad and creative agencies" – watch out for the remaining two articles in which I talk about choosing the right account and site plan for your agency and educating your clients about Webflow.
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