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Site Builders and Webflow
Episode 29
In this episode we discuss website builders in general, then do a deep dive into Webflow.
Segment 1 - Site Builders- There are many reasons out there to use a site builder, they can range anywhere from convenience aspects, to pricing.
- I think it’s fairly important for a web developer to be at least familiar with these reasons and also the downfalls of site builders so that when it comes time for them to explain to their customer why they need a custom website, they will be coming at if from a place of knowledge and truth
- First thing to get out of the way, some customers will actually benefit from a site builder over a custom website.
- People that can find a good template on a popular site builder that fits all* their needs right off the bat
- People that like to tinker but don’t have the time to learn a whole new skill like web development
- Someone just starting off with a bootstrap budget and a ton of time on their hands for their business
- If you ever run into these people and they ask for advice on what they should do in terms of hiring a web design firm or doing it themselves, and they meet any of the specific categories above, you should definitely not hesitate to offer advice on using a site builder. Being honest with potential customers is key to earning trust, and maybe now they won’t be paying for your service but they will remember your advice and honesty when it comes time to update their site in the future
- Now with that out of the way, with a lot of clients a site builder just won’t cut it.
- If a client brings up a site builder and shows you a template they found and like but then immediately says they want to change x, y, and z. That is a red flag that a site builder just won’t work for them. Changing anything on a site builder can be a huge hassle (sometimes possible) but a lot of the time will require some knowledge in web development anyway.
- If security is a huge concern some site builders should be avoided. We’ve had many issues with multiple clients getting hit at the same time with WordPress hacks. The disadvantage of using a large platform like some site builders is that if a hacker finds a way into one site, they find a way into all sites.
- Shopify seems to be a fairly safe alternative for ecommerce as they treat security as a extremely high priority.
- If the client doesn’t have the time to completely manage their entire website
- If they need something very specific like integration into their customer database or their item database.
- If your customer thinks their business will grow quickly. Site builders are usually not designed to take on a huge influx of visitors and can have serious performance issues when that happens.
- This leads us to something that can be seen a happy medium between a traditional site builder that usually a client would manage, and a custom website/cms that a developer manages. Webflow is kind of a site builder for the web developer. It does require knowledge in css and layouts but is also very visual. If you have a client that you think would like to sit down with you while doing some design changes, or A B testing, webflow allows for easy live manipulation of design and can be a good tool for something like that.
Segment 2 - Webflow Overview
Webflow Designer
- The Webflow designer is the tool that is used to create the website itself.
- It has the more adva
Published on 6 years, 10 months ago