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WordPress vs Webflow vs Headless CMS
WordPress vs Webflow vs Headless CMS: What’s Best for Your Small Business Website?
Choosing the right platform for your company website can feel like a maze, especially with so many tools available, all promising the best results. For small businesses, the decision often comes down to three main contenders: WordPress, Webflow, or a headless CMS setup (like Sanity or headless WordPress paired with a custom frontend like Astro or Next.js).
In this post, I’ll break down the strengths and trade-offs of each, and help you figure out which one fits your business best.
Start With Your Needs
Before choosing a platform, it’s worth answering a few key questions:
- What kind of content will your site have? (Blog, services, team pages, etc.)
- Who will maintain or update it, someone non-technical or a developer?
- Do you want complete control over the design?
- Are performance and SEO a priority?
- What’s your budget and timeline?
Your answers will point you toward the right solution. Now, let’s look at the platforms.
Option 1: Traditional WordPress
WordPress has been around for over 20 years and powers more than 40% of the web. It’s open-source, widely supported, and endlessly extendable.
✅ Pros
- Large ecosystem of themes and plugins
- Easy for content teams to manage (once set up)
- Good SEO tools (like SEOPress, Yoast)
- Many hosting options at different price points
❌ Cons
- Needs regular updates (plugins, themes, core)
- Can become bloated without careful setup
- Performance often needs extra optimization (caching, image handling, etc.)
Best for: Content-heavy websites, blogs, or businesses that want flexibility on a budget.
Option 2: Webflow
Webflow is a visual website builder with a built-in CMS and hosting platform. It’s become popular with designers and marketers who want more control without writing code.
✅ Pros
- Intuitive visual builder with clean code output
- Fast, reliable hosting
- Great for design-heavy sites
- Built-in CMS for content like blog posts or team pages
❌ Cons
- Monthly subscription required
- Limited customization for advanced backend features
- Not ideal for developers who want full control of the code
Best for: Marketing teams, designers, or solo founders who want a beautiful site they can manage themselves.
Option 3: Headless CMS (e.g., Sanity or Headless WordPress + Astro/Next.js)
A headless CMS separates the backend (content management) from the frontend (site design and performance). You store content in something like Sanity or headless WordPress, and then use a modern frontend framework like Astro or Next.js to build the site.
This setup is modern, performant, and flexible, but also more technical.
✅ Pros
- Blazing-fast performance and modern developer experience
- Flexible for custom design, animations, interactivity
- Content is reusable across platforms (e.g., website + app)
- Easier to scale over time
❌ Cons
- Requires a developer to build and maintain
- No visual page editor unless added (e.g., Sanity Studio)
- Higher upfront cost and setup time
Best for: Teams that care about performance, brand control, or have developer support in-house or on contract.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | WordPress | Webflow | Headless (WP/Sanity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ |
| Custom Design Flexibility | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Performance | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Content Editing | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ (without visual UI) |
| Setup Cost | 💸 | 💸💸 | 💸💸💸 |
| Maintenance | Medium | Low | Medium–High |
| Best For | Blogs, content-rich sites | Visual-first business sites | Dev-led projects, future-proofing |
Which One Should You Choose?
Here’s the simple version:
-
Go with Webflow if…
You want full design control, great performance, and a visual editing experience. Best for marketing-driven businesses without developers on hand. -
Go with WordPress if…
You want flexibility, a blog, and a tried-and-true CMS that doesn’t break the bank. Good for general business websites and long-form content. -
Go headless (Sanity, headless WP) if…
You care about performance, want a custom design, and have a developer building and maintaining the site. It’s the most scalable and future-friendly, but also the most complex.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right platform doesn’t have to be overwhelming, especially if you start by being honest about your needs, your team, and your goals. It’s better to start with something simple and grow from there than to over-engineer from day one.
If you’re still unsure, feel free to reach out or drop me a message (on Linked In), I’m always happy to chat and help you figure out what fits best.