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Webflow Article

<hr /> Maybe you've noticed, but there's been a bit of “sea change” in CMS leadership over the last year (among other industries). Here are just a few examples of the notable transformation at the top:<ul><li>In November of 2023, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/kontentai-welcomes-mark-ruddock-as-new-chief-executive-officer">Kontent.ai</a> appointed <a href="Mark%20Ruddock">Mark Ruddock</a> as Chief Executive. </li><li>In April of this year, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/contentful-unveils-new-features-and-ai-powered-capabilities-to-accelerate-creativity-for-digital-teams">Contentful’s Steve Sloan</a> left the post where he served since 2019, handing the reins over to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.contentful.com/newsroom/contentful-appoints-karthik-rau-as-ceo/">Karthik Rau</a>.</li><li>At <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore</a>, <a href="Dave%20O'Flanagan">Dave O’Flanagan</a> officially took the helm after an interim spell, serving in the wake of long-time CEO <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzikakis/">Steve Tzikakis</a>. </li></ul>One could draw quick conclusions from the repetitive exodus of leadership.On the upside, the “COVID Years” were like the Gold Rush, with demand for digital transformation reaching epic proportions. To keep pace, vendors built and bought, leading to some astounding seed rounds and acquisitions. A couple of quick examples come to mind: In 2020, Episerver bought <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/optimizely">Optimizely</a>. A year later, Sitecore consumed CDP and digital commerce vendors <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/sitecore-acquires-boxever-and-four51">Boxever and Four51</a> to complete its DXP puzzle. The list goes on – and after runs like that, a CEO might want a break from the cycle of chaos. On the downside, the economics are less enticing. The SaaS market is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/salesforce-earnings-slowing-growth-risk-more-disappointment-ahead">clearly softening</a> (just ask <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/salesforce">Salesforce</a>), and CMS vendors are looking at new ways to ignite value beyond adding generative AI features. In some cases, having a new vision and go-to-market strategy – and someone to shepherd it – is a sage solution.Clearly, there are a multitude of factors contributing to these changes in “The Big Chair.” And while acquiring and adopting new technologies will continue to be a focus for enterprises – particularly those that optimize performance and reduce costs – modernizing websites and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management systems</a> are still visible line items in corporate budgets. As such, vendors are doubling down on creative ways to position as brands tighten their tech belts. Downstream, website builders are experiencing similar economic and competitive pressures. With a bevy of choices – including automated, AI-powered features in platforms like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/pulp-fiction-payday-heres-why-squarespace-is-trading-public-life-for-a-juicy-private-deal">Squarespace</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://dorik.com/">Dorik.ai</a> – users are more discriminating, and even agencies are assessing the value of more attractive affiliate terms as they consider what tools to use.Now, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/webflow">Webflow</a> is joining the ranks of its CMS “cousins,” elevating <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lktong/">Linda Tong</a> from COO and President to the role of CEO. The company’s founder, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladmagdalin/">Vlad Magdalin</a>, shared the news in an open letter to staff and later to the world. Unlike similar departures from the top ranks, Magdalin will stay on full-time as Webflow’s Chief Innovation Officer (following a planned sabbatical). The role will entail exactly what it sounds like: helping the company build and support what it now calls a “Website Experience Platform.” Magdalin will focus on product evolution, customer and community intimacy, recruitment, and evangelizing the Webflow mantra.Magdalin will also continue to chair Webflow’s board of directors, which Tong formally joined this week with her appointment as CEO. <h3 id="bringing-deep-experience-and-“infectious-energy”-to-the-ceo-role">Bringing deep experience and “infectious energy” to the CEO role</h3>Magdalin announced the news ahead of the company’s “Webflow Together” meeting yesterday. In the message, he described Tong as an ideal choice to assume command based on her deep experience and “infectious energy” to lead Webflow in its next chapter. Tong has served as President and COO at Webflow since June of 2022, overseeing a number of key achievements – including the recent <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/webflow-buys-intellimize-why-its-an-intelligent-buy">acquisition of Intellimize</a>. Prior to Webflow, she had a string of really big jobs. These included leadership roles at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cisco.com/">Cisco's</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.appdynamics.com/">AppDynamics</a>, focusing on innovation across its product offerings. During her tenure, she was ultimately promoted to General Manager of the AppDynamics division. She also spent three years at <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/google-cloud-platform">Google</a>, sharpening her product marketing chops in a multitude of areas, including Android OS channels and applications. There was also a stint at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nfl.com/">NFL</a> for two years. Betwixt the market-leading brand experience, Tong has also served in an advisory role at companies startups and been involved with venture partners. She even held a limited partner role with a Bay-area organization called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/operator-collective/">Operator Collective</a> – a venture fund comprised of leading tech executives from a variety of backgrounds. Over the last few years, Magdalin and Tong have been functioning as a sort of “dynamic duo” at Webflow, shaping the company’s trajectory as a unified leadership cabal. This special relationship has clearly permeated Webflow’s culture, with staff clearly aware of the pairing's collaborative force.“For those of you who’ve had the privilege of working with her over the last few years and seeing her take on more and more responsibility across the company, Linda becoming our next CEO might feel entirely obvious,” said Magdalin. “And it’s so clear why that sentiment exists – because from day one, she has been my #1 partner in navigating scale, tackling unprecedented challenges, and chasing new opportunities. Linda deeply understands our team, our customers, our partners, our community, our business, and our culture. And she has led businesses many times larger than Webflow in the past, and has a proven track record of navigating the kinds of scale that are still ahead of us. She’s the perfect fit for this role.”<h3 id="why-now?">Why now?</h3>As Magdalin described it, Webflow is at a pivotal moment in its journey. The company has certainly attained key milestones worthy of applause, but as already noted, the road ahead is paved with challenges. Still, collaboration has proven to be a deep source of inspiration for modeling the right team and culture – something he reflects fondly on.“When I first had the idea for Webflow, I never imagined that a fledgling idea to empower more people to build for the web would turn into the powerhouse that it is today,” he stated in his open letter. “What Sergie, Bryant, and I began to build in a grungy co-working space in Silicon Valley in 2012 has become something truly transformational.”With nearly <a target="_blank" href="https://getlatka.com/companies/webflow#:~:text=How%20much%20revenue%20does%20Webflow,generates%20%24128M%20in%20revenue.">$130 million in revenue</a> from its subscription-based business service, Webflow is certainly moving in the right direction. Magdalin is perhaps most bullish about the prospects of adding Intellimize’s AI-powered personalization – what he sees as the key to unlocking the company’s new position as the “Website Experience Platform.” “With this vision, we’re taking the most important part of the digital experience – the website – and creating a seamlessly integrated and visual-first platform that allows marketing teams to break their dependence on code and innovate at speeds they could never reach before,” he described. “We believe that this will not only lead to empowered, revenue-driving marketing teams, but also to a better experience for everyone on the web.”To achieve what Magdalin describes as Webflow’s “grand ambitions,” it will need a lot. But in his mind, the core components rest with its team around collaboration, execution, and innovation – and helping users unlock their website-building superpowers. Tong’s appointment as CEO and his shift to an innovation focus is meant to accelerate the next steps.“Webflow is already extraordinary, and in many ways, we’re just getting started,” he said. “I’m so proud of how far we’ve come and I can’t wait to see this new chapter unfold. With Linda now at the helm – along with hundreds of the smartest and hardest working teammates that I’ve ever met all across this company – I know that nothing can stop us from realizing our full potential. Together, we’re unstoppable!”<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>Website builders are a crafty community. They’re visual designers with a technical penchant, but also pragmatists with a desire to simplify. They seek tools that unleash their creativity while giving them total control over the expression of their ideas across devices – and modern tools are finally starting to pay off on the promise to deliver that experience.Webflow is, without question, the most robust platform in the website builder ecosystem. It’s rich with features and capabilities, and offers some of the best documentation and video-based teaching resources on the market. And while no drag-and-drop builder will ever be completely bug-free, Webflow’s support continues to earn happy campers across its community.Visual builders are popping up across the CMS landscape, and with more composable solutions becoming attractive plays, an ecosystem like Webflow will face competition from all sides of the market. Economic challenges aside, the addition of Intellimize’s AI personalization could be a game changer – and with Tong’s product expertise leading the way, it might have all the boxes checked to make a solid run toward growth.From a CMS feature perspective, Webflow is also building its muscle. Yesterday, the <a target="_blank" href="https://webflow.com/updates/cms-on-canvas-editing">company announced</a> that canvas editing is now available in Webflow, enabling users to edit CMS content directly on the visual canvas and spin up new CMS pages without leaving the Webflow Designer. As Tong <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/YayLT/status/1803123250735804857">stated on X</a>, she's excited about what's on the roadmap in this area of their product.Community is a dynamic factor for many platform vendors in this space. But loyalty aside, price and value will continue to play a crucial role when acquiring new subscriptions and addressing churn. The intangibles – like ease of use and support – can influence the gravitational forces at play. Webflow will need to be conscious of all these factors while continuing to create clear, value-based messaging for its audiences. Growing the appeal with enterprise customers is also in play. Webflow has made significant inroads with larger brands, despite the shift towards more composable solutions. Some companies are very clear about their needs and objectives, and those with the right requirements could be attractive targets for an ecosystem play. And for a no-code website builder, it's opening up some interesting enterprise channels like the <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-eeecmlfoh7lgs">AWS Marketplace</a>, where you can procure Webflow Enterprise for $100K with a private SaaS license.Perhaps the most endearing part of this transition is Magdalin's clear respect and admiration for his successor. This demonstrates a trust in leadership that few brands are often able to mount or manage. There are certainly the external optics of customers, but there’s also the internal confidence of teams. This was handled with a degree of decorum that sets it apart from most other transition plans.As Magdalin stated to his staff: “From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for trusting me to be Webflow’s CEO for well over a decade. I deeply love this company and our mission, and it’s out of that love that comes to a very heartfelt request: I’m asking each of you to fully rally behind Linda and give her tons of support as she steps into this tremendously important role.“And Linda – I can’t ever thank you enough for everything you do for Webflow. Thank you for sharing my love for our mission, our team, and our customers. For being such an incredible partner and friend. And for your passion and courage to lead Webflow in this next chapter. I truly can’t wait to keep building this special company side by side with you.” <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Webflow Appoints Linda Tong as CEO, Vlad Magdalin to Remain as Chief Innovation Officer

cms-critic-staff

<hr /> When it comes to AI, every technology vendor is being compelled to go with the flow.Seriously, though, is it even a choice? Can you afford to sidestep the infusion of artificial intelligence into your platform? Can you kick the LLM down the digital field and “wait 'n see” how it all shakes out? Probably not – if you want to stay in parity with competitors. And therein lies the challenge: trying to decipher where the real value is.By all accounts, we’re already in the next wave of AI, well beyond the pioneering jaunt of generative, <a target="_blank" href="https://chat.openai.com/">ChatGPT</a>-infused innovation. According to most market watchers, the first phase of AI looked “pretty,” but this next one lacks the bullishness and irrational exuberance of its predecessor. The big tech and cloud players aside (lots of drama there), AI startups are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-next-phase-of-ai-is-looking-less-pretty-2024-3">struggling to generate revenue</a> in the freemium-enabled world of generative tools. The model field is also getting crowded, with darlings like Stability.ai <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/18/24133996/stability-ai-lay-off-emad-mostaque">announcing today</a> that it will lay off 10% of its workforce.OK, OK. Enough with the bad news. Behind it all, AI is still plenty miraculous, and we can’t discount its current and future impact across the stack – particularly in places where it can automate and scale functions that inject value into the equation.One such example could be <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/webflow">Webflow</a> with its acquisition of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intellimize.com/">Intellimize</a> – an AI-driven website personalization and conversion rate optimization platform. Webflow, a website builder by category, just announced that this is a major step in its vision to expand beyond visual development and become the world’s first “Website Experience Platform.”We hear a lot these days about AI features (think text and image generation) being added to website builders and content management tools. So why is this one such a big deal? Because as relevant as content generation is, optimization is a place where AI can make a huge difference at scale – specifically within the pillars of personalization and experimentation. Brands have struggled in this area, and AI is finally delivering the resources needed to produce variants, test options, and improve performance.According to Webflow’s announcement, the company plans to integrate Intellimize’s feature set into its core experience over the coming months, and we can expect the tools and capabilities to be available later this year. <h3 id="empowering-the-entire-marketing-team">Empowering the entire marketing team</h3>Webflow is, without doubt, one of the most robust visual web design tools on the market. It enables users to build and launch responsive websites without writing any code. As an all-in-one platform, Webflow powers the complete lifecycle of a website, from idea to ready-to-use product. The UX is chock-full of detailed features and controls, allowing you to add and edit components on a web page visually in real time. If you're jonesing for a closer look, you can check out a <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/webflow-review-hybrid-website-builder-and-cms-bridges-the-design-code-chasm">previous review of the platform</a> that our team conducted. Unlike other site builders, Webflow doesn't parse visual design and code. What a user creates in its visual editor is powered by HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In that sense, it’s “pure,” abiding by modern web standards without proprietary guardrails that limit its extensibility. Webflow appeals to marketing teams and web agencies across the spectrum, providing a no-code design toolbox that feels very much informed by desktop publishing tools like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html">Adobe Photoshop</a>. This familiarity is intentional, giving visual designers a UX that’s clean, intuitive, and packed with granular control for creating unique web experiences.  Of course, building a website is just the first step. As <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladmagdalin/">Vlad Magdalin</a> – Webflow’s Co-founder and CEO – explained in a recent blog post, enterprise teams were hitting the wall when it came to optimizing their sites.“As we’ve started to work with larger teams like Orangetheory Fitness, IDEO, and Dropbox, we realized that there are major problems with how web experiences are being created,” he explained. “Once a website is built, it’s extremely difficult for marketing teams to personalize it, to experiment to make it better, and to optimize it to meet the varying needs of their customers.”Vlad further expressed how modern tools for optimizing websites are often cumbersome to set up without significant engineering support. In many cases, they’re also too hard to use separately from where the source website content is designed and managed. “At Webflow, this is the next big problem we are solving,” Vlad stated. “Our goal is to give marketing teams and web agencies the ability not only to build incredible web experiences, but also seamlessly personalize those sites for different audiences, easily create experiments to test which versions perform better, and to optimize their buyer journey throughout their website to drive conversions and revenue.”This is where Intellimize drives everything home.<h3 id="unlocking-the-‘website-experience-platform’-with-ai-">Unlocking the ‘Website Experience Platform’ with AI </h3>Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Mateo, CA, Intellimize has been steadily climbing the silicon ladder. As of its Series B round in 2021, the company had raised <a target="_blank" href="https://getlatka.com/companies/intellimize">a stout $52 million</a>, with revenues still hovering under $8 million last year. Still early stage, but that was a 34% YOY increase – definitely a mark of forward momentum.With nearly <a target="_blank" href="https://getlatka.com/companies/webflow#:~:text=How%20much%20revenue%20does%20Webflow,generates%20%24128M%20in%20revenue.">$130 million in revenue</a> from its subscription-based business service, Webflow is reaching the right point on the growth arc to feel its M&amp;A oats. And like <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-salesforce-blues-why-investors-are-singing-a-sad-song-about-a-deal-to-buy-informatica">Salesforce hunting for Informatica</a>, the focus on AI-specific acquisitions is a marked trend. Now endowed with the keys to optimization, Vlad sees the combination of Intellimize’s features as a pathway to a new vision – what he calls the “Website Experience Platform.” “With this vision, we’re taking the most important part of the digital experience – the website – and creating a seamlessly integrated and visual-first platform that allows marketing teams to break their dependence on code and innovate at speeds they could never reach before,” he described. “We believe that this will not only lead to empowered, revenue-driving marketing teams, but also to a better experience for everyone on the web.”As a platform, Intellimize brings key advantages to the table. First and foremost, it effectively unlocks a marketing team’s ability to personalize web experiences without the need for complex and cumbersome engineering support. On this point, both Webflow and Intellimize shared a common philosophical goal for unlocking a marketing’s team’s code-dependence by building visual-first tools – the kind they could use without needing constant help from a dev team.Since its founding, Intellimize has made a huge impact on customers like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intellimize.com/customer-story/video-how-sumo-logic-accelerated-web-conversions-by-automatically-testing-1-billion-page-versions">Sumo Logic</a> (1B+ page versions, 53% lift in conversion rates), <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intellimize.com/customer-story/how-snowflakes-abm-team-used-intellimize-to-accelerate-landing-page-conversions-by-60">Snowflake</a> (60% increase in conversions, 49% lift in meetings booked), and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intellimize.com/customer-story/how-drift-uses-intellimize-to-convert-more-traffic-into-revenue">Drift</a> (129% improvement in conversions, $2.8M incremental revenue).Those are great stats – and more importantly, clear evidence that Intellimize delivers value. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>For the last decade, Webflow has been backfilling the gap between pedestrian no-code website builders and hardcore development platforms. They’ve cultivated a vast community of designers, marketers, and agencies that often feel underwhelmed by <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wix">Wix</a> and disillusioned by complex code and compromises. These visual-motivated users always seem to be asking the same question: Why can’t I just design it the way I want?Indeed.With the rise of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/cut-paste-delete-why-adobes-canceled-merger-with-figma-is-good-for-innovation">Figma</a> and other popular prototyping tools, visual designers have recovered some control of the experience. Now, they can produce more uniquely sophisticated compositions and forget about the wall of code awaiting them. With Webflow, they can wrestle away the dependency on developers – at least for the most part – and maintain control from idea to launch. Webflow also sports its own <a target="_blank" href="https://webflow.com/cms">built-in CMS</a>, providing a more flexible solution for managing content as part of a single platform solution. At the same time, Webflow is appealing to developers by providing a pathway for creating apps. With a community of 3.5 million users, <a target="_blank" href="https://developers.webflow.com/">Webflow developers</a> can access the platform’s API to build products that support how users design websites. This includes forms and e-commerce apps that serve a wide range of use cases.  By all accounts, the Intellimize acquisition is an ideal match for Webflow, and may be the key to evolving its current visual builder into a next-gen Website Experience Platform. As Vlad framed in his announcement, Webflow’s mission is to “bring development superpowers to everyone.” With a new crop of optimization and personalization capabilities at the ready, they’re going full Kryptonian – and will be better equipped to compete with CMS and DXP solutions that offer optimization features. This was happening even before the Intellimize news. I’ve spoken to numerous digital agencies and SIs over the last year – at least two that are focused on <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wordpress">WordPress</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/drupal">Drupal</a> – and many are adding Webflow to their mix. Why? Because the platform has become easier to work with, and the incentives have become more attractive (that’s almost a verbatim quote). The expansion of optimization capabilities also reflects a tacit focus on enterprise customers. As Vlad noted, Webflow uncovered the need for these capabilities while working work with larger teams at major brands like OrangeTheory and Dropbox. This suggests that Webflow is finding success with companies at a level where scalable, AI-powered personalization is central to their digital strategy. Still, AI is no panacea. In fact, it’s reducing the barrier to entry and creating more downstream innovation. At the top, <a target="_blank" href="https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/16282290976013-Using-Squarespace-AI">Squarespace</a> is offering generative content for a range of website elements, but smaller players like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elegantthemes.com/ai">Divi</a> are providing a personal AI web design assistant for creating layouts, content, and images on the fly.And then, of course, there’s <a target="_blank" href="https://dorik.com/">Dorik</a> – a nascent platform that allows you to design, build, and edit websites using nothing but prompts. I’m talking about fully mobile-responsive sites that look pretty decent for something created via a GPT-like field. I’ve tried it, and while it still has a ways to go, it could be a significant challenge to established vendors in the next few years. Relative to AI, my guess is that we’ll continue to see accelerated innovation from Webflow over the coming months. But this acquisition is a smart play to kick that pace off, as it addresses a current pain point while delivering tangible value to its customers. To come full circle, adding AI features for the sake of AI can prove deleterious – especially now. Webflow is often viewed as a complex tool that requires significant training (it's true – they have <a target="_blank" href="https://university.webflow.com/">their own University</a>). This is ironic when you think about the goal of eliminating the complexity of code from the equation. But as someone who started in HTML and used Adobe products, I’ve always found Webflow's UI easy to traverse. In this sense, it has always known its market with a level of intimacy that translates into success. My advice: keep goin' with the flow… <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, so secure your tickets today.

Webflow Buys Intellimize: Why It's An Intelligent Buy

matt-garrepy

Introducing the Winners of the 2021 CMS Critic's Choice Awards

Featured image of the 2021 CMS Critic Critic's Choice Awards badge with text that reads "2021 WInners"

“To code, or not to code, that is the question…”Indeed. And Shakespeare would have loved the drama that followed. This fiery debate around code versus no-code web design has led to some pretty heated arguments. Here’s a snarky Tweet from Jeffery Zeldman, a heavyweight design influencer, from way back in 2009:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/jeffrey-zeldman-tweet-1024x404.png" />And another scathing transmission from Elliot Jay Stocks:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elliott-jay-stocks-tweet-1024x457.png" />That one poked one too many bears, spurring Stocks to pen a looong blog post explaining his opinion. If you’re curious, you can read it <a target="_blank" href="https://elliotjaystocks.com/blog/web-designers-who-cant-code/">here</a> – but the gist of it is this: to understand design, you need to understand the medium. That makes a lot of sense, but it doesn’t negate the fact that many great web designers barely touch code.Even at the tail end of 2020, this philosophical disagreement continues. But as UI continues to abstract the complexities of code (think simple consoles in front of command line interfaces) the battle between coders and designers – and what constitutes a “web designer” – has grown a little less contentious. Or has it?<h3>A Brief History of Web Designers</h3>Before the dawn of the modern web, software interfaces were stark and cumbersome, lacking the visual elegance and intuitiveness that came later. Engineers ran the show, and front-end experience was often an afterthought.Print and visual designers helped mend the fence, bringing the tenants of their trade from pages to screens – evolving the medium to what might be called “high art.” Developers learned to value UI design, adapting to the principles of the process. Many designers also learned HTML to gain greater control over the experience.Coders learned design. Designers learned to code. And all was right in the universe.Well, not really…With traditional designers wanting to (you guessed it) focus on design, applications began to answer the call. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver.html">Dreamweaver</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_FrontPage">Frontpage</a> started as clunky editors with development tools and preview capabilities, but eventually became drag-and-drop builders. And as code started disappearing, designers started relying more on pre-built templates and off-the-shelf libraries.Fast-forward to 2020, and ultra-slim SaaS platforms like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.squarespace.com/">Squarespace</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wix.com/">Wix</a> can turn almost anyone into a “web designer.” The problem: they lack the ability to truly customize with code. And the code they produce is always messy – resulting in slow, low-ranking websites that aren’t always responsive.But what if you could have the best of all worlds: a sleek, drag-and-drop website builder that’s perfect for no-code designers, but a platform that still gives developers access to code, so they can customize at will?In this review, we’ll take a look at Webflow: a platform that claims to do just that – and more.<h3>Enter Webflow</h3>Webflow has become one of the most popular website builders on the market. It provides a drag-and-drop user experience that puts out clean code, creates responsive websites that work well on every device, and doesn’t take a side in the design versus code debate. In essence, it caters to everyone that considers themselves a “web designer” and bridges the design/code chasm.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-interface.png" />What makes Webflow unique is that it’s a hybrid of a cutting-edge website builder and a sleek content management system (CMS). It brings together a complete site designer, e-Commerce solutions, and even hosting – all with the ability to choose what you need, and customize with code at almost every turn.Let’s explore some of the noteworthy features of Webflow.<h3>Webflow Designer</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-designer.jpg" /><img />As Webflow’s flagship product, Designer is where you create websites and visually manipulate HTML, CSS, and other interactions. When you create any elements in Webflow, the code is automatically generated behind the UI.On the left side, there’s the Elements panel where you create elements, the pages panel where you can organize and manage page settings, the Webflow CMS for accessing your collections and dynamic content, and the asset manager where you can upload and organize your stuff. At the bottom of the toolbar, you have more granular controls for working with elements – as well as links to video lessons, help, and keyboard shortcuts.In the middle, there’s the “canvas” where you can interact with your page in real-time. You can select elements, move them at will, and edit the content right on the page.<img /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-ui-editor.png" />Now, we’ve already mentioned Webflow’s capacity to produce clean code – and it’s true. The platform adheres to modern web conventions, using real HTML elements like divs. When you create a navigation bar, for example, you don’t draw a rectangle; you select a div element and then adjust its height, width, and other properties.Like some other web builders, Webflow uses a box model. All elements are boxes, and they naturally sit next to each other or stack on top of one other depending on their properties. Like Photoshop, Webflow allows you to position boxes anywhere on a given layout while providing responsive actions with clean, production-ready code.At any time, you can export your code or publish your changes instantly without having to worry about FTP or file versions. One immensely useful feature is the preview, which allows you to see and interact with your project as if it was already published.Finally, on the right, there’s the style panel, which is very similar to Photoshop (in fact, it looks eerily close). Here, you can access granular control over your elements. If the left panel is where you organize the structure of your pages with HTML, the right panel is where you control CSS for styling your elements.You can also create custom interactions with the Javascript control panel. Webflow's animation tools bring all the power of CSS and JavaScript into a completely visual tool, empowering designers to build complex, rich animations. You can easily create scroll-based parallax animations, progress bars, or whatever else you dream up – all without touching code.<h3>Webflow CMS</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-cms.png" />Most websites rely on some kind of a CMS. Webflow takes their design capabilities a step further by integrating a rock-solid CMS into their platform. This enables web designers to build and dynamically manage their websites in one place.With Webflow CMS, you can create the content structures you need, add content (by hand, from a CSV, or via Webflow API), and then design it all visually. This makes the Webflow CMS work for editors, designers, and developers alike. In many ways, they’ve simplified the experience of other all-in-one platforms, even the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/gutenberg-2-years-later-is-wordpress-better-off/">WordPress Gutenberg</a> editor.Webflow CMS also allows you to create custom content types with their “CMS Collections.” For example, you can have a collection of blog posts, authors, clients, projects, and so on. For eCommerce projects, that can include products and categories.<h3>Webflow eCommerce</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-ecommerce-scaled.jpg" />The latest addition to the Webflow’s feature set is their eCommerce suite, putting them squarely in the ring with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/shopify-review-ecommerce-only-simpler/">Shopify</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/10-reasons-why-woocommerce-is-perfect-for-ecommerce-startups/">WooCommerce</a>. The strength of Webflow’s eCommerce is that you can fully customize the online shopping experience without being constrained by built-in templates. You can customize everything from product pages to shopping carts to checkout.eCommerce also comes with its own set of pricing plans, which we’ve outlined later in this article.<h3>Webflow Hosting</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-hosting.png" />We all know that hosting can be a hassle. You have to find the right platform that works with your website and CMS, then deal with endless technical considerations such as domain setup, FTP, cPanel... the list goes on.Webflow makes it easy by hosting directly through their platform. It’s all powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Fastly – a content delivery network (CDN) that accelerates the performance, security, and redundancy of your website. You get fast-loading pages and you never have to pull your hair out updating PHP on your server.Webflow’s hosting also comes with these features:<ul><li>Backups and versioning: Preview and restore your site from ongoing, automatic backups, or create save points to mark progress and track changes.</li><li>Password protection: Gate individual pages or your entire website to protect in-progress work or restrict access.</li><li>Custom forms: Create unique forms to collect data from customers and connect them with marketing automation platforms as needed.</li><li>SEO management: Keep your SEO in check with 301 redirects and a customizable XML sitemap.</li><li>Integrations: Easily add Google Analytics, Google Optimize, and other marketing tools by dropping custom code snippets in your site template.</li><li>Site search: Create a custom search engine for your site with full control over the look and feel of your search results page.</li><li>Zero maintenance: No updates to run or packages to install. Just publish your site and Webflow will take care of the rest.</li></ul><h3>Pricing</h3>So far, Webflow offers a lot of value as a website builder, CMS, eCommerce, and hosting platform for almost any kind of web designer. But from a pricing perspective, things can get a little tricky.There are basically two types of plans on Webflow: Account Plans, which allow you to design and publish websites using a Webflow domain (like “yourwebsite.webflow.io “) – and Site Plans, which let you connect a custom domain.Sure, you can build a killer website with just an Account Plan. But if you want to publish a website on your own domain, you’ll need a Site plan for every website – and that requires hosting as well. Each tier places a cap on the number of pages you can build and form submissions you can receive – unless you go full enterprise, where everything’s included.Account PlansFor all intents and purposes, everyone starts out with an Account Plan. But now, there are two types of Account Plans to choose from.Individual plans are great for solo designers like freelancers and gig workers. You can start for free and upgrade for additional features.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-account-plans-individual-plans.png" />Team plans are designed for orgs that want to work collaboratively.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-account-plans-team-plans.png" />All account plans include:<ul><li>Unlimited hosted projects: With Webflow, your hosted projects don’t count against your plan limits, so you can build as many websites as you want.</li><li>Client billing: Charge your client for your bill instead of paying out of pocket – or charge any amount and make a profit.</li><li>Interactions &amp; animations: Create custom interactions and animations to make your site stand out, all without coding Javascript.</li><li>100+ responsive templates: Don’t want to start from scratch? Select from hundreds of pre-built templates.</li><li>3D transformations: Change positioning, add skews, and rotate objects in 3D space.</li><li>Global swatches: Define key colors as variables, so every instance of that color updates whenever you change it.</li><li>Custom fonts: Upload your own fonts or add free Google Fonts.</li><li>Flexbox: Build flexible, responsive layouts with the power of flexbox in a visual interface.</li><li>Reusable symbols: Turn any recurring element into a reusable symbol that you can update across your site in one edit.</li></ul><h3>Site Plans</h3>With site plans, you can choose from the standard package for personal, blog, and business websites, or the eCommerce plan that enables advanced shopping cart capabilities.Here’s a rundown of what Webflow Site Plans offer:<ul><li>Basic – At $12/month, it’s a solid solution for simple websites that don’t require a CMS. You also get CDN availability, 500 form submissions, free SSL certificate connection, domain connection, and more.</li><li>CMS – For $16/month, you can uplevel your blogs and other content-driven projects with the Webflow CMS. Includes 2000 CMS items, site search, 1000 form submissions, limited CMS API, and up to 3 content editors.</li><li>Business – Coming in at $36/month, this is a great pick for high traffic marketing projects or full-featured blogs. Includes unlimited form submissions, full CMS API, advanced global CDN, up to 10 content editors and more.</li></ul><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-site-plans.png" />All Site Plans include:<ul><li>Backups &amp; versioning: Automatically save and create restore points – so you never lose your work.</li><li>Password protection: As noted before, you can gate your whole site or individual pages.</li><li>Advanced SEO controls: Generate automatic sitemaps and customizable 301 redirects for complete SEO control.</li><li>Fast page loads: Accelerate your performance with Webflow’s Tier 1 Content Delivery Network solutions.</li><li>SSL and security: Get 24/7 hosting, monitoring, and SSL certificates to keep your site secure.</li><li>Immediate scaling: Webflow provides scaling and bursting regardless of how many concurrent users you have on your website.</li></ul>As we said earlier, Webflow’s eCommerce are add-ons to their Site Plans:<ul><li>Standard – At $29/month, this is a perfect starting place for new businesses. You get all the features of the CMS plan plus custom checkout and shopping cart, email customization, a 2% transaction fee, integrated CMS for blogs, and more.</li><li>Plus – For $74, Plus provides a solid solution for higher volume businesses that need more features and capacity. Includes everything in the Business plan plus unbranded emails, 10 staff accounts, and zero transaction fee.</li><li>Advanced – If you’re serious about eCommerce, then $212/month will get you all of the most advanced features on top of the Business plan. Also includes 15 staff accounts, unlimited yearly sales volumes, and more.</li></ul><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-ecommerce-plans.png" />Finally, if you want to go full Enterprise, Webflow has some custom options that require a phone call. That can include specialized dashboards, enterprise-grade scalability and support, and more.If you’re ready to kick the tires, you can <a target="_blank" href="https://webflow.com/dashboard/signup">sign up for a free version</a> without giving your credit card – and Webflow will let you build 2 projects (meaning 2 websites) for free. These unhosted projects will have a two-page limit, but you can purchase a site plan on a per-project basis to unlock up to 100 static pages and additional CMS pages.<h3>Conclusion</h3>Whether you prefer drag-and-drop over code or vice versa, web designers of any kind can get a lot out of Webflow. It’s a really impressive platform – and does more to unite the ideals of pure web design with coding than ever before. It also manages to bring the power of CMS, eCommerce, and hosting into a single, integrated platform. That simplifies things for a lot of users but might prove too monolithic for others who want to build a custom stack.Webflow offers almost everything you need to launch beautiful, responsive, fast, and secure websites. The only downside is its steep learning curve. In a sense, it almost has its own proprietary or tribal knowledge for cracking the usability. It’s not as simplistic as say Squarespace, and it can take a while for the unindoctrinated user to fully understand.  Thankfully, they do offer a lot of tutorials – another aspect of their product that reminded us of Adobe.If you’re a developer, some users have found Webflow to be a bit confusing – but it still manages to provide a solid platform for building custom apps. With a JSON API for the CMS, it also delivers the hub for connecting and integrating with external data sources.Maybe the loudest complaint across the feedback channels is with pricing. Many users find it too difficult to understand, and more than few suggest that it’s on the expensive side. All things being equal, Webflow provides a lot of flexibility and choice for any web designer (whatever that means) to find the right plan – and start building.<h3>About Webflow</h3><a target="_blank" href="https://webflow.com/">Webflow</a> is a web design tool, CMS, and hosting platform in one. Webflow allows users to design, build, and launch responsive websites visually, while writing clean, semantic code.

Webflow Review: Hybrid Website Builder and CMS Bridges the Design/Code Chasm

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Webflow Review: Hybrid Website Builder and CMS Bridges the Design/Code Chasm

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