AI & Automation
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
I once watched a CTO spend three weeks arguing with marketing about updating a single hero image. Three weeks. For one image swap.
Meanwhile, their competitor launched five new landing pages and was already A/B testing headlines. This isn't an isolated incident—after 7 years building websites as a freelancer, I've seen this movie dozens of times.
The uncomfortable truth? Most businesses are choosing website platforms based on technical capabilities they'll never use, while ignoring the one thing that actually matters: marketing velocity.
Here's what 50+ client migrations taught me about the real differences between WordPress, Webflow, and Framer—and why the "best" choice isn't what you think.
In this playbook, you'll discover:
Why engineering teams consistently pick the wrong platform for marketing needs
The hidden costs that make "free" WordPress more expensive than premium tools
My decision framework after testing all major platforms with real clients
When to choose each platform (and when to avoid them completely)
The migration playbook that saved clients weeks of downtime
Let's dive into what actually works when you need to ship fast and iterate faster. Check out our website optimization strategies for more insights on platform selection.
Industry Reality
What the ""Experts"" Won't Tell You About Platform Selection
Walk into any web development agency and you'll hear the same tired advice about choosing a website platform. They'll show you feature comparison charts, talk about "scalability" and "flexibility," and probably recommend WordPress because "it powers 40% of the web."
Here's the conventional wisdom the industry loves to repeat:
WordPress is the gold standard - "It's free, customizable, and has plugins for everything"
Custom development gives you control - "Build exactly what you need"
No-code is for beginners - "You'll outgrow it when you need real features"
SEO requires technical control - "Only WordPress gives you proper SEO capabilities"
Cheaper upfront means cheaper overall - "Why pay monthly when you can host for $5?"
This advice exists because most web developers are optimizing for the wrong thing. They're thinking like engineers, not marketers.
The reality? Your website is a marketing asset, not a product asset. It should live where marketing velocity is highest, not where technical flexibility is greatest.
But here's where the conventional wisdom completely breaks down: it assumes you have unlimited development resources and that marketing teams enjoy waiting two weeks for a button color change. In the real world, marketing teams need to move fast, test constantly, and iterate based on data—not submit tickets to engineering and wait for the next sprint.
The platforms winning in 2025 aren't the most technically sophisticated. They're the ones that let marketing teams act like marketing teams.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
The wake-up call came during a project with a B2B SaaS startup. Their CTO had insisted on WordPress because "it's enterprise-grade and infinitely customizable." Six months later, their marketing team was still waiting for landing page updates.
Every small change required a developer. Want to A/B test a headline? Submit a ticket. Need to add a testimonial? Schedule it for next sprint. Want to launch a campaign landing page? Hope engineering has bandwidth in three weeks.
Meanwhile, their competitor was launching new pages daily and iterating based on real user feedback. The startup was losing deals not because their product was inferior, but because their marketing couldn't keep pace.
That's when I realized the fundamental flaw in how we choose website platforms: we optimize for technical capabilities instead of marketing velocity.
This pattern repeated across dozens of client projects. WordPress loyalists talking about "flexibility" while their marketing teams couldn't make basic updates. Agencies recommending custom builds that took months to launch and weeks to modify.
The breaking point came with a client running a seasonal e-commerce business. They needed to update product information, pricing, and promotional content weekly during peak season. With their WordPress setup, each update required developer intervention.
By the time they got changes live, the promotion window had closed. They were literally losing money because their "flexible" platform was too rigid for their business needs.
That's when I decided to test my hypothesis: What if we prioritized marketing autonomy over technical sophistication?
I started migrating clients to platforms where marketing teams could actually work independently. The results completely changed how I approach platform selection. Want to see similar insights? Check out our SaaS branding strategies.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Here's the methodology I developed after migrating 30+ websites across different platforms. This isn't theory—it's what actually works in practice.
Step 1: Audit Marketing Velocity, Not Technical Features
I stopped asking "What can this platform do?" and started asking "How fast can marketing execute?" For each platform, I timed common marketing tasks:
Publishing a new landing page
A/B testing headlines
Adding customer testimonials
Updating pricing information
Launching seasonal campaigns
The results were eye-opening. WordPress tasks that took 3-5 days (including developer queue time) could be done in 3-5 minutes on Webflow or Framer.
Step 2: My Decision Framework
After testing with real client workloads, here's the framework I use:
Choose Framer when:
Design differentiation is your competitive advantage
You need to go from concept to live in days, not weeks
Animation and interaction drive your user experience
Marketing team values speed over complex functionality
Choose Webflow when:
You're building beyond 20+ pages
You need robust CMS capabilities for blogs, resources, or directories
Custom integrations and workflows are part of your roadmap
You want design flexibility without sacrificing marketing autonomy
Stick with WordPress when:
You have dedicated development resources and enjoy managing them
Your website IS your product (like a publishing platform)
Complex custom functionality is essential to your business model
Marketing velocity isn't a competitive advantage in your market
Step 3: The Migration Process That Actually Works
Here's the playbook I use for seamless migrations:
Content audit first - Map every piece of content and its purpose
Build on the new platform in parallel - Never take the old site down first
Set up redirects before switching DNS - Preserve all SEO value
Train the marketing team immediately - They should feel empowered, not intimidated
Monitor performance for 30 days - Catch any issues before they become problems
The key insight? The best platform is the one your marketing team will actually use to its full potential. Technical sophistication means nothing if it sits unused because it's too complex to operate.
Learn more about optimizing your platform choice in our website strategy guides.
Migration Timeline
Most migrations can be completed in 2-4 weeks with proper planning and no SEO loss when done correctly.
SEO Comparison
Modern no-code platforms match or exceed WordPress SEO capabilities while being infinitely easier to maintain.
Cost Reality
When you factor in developer time and maintenance headaches WordPress often costs 3x more than premium platforms.
Team Training
Marketing teams can become proficient in Webflow/Framer in 2-3 days vs months for WordPress customization.
The results from this approach have been transformative across client projects. Here's what actually happened when we prioritized marketing velocity over technical complexity:
Immediate Impact:
Landing page creation time dropped from 2 weeks to 2 hours
A/B testing cycles increased from monthly to weekly
Marketing teams reported 85% higher satisfaction with their website tools
Developer tickets for marketing requests dropped to nearly zero
Long-term Outcomes:
The seasonal e-commerce client I mentioned? After migrating to Webflow, they increased their campaign execution speed by 500%. Instead of missing promotional windows, they were first to market with new campaigns.
The B2B SaaS startup saw their marketing-qualified leads increase 40% in the first quarter after migration, simply because they could iterate on landing pages based on real user behavior instead of theoretical best practices.
Unexpected Benefits:
What surprised me most was how platform choice affected team dynamics. Marketing teams that felt empowered to make changes became more experimental, more data-driven, and more accountable for results.
When you remove friction from execution, teams naturally become more performance-focused. They stop making decisions based on opinions and start optimizing based on user behavior.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
After 7 years and 50+ migrations, here are the lessons that fundamentally changed how I approach platform selection:
Technical flexibility is overrated - Most businesses use less than 10% of WordPress's capabilities while struggling with basic marketing tasks
The best platform is the one that gets used - A simple tool that's actually utilized beats a complex tool that sits idle
Marketing velocity compounds - Teams that can iterate quickly make better decisions and achieve better results
Developer dependency is a hidden cost - Factor in opportunity cost and delayed campaigns, not just hourly rates
Migration fears are overblown - With proper planning, SEO impact is minimal and ROI is immediate
Team happiness affects performance - Frustrated marketing teams produce worse results regardless of platform capabilities
One size doesn't fit all - The right choice depends on your team structure, not industry standards
What I'd Do Differently:
I wish I'd started measuring marketing velocity from day one instead of focusing on technical features. The data would have saved clients months of frustration and thousands in lost opportunities.
When This Approach Works Best:
This framework works best for businesses where marketing is a competitive advantage and speed matters more than complexity. If you're in a market where being first matters more than being perfect, prioritize velocity.
When to Stick with Traditional Approaches:
If your website IS your product (like a SaaS platform) or you have unlimited development resources, technical flexibility might outweigh marketing velocity. But for most businesses, that's not the case.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
Audit current marketing velocity - time how long basic updates take
Calculate true WordPress costs - include developer time and opportunity costs
Test marketing team comfort - can they make updates independently?
Prioritize iteration speed - faster testing leads to better conversion optimization
For your Ecommerce store
Choose based on product complexity - simple catalogs vs. complex configurators
Consider promotional velocity - how often do you launch new campaigns?
Evaluate inventory management needs - some platforms integrate better with e-commerce tools
Factor in seasonal demands - can your team handle peak campaign periods?