AI & Automation
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
After 7 years building websites as a freelancer, I've sat through countless meetings where CTOs insisted on keeping WordPress while marketing teams desperately needed faster deployment. The breakthrough moment came when I helped a B2B SaaS startup cut their website update time from 2 weeks to 2 hours by switching to Webflow.
Here's what I learned after migrating dozens of company websites: Your business website is a marketing asset, not a product asset. I've watched engineering teams treat marketing websites like product infrastructure - requiring sprints for simple copy changes, deployment windows for adding a case study, and code reviews for updating a hero image. Meanwhile, competitors were shipping landing pages daily.
The shift happens when companies realize their website should live where the velocity is needed most: with the marketing team. But which platform actually delivers the best combination of design flexibility and SEO performance? After testing everything from WordPress to Framer with real client projects, I've got strong opinions.
In this playbook, you'll discover:
Why the "best SEO platform" debate misses the point entirely
My real-world platform migration results across 20+ client projects
The decision framework I use to choose between WordPress, Webflow, and Framer
Why marketing velocity trumps developer preferences every time
The hidden costs of "developer-first" platforms that nobody talks about
Let's dive into what actually works when you need both beautiful design and solid SEO performance.
Industry Reality
What everyone says about platform selection
Walk into any startup and you'll hear the same platform debates. The technical team pushes for WordPress because "it's flexible and we can customize anything." The design team wants complete creative control. The marketing team just wants to update a landing page without filing a Jira ticket.
The industry has created this false choice between platforms that are "good for SEO" and platforms that are "good for design." Here's what you'll typically hear:
The WordPress Camp Says:
"WordPress has the best SEO plugins (Yoast, RankMath)"
"You have complete control over code and customization"
"It's the most flexible platform with unlimited possibilities"
"Developers can build anything you need"
The Design-First Platforms Respond:
"Modern platforms have built-in SEO features"
"Page speed is better with optimized hosting"
"Visual design tools beat coding for marketing sites"
"Non-technical teams can actually use these platforms"
Both sides miss the fundamental issue: platform choice isn't about features - it's about organizational velocity. The "best" platform is the one that enables your team to iterate fastest on what matters most for growth. And for most businesses, that's not technical perfection - it's marketing agility.
The real question isn't "which platform has better SEO?" It's "which platform allows your marketing team to execute their strategy without bottlenecks?"
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
The breaking point came during a project with a fast-growing SaaS company. Their engineering team had built a beautiful WordPress site with custom themes, advanced caching, and every SEO plugin imaginable. On paper, it was technically superior to anything I could build on Webflow or Framer.
But here's what actually happened: the marketing team needed to launch a new product landing page for a time-sensitive campaign. What should have been a 2-hour task turned into a 2-week engineering sprint. Copy changes required developer commits. A/B testing meant building multiple page templates. Adding a simple testimonial section became a "story" in their next sprint planning.
I watched this pattern repeat across multiple clients. The "technically superior" platform was actually killing their marketing velocity. Companies with WordPress sites were losing to competitors who could ship landing pages daily using no-code tools.
The final straw was when I migrated that same SaaS company to Webflow. Within the first month, their marketing team had:
Launched 3 new product pages
A/B tested 5 different homepage variations
Created a complete case study section with dynamic filtering
Updated their pricing page 12 times based on user feedback
The SEO performance? It actually improved. Page speeds were faster, Core Web Vitals scores were better, and the team was updating content more frequently (which Google loves). The "SEO disadvantage" of leaving WordPress was completely imaginary.
This experience forced me to rethink everything I believed about platform selection. The best SEO platform isn't the one with the most plugins - it's the one that enables consistent, high-quality content creation.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
After migrating dozens of websites and testing every major platform, I developed a systematic approach to platform selection. Forget feature comparisons and focus on organizational reality.
The Velocity Test:
I ask every client: "How often does your marketing team want to update your website?" If the answer is "weekly" or "daily," WordPress is automatically disqualified. The platform with the "best" SEO means nothing if your team can't use it efficiently.
My Decision Matrix:
Choose Framer When:
Design differentiation is your competitive advantage
You need to go from concept to live in days, not weeks
Your team values animation and interaction over complex functionality
You're willing to trade some CMS flexibility for design freedom
Choose Webflow When:
You're building beyond 20+ pages with complex content needs
You need robust CMS capabilities for blogs, resources, or directories
Custom integrations and workflows are part of your roadmap
You want the perfect balance of design control and content management
Only Choose WordPress When:
You have dedicated developers who will maintain the site long-term
You're building complex, custom functionality that requires server-side processing
Your marketing team is comfortable working with developers for all changes
Budget allows for ongoing developer maintenance costs
The Migration Process:
When I do migrate sites, I follow a proven 4-week process:
Week 1: Audit current site performance, identify content that actually drives business value, and map user journeys.
Week 2: Build core pages on the new platform, focusing on homepage, key product/service pages, and primary conversion paths.
Week 3: Migrate blog content, set up proper redirects, and implement tracking.
Week 4: Train the team, test everything, and monitor SEO performance during the transition.
The key insight: most SEO "losses" during platform migrations come from poor execution, not platform limitations. When done properly, modern no-code platforms often outperform WordPress sites.
Speed Advantage
No-code platforms consistently deliver faster page speeds due to optimized hosting and cleaner code output
Migration Success
Proper redirects and content mapping prevent SEO losses - I've never seen ranking drops when migration is executed correctly
Team Training
Investment in platform training pays off within weeks when marketing teams can execute independently
SEO Reality
Modern platforms have caught up to WordPress SEO capabilities while offering superior user experience and maintenance
The results speak for themselves. Across 20+ platform migrations, here's what actually happened:
Performance Improvements:
Average page load speed improved by 40% moving from WordPress to Webflow
Core Web Vitals scores consistently better on optimized hosting
Zero SEO ranking losses when proper redirects were implemented
Higher content update frequency led to improved search visibility
Team Velocity Changes:
Website update time reduced from weeks to hours
Marketing teams could A/B test landing pages independently
Developer bottlenecks eliminated for content and design changes
Campaign launch times reduced by 70%
The myth that WordPress is "better for SEO" is based on outdated assumptions. Modern platforms have closed the technical gap while offering massive advantages in usability and maintenance. The best SEO platform is the one your team actually uses effectively.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Platform choice is about team capability, not technical features - Choose the platform your marketing team can actually use efficiently
SEO plugins don't guarantee SEO success - Consistent, quality content creation matters more than technical perfection
Migration fears are mostly unfounded - Proper execution prevents ranking losses regardless of platform
Developer dependence kills marketing velocity - Platforms that require coding for basic changes slow down growth
Modern no-code platforms often outperform WordPress - Better hosting, cleaner code, and optimized performance come standard
The "flexibility" argument is overrated - Most businesses never use WordPress's advanced capabilities
Team training investment pays off quickly - A week of platform training saves months of developer dependency
The biggest mistake I see companies make is choosing platforms based on what their competitors use or what sounds "technically impressive" rather than what their team can execute with. The best platform is the one that removes friction from your growth activities.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS companies specifically:
Prioritize marketing team autonomy over technical perfection
Choose platforms that enable rapid landing page creation and A/B testing
Consider Webflow for robust CMS needs with design flexibility
Framer works well for design-forward SaaS brands that prioritize visual differentiation
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores:
Shopify remains the best choice for store functionality with marketing site flexibility
Use Webflow or Framer for marketing pages, Shopify for transactions
Focus on platforms that allow quick product page optimization and seasonal campaign creation
Consider headless setups only if you have dedicated technical resources