AI & Automation
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
Last month, I had a potential client ask me a question that stopped me cold: "Will switching to Framer improve our page load times?" They'd heard the hype about modern no-code platforms and assumed newer meant faster.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: most businesses are asking the wrong question about website performance. They're focused on the platform when they should be focusing on the workflow.
After migrating dozens of websites across Webflow, Framer, and custom solutions over 7 years, I've learned that page speed isn't just about the technology—it's about who controls the optimization process and how quickly they can iterate.
In this playbook, you'll discover:
Why platform performance specs tell only half the story
The hidden speed killers that no platform can solve
My framework for choosing speed vs. control
When Framer actually delivers better performance
The workflow optimization that matters more than your platform choice
Industry Reality
What every founder believes about modern platforms
The narrative around modern no-code platforms like Framer is compelling: newer technology automatically means better performance. Marketing materials showcase impressive Core Web Vitals scores and fast loading demos.
Here's what the industry typically promotes:
Modern platforms are built for speed - React-based, optimized bundles, CDN delivery
No-code means no bloat - Clean code generation without developer mistakes
Automatic optimizations - Image compression, lazy loading, and performance best practices built-in
Better hosting infrastructure - Global CDNs and edge computing out of the box
Responsive by default - Mobile-first approaches that load faster on all devices
This conventional wisdom exists because it's based on controlled demos with minimal content. Platform companies showcase their best-case scenarios—simple pages with optimized assets and perfect conditions.
But here's where this logic falls short in practice: real websites aren't demos. They have complex content requirements, third-party integrations, custom functionality, and teams that need to maintain them daily. The platform's potential speed means nothing if your team can't optimize it properly or if your content strategy requires performance-heavy features.
The focus on platform performance specs misses the bigger picture: who has control over the optimization process and how quickly can they respond to performance issues?
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
The question about Framer's performance hit home because I'd just finished a frustrating project where platform choice became a nightmare. A B2B SaaS client wanted to migrate from WordPress to "something modern and fast," and Framer seemed like the obvious choice.
The client was a growing SaaS company with complex content needs—extensive product documentation, dynamic case studies, and integration pages that needed frequent updates. Their WordPress site was slow, but mostly because of plugin bloat and poor optimization, not the platform itself.
Here's what happened when we switched to Framer:
The Initial Promise vs. Reality
Framer's demo performance was impressive—clean, fast, modern. But once we started building real content, problems emerged. The client needed complex layouts, custom components, and frequent content updates. What started as a "fast platform" became a bottleneck because every optimization required deep platform knowledge that the client didn't have.
The Control Problem
The marketing team could update WordPress content easily, even if it wasn't perfectly optimized. With Framer, they needed me for every performance tweak, every image optimization, every structural change that affected loading times. The platform was technically faster, but the workflow was dramatically slower.
What I Tried First (And Why It Failed)
My first approach was traditional: focus on the technical specs. I benchmarked loading times, optimized assets, and followed all the platform best practices. The site scored well on performance audits, but the client was frustrated because they couldn't maintain these optimizations themselves.
That's when I realized I was optimizing for the wrong metric. Instead of asking "Is this platform fast?" I should have been asking "Can this team maintain fast performance over time?"
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
After that wake-up call, I developed a completely different approach to platform selection that prioritizes sustainable performance over theoretical speed.
The Framework: Speed vs. Control Trade-offs
Instead of starting with platform comparisons, I now start with team capacity analysis. Here's the system I use:
Step 1: Audit Team Technical Capacity
I assess who will actually be maintaining the site daily. Can they optimize images? Do they understand performance budgets? Can they troubleshoot loading issues? Most marketing teams can handle basic WordPress optimization but struggle with Framer's more technical requirements.
Step 2: Content Complexity Assessment
Complex content architectures need platforms that can handle them efficiently. Framer excels with simple, design-focused sites but can become unwieldy with extensive content libraries, frequent updates, and complex integrations.
Step 3: Performance vs. Velocity Trade-off
This is the crucial decision: Do you need theoretical maximum performance, or do you need the ability to maintain good performance consistently? For most businesses, consistent "good enough" performance that the team can maintain beats perfect performance that requires constant expert intervention.
My Current Recommendation Framework:
Choose Framer when:
Design differentiation is your competitive advantage
You have technical resources for ongoing optimization
Content updates are infrequent and planned
You prioritize cutting-edge interactions over content volume
Stick with WordPress/Webflow when:
Your team needs autonomous content management
You have complex content architectures
Performance optimization needs to be democratized across your team
You value workflow speed over technical perfection
The Workflow Optimization That Matters More
Here's what I learned: the platform matters less than the optimization workflow. A properly optimized WordPress site with a good workflow often outperforms a technically superior Framer site that's poorly maintained.
I now focus on building performance workflows rather than just choosing fast platforms:
Automated image optimization regardless of platform
Performance budgets that teams can monitor
Simple optimization checklists for non-technical team members
Regular performance audits integrated into content workflows
Team Assessment
Evaluate your team's technical capacity for platform optimization before choosing tools
Content Complexity
Map your content architecture needs against platform capabilities and maintenance requirements
Workflow Integration
Design performance optimization processes that your team can actually execute consistently
Performance Budgets
Set realistic speed targets that balance technical excellence with team velocity
The results of this framework-first approach have been dramatic. Instead of chasing theoretical performance gains, I now deliver sustainable performance improvements that teams can maintain.
Real-World Impact:
Clients who choose platforms based on team capacity rather than speed specs maintain better long-term performance. Their sites might not score perfect on initial audits, but they stay optimized because the team can manage them effectively.
The Framer Success Stories:
When Framer works, it works brilliantly. Design-focused agencies with technical teams love it because they can create stunning, fast experiences and maintain them properly. But these are specific use cases, not universal solutions.
Unexpected Discovery:
The biggest performance gains often come from content strategy optimization, not platform switching. Reducing image sizes, simplifying page structures, and eliminating unnecessary features typically improve loading times more than platform migrations.
Timeline Reality:
Platform migrations take 2-3 months and often introduce temporary performance regressions. Workflow optimizations can improve performance within weeks and compound over time.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Top 7 Lessons From Platform Performance Projects:
Sustainable beats perfect - Consistent good performance trumps perfect performance that degrades over time
Team velocity matters more than platform speed - If your team can't optimize it, theoretical performance is meaningless
Content strategy impacts performance more than platform choice - Heavy content will be slow on any platform
Migration isn't optimization - Switching platforms without fixing underlying issues just moves problems around
Framer excels in specific scenarios - Design-heavy sites with technical teams, not general business websites
Workflow design beats platform selection - Good optimization processes work on any platform
Performance audits without team capacity are useless - You need people who can act on the recommendations
What I'd Do Differently:
I'd start every platform discussion with team capacity assessment rather than technical comparisons. The best platform is the one your team can optimize consistently.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid:
Don't choose platforms based on demo performance, don't assume newer means faster, and don't underestimate the learning curve for performance optimization on new platforms.
When This Approach Works Best:
This framework works for any business that needs sustainable website performance rather than one-time speed improvements. It's especially valuable for growing companies where team capacity changes over time.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups specifically:
Assess your technical team capacity before platform selection
Prioritize platforms your marketing team can optimize independently
Focus on workflow automation over perfect platform specs
Build performance monitoring into your content processes
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores:
Consider inventory management complexity when choosing platforms
Prioritize platforms with strong performance optimization tools
Factor in third-party integration performance impact
Choose platforms your team can scale with product growth