I agree a lot of the website builders are template based. I used Squarespace for a while now but to have a more creative approach with it, is hard. I want something more customized towards my own individual vision.

Studio2bDesigns – I know this is an old thread but I was glad I stumbled across it. I just started using Webflow based on your post and was quite impressed with how cool it was. Thanks for taking the time to write this review!

I stumbled upon this Article through another blog site I happened to be reading, and, being a seasoned Web Designer myself, my curiosity naturally got the best of me.. I have a very biased view when it comes to “Website Builders” and the like, as many (or rather, most) of them are very lacking in flexibility, and often produce sub-par code behind the scenes (which, I should add, you aren’t able to edit whatsoever in many cases).. However, this isn’t to say there aren’t a few really great “Drag-and-Drop” style Website Builders out there – there are.. Unfortunately though, they are very seldom mentioned in Articles such as these, and I find that to be quite a shame.

Back when I first began my journey into Web Design, I used Adobe Dreamweaver for Web Design.. Err, actually scratch that – Adobe hadn’t even purchased the Dreamweaver Software yet at that point – back then, Dreamweaver was made by a Company by the name of “Macromedia”.. Ah yes, the good ol’ days! But I digress.. As the years passed, Adobe Dreamweaver slowly became antiquated, producing sub-par Code, and lacking support for the newest technologies in Web Design.. So, I began Coding by hand – everything from scratch. I did this religiously, and grew to become perfectly comfortable Coding Websites entirely by hand. In fact, over the many years I have been doing Web Design by hand, it has actually been a very educational experience, and I can honestly say I would not be where I am today without having gone through the true learning process of writing raw code for all of my Web Design projects. There is simply NO replacement for the flexibility that Coding by hand provides – the professional results it produces – or the satisfaction it brings you upon looking at a beautifully designed finished product..

HOWEVER, with all of that having been said – about a year ago I stumbled across what I can only describe as the holy grail of “Website Design” platforms – a platform unlike any other I have come across to date.. It is a Web-based “drag-and-drop” Designer similar to the rest in this list – but there is one key difference that stands out: It is in many ways tailored to appeal to the advanced Web Designer, giving you ultimate flexibility in adjusting things the exact same way they are adjusted in Code – only it’s done using a graphical interface – and yes, you can EXPORT the Code Bundle IN FULL (HTML, CSS, JS, etc), and it is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.

Personally, I use the platform for mock-ups – but it is extremely robust and fully capable of just about anything you can possibly imagine throwing at it – including Animations, Interactions, and much much more.. The name of this beautiful, beautiful platform? Webflow! So if you made it this far, and read this entire boring lengthy post in anticipation (or possibly frustration), first pat yourself on the back, and then go sign up for a Webflow account and enjoy it in all of it’s glory.. It’s Free to get started, but they also have additional paid options available as well (with some pretty neat features included with some of the plans, I must admit)..

Not only will you gain the ability to produce more robust, professional-grade websites than any of these other “solutions”, but you will do it all using a drag-and-drop builder with an interface that encourages learning actual terminology while you build your site.. For example, instead of just dragging and dropping a rectangle onto the screen and then resizing it by dragging the edges, you would do the same thing in Webflow by dragging a similar type of block onto the canvas – except you would resize it by clicking it (which brings up all of the options for the object you have currently selected) and then entering an actual Width and Height in a real measurement – and with all REAL Coding-style options at your fingertips for that object, such as Padding and Margin around that block, and so much more.. All of the options available for the elements you put onto the page canvas are related to the real options available in Code..

I can’t express enough how superior the Webflow platform truly is to all of the other more popular platforms available out there, but I highly suggest you give it a shot.. If you are just starting out, they have tons of videos to get you started if you feel it’s needed – and for the more seasoned Web Designers like myself, it is an amazing tool for mock-up designs, drafts, or even final draft full Websites.. It’s truly one of a kind.. And NO, I DO NOT “work for this Company” – so that should speak volumes to how truly passionately I actually truly feel about this platform lol, it just flipped the script for me completely and changed my entire workflow ever since I found it, and I truly do feel this passionately about it.. So again, go give them a visit..

I genuinely wish all of you new Website Designers the best of luck, and I hope this helps get you off on the right foot when it comes to building your first or next Website! Thanks Tom, and sorry for the long post guys and gals! Haha. Anyhow, let me know what you think if anybody decides to check it out – and enjoy your new toy 🙂

Ah that sucks, I hope they listen to their customers, and bring that feature :).

Hi Robert,

Yes, it’s not easy to compete with WordPress – but these 4 do put up a good fight. 🙂
Thanks for commenting!

Cheers,

Tom

I tried the premium plan but I didn’t like it. I found it difficult to customize my website. It was very tedious, maybe they have changed over the past couple years. I went with WordPress and haven’t looked back since! 🙂

WordPress does everything I need and more. So many plugins, so many possibilities 🙂

Hi Robert!

Did you try any of the premium plans? Those have a lot more options. I’m a big fan of WordPress, though, so I say you did well in switching. 🙂

Cheers,

Tom

Thanks for the feedback, Aradawara!