Website platform selection

Q: What factors should I consider when choosing a website platform?

Evaluate platforms based on: current requirements including content volume, functionality needs, team size, and technical capabilities. Budget and total cost of ownership covering platform licenses, hosting, development, and ongoing maintenance. Team skills matched to in-house capabilities or agency expertise. Scalability to handle 3-5 year growth projections. Content management needs including number of editors, workflow complexity, and content types. Integration requirements for CRM, marketing automation, analytics, and e-commerce. Performance including page speed, uptime, and reliability. Security and compliance requirements. Support including community size, documentation quality, and professional support. Flexibility for customization, design control, and future features. Mobile responsiveness and SEO capabilities. Data portability and vendor lock-in concerns. Don't choose based on trends, familiarity alone, cheapest option without considering total cost, or sales pressure.

Q: Should I use an open-source CMS or proprietary platform?

Open-source platforms like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla offer no licensing fees, community-driven development, extensive plugin ecosystems, complete code control, hosting portability, and massive developer availability. Challenges include requiring technical expertise, self-managed security and updates, and potential plugin conflicts. Proprietary platforms like Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, and Shopify offer all-in-one hosting, automatic updates and security, dedicated support, optimized performance, and easier use for non-technical users. Challenges include monthly fees, potential vendor lock-in, limited customization, and migration complexity. Choose open-source when you have a large development budget, in-house technical team, need maximum flexibility, extensive integrations, or very large sites. Choose proprietary when you have limited technical resources, want simplicity, have a moderate complexity site, need faster launch, or prefer predictable monthly costs.

Q: What's the difference between website builders and professional platforms?

Website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly are DIY tools for small sites with drag-and-drop simplicity, templates with limited customization, costing $10-40 per month, suitable for personal sites and very small businesses. Professional platforms like WordPress, Webflow, and Drupal require agency or developer expertise, offer extensive customization and enterprise scalability, and are suitable for businesses needing unique design and functionality. Key differences include design flexibility (builders are template-constrained while pro platforms are fully customizable), development cost ($0-5,000 setup for builders vs. $15,000-250,000 for pro platforms), scalability, integrations, SEO capabilities, performance optimization control, and data ownership. Use builders for hobbies, testing concepts, temporary sites, or very limited budgets. Use professional platforms for businesses where the website drives revenue, competitive industries requiring differentiation, or sites needing specific functionality.

Q: How do I choose between WordPress, Webflow, Drupal, and custom build?

WordPress is best for content-heavy sites, blogs and publications, e-commerce with WooCommerce, and sites needing extensive integrations, with typical projects at $25,000-250,000 over 12-20 weeks. Webflow is best for marketing sites under 500 pages, design-driven brands, and teams wanting designer autonomy, with typical projects at $20,000-100,000 over 8-16 weeks. Drupal is best for complex enterprise sites, government and education sites, and advanced permissions, with typical projects at $100,000-500,000+ over 16-32 weeks. Custom builds using headless or React are best for unique applications and API-first architecture, with typical projects at $150,000-1M+ over 20-40 weeks. Decision framework: small-medium site under 100 pages with design focus choose Webflow; content-heavy site with 500+ pages choose WordPress; enterprise with complex requirements choose Drupal; unique application requiring custom UX choose custom build; budget under $50,000 choose WordPress or Webflow; budget over $200,000 with complex requirements choose Drupal or custom.

Q: What are the total costs of different website platforms?

3-year total cost of ownership comparison for a mid-sized business site: WordPress totals approximately $70,000 with $54,000 in Year 1 (development, hosting, plugins, maintenance) and $16,000 over Years 2-3. Webflow totals approximately $68,500 with $61,500 in Year 1 and $7,000 over Years 2-3. Drupal totals approximately $158,000 with $128,000 in Year 1 and $30,000 over Years 2-3. Custom build totals approximately $251,000 with $211,000 in Year 1 and $40,000 over Years 2-3. Key patterns: initial development cost is the largest factor, ongoing costs favor platforms with lower maintenance, Webflow and WordPress often have similar total cost, Drupal and custom cost 2-3x more but offer capabilities justifying investment, and the cheapest option rarely provides best value. Always calculate total cost of ownership, not just initial build cost.

Q: Can I switch website platforms later if needed?

Yes, but with significant effort and cost. WordPress to Webflow is moderate difficulty at $15,000-40,000 over 8-12 weeks. Webflow to WordPress is moderate difficulty at $20,000-50,000 over 8-12 weeks, common when outgrowing Webflow CMS limits. WordPress to Drupal is moderate-high difficulty at $30,000-80,000 over 12-16 weeks, common for organizations reaching enterprise scale. Any platform to custom build is high difficulty at $50,000-200,000 over 16-24 weeks. Migration costs include content migration, design rebuild, development, testing, SEO preservation through thorough redirect mapping, training, and post-migration optimization. Migrate when your current platform can't meet requirements, total cost of ownership favors a switch, technology debt is too high, or acquisition requires consolidation. Avoid migration for minor inconveniences, following trends, or when problems are solvable with better implementation. Choose your initial platform carefully since migration costs are substantial.

Choosing the right website platform is one of your most important technical decisions. The platform affects design flexibility, costs, scalability, team workflow, and future capabilities. Here's how to evaluate and select the best platform for your needs.

What factors should I consider when choosing a website platform?

Evaluate platforms based on:

Current requirements—content volume, functionality needs, team size, technical capabilities.

Budget—total cost of ownership (platform licenses, hosting, development, ongoing maintenance).

Team skills—match platform to in-house capabilities or agency expertise available. Scalability—will platform handle 3-5 year growth projection?

Content management—how many editors, workflow complexity, content types needed?

Integrations—CRM, marketing automation, analytics, e-commerce, other essential systems.

Performance—page speed, uptime, reliability requirements.

Security—compliance requirements, sensitive data handling.

Support—community size, documentation quality, professional support availability.

Flexibility—customization needs, design control, future feature additions.

Mobile—responsive design capabilities, mobile admin access.

SEO—technical SEO capabilities, URL structure control.

Ownership—data portability, vendor lock-in concerns.

Time to market—how quickly can you launch?

Don't choose based on: what's trendy, what you're most familiar with (unless strategic), cheapest option without considering total cost, sales pressure, or single features without holistic evaluation.

Should I use an open-source CMS or proprietary platform?

Open-source (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla) advantages—No licensing fees for software, community-driven development, extensive plugin/module ecosystems, complete code control, port to any hosting, avoid vendor lock-in, and massive developer availability. Challenges: require technical expertise, self-managed security/updates, hosting separately, potential plugin conflicts.

Proprietary platforms (Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify) advantages—All-in-one (hosting included), automatic updates/security, dedicated support, optimized performance, easier for non-technical users. Challenges: monthly fees, potential vendor lock-in, limited customization compared to open-source, and migration complexity if leaving.

Choose open-source when: large budget for development, in-house technical team, maximum flexibility required, extensive integrations needed, very large sites, or long-term cost optimization.

Choose proprietary when: limited technical resources, want simplicity/all-in-one, moderate complexity site, faster launch timeline, or prefer predictable monthly costs vs. variable development.

Hybrid: Start proprietary for speed, migrate to open-source as you scale and build technical capabilities.

What's the difference between website builders and professional platforms?

Website builders (Wix, Squarespace, Weebly)—DIY tools for small sites, drag-and-drop simplicity, templates with limited customization, $10-40/month, suitable for personal sites, very small businesses, and users wanting to build themselves.

Professional platforms (WordPress, Webflow, Drupal)—Require agency/developer expertise, extensive customization capabilities, enterprise scalability, suitable for businesses, e-commerce, and professional sites requiring unique design/functionality.

Key differences: Design flexibility (builders template-constrained; pro platforms fully customizable), development cost (builders $0-5,000 setup; pro platforms $15,000-250,000), scalability (builders limited; pro platforms enterprise-grade), integrations (builders basic; pro platforms extensive), SEO capabilities (builders basic; pro platforms advanced), performance optimization (builders limited control; pro platforms fully optimizable), ownership (builders platform-locked; pro platforms portable), support (builders DIY forums; pro platforms professional developers).

Use builders for: hobbies, testing concepts, temporary sites, or very limited budgets.

Use professional platforms for: businesses where website drives revenue, competitive industries requiring differentiation, or sites needing specific functionality.

Avoid: treating website builders as professional solutions—clients judge credibility partially on website quality.

How do I choose between WordPress, Webflow, Drupal, and custom build?

Platform selection framework:

WordPress—Best for: content-heavy sites, blogs/publications, e-commerce (WooCommerce), sites needing extensive integrations, teams with WordPress expertise. Typical projects: $25,000-250,000. Timeline: 12-20 weeks.

Webflow—Best for: marketing sites under 500 pages, design-driven brands, teams wanting designer autonomy, fast-loading sites. Typical projects: $20,000-100,000. Timeline: 8-16 weeks.

Drupal—Best for: complex enterprise sites, government/education sites, sites requiring advanced permissions, multi-site networks. Typical projects: $100,000-500,000+. Timeline: 16-32 weeks.

Custom build (headless, React, etc.)—Best for: unique applications, highly customized user experiences, sites requiring specific performance, API-first architecture. Typical projects: $150,000-1M+. Timeline: 20-40 weeks.

Decision tree:

Small-medium site (under 100 pages) with design focus → Webflow.

Content-heavy site (500+ pages) with standard features → WordPress.

Enterprise with complex requirements and security needs → Drupal.

Unique application requiring custom UX → Custom build.

Budget under $50,000 → WordPress or Webflow.

Budget over $200,000 with complex requirements → Drupal or custom.

Team has WordPress expertise → WordPress (leverage existing skills).

Team is design-heavy without developers → Webflow.

What are the total costs of different website platforms?

3-year total cost of ownership comparison (mid-sized business site): WordPress—Year 1: $50,000 development + $1,500 hosting + $500 plugins + $2,000 maintenance = $54,000.

Years 2-3: $3,000/year hosting/plugins + $5,000/year updates = $16,000. Total 3 years: $70,000. Webflow—Year 1: $60,000 development + $500 hosting + $1,000 training = $61,500.

Years 2-3: $500/year hosting + $3,000/year updates = $7,000. Total 3 years: $68,500. Drupal—Year 1: $120,000 development + $3,000 hosting + $5,000 maintenance = $128,000.

Years 2-3: $5,000/year hosting + $10,000/year maintenance = $30,000. Total 3 years: $158,000.

Custom build—Year 1: $200,000 development + $3,000 hosting + $8,000 maintenance = $211,000. Years 2-3: $5,000/year hosting + $15,000/year maintenance = $40,000.

Total 3 years: $251,000.

Costs vary significantly based on complexity, but pattern shows: initial development cost is largest factor, ongoing costs favor platforms with lower maintenance, Webflow and WordPress often similar total cost, Drupal and custom cost 2-3x more but offer capabilities justifying investment, and cheapest option rarely provides best value. Calculate total cost of ownership, not just initial build cost.

Can I switch website platforms later if needed?

Yes, but with significant effort and cost:

Migration complexity by platform:

WordPress to Webflow: Moderate difficulty, $15,000-40,000, 8-12 weeks, content migrates but design rebuilt, SEO requires careful redirect mapping.

Webflow to WordPress: Moderate difficulty, $20,000-50,000, 8-12 weeks, good when outgrowing Webflow CMS limits.

WordPress to Drupal: Moderate-high difficulty, $30,000-80,000, 12-16 weeks, common for organizations reaching enterprise scale.

Platform to custom build: High difficulty, $50,000-200,000, 16-24 weeks, fresh start approach.

Migration costs include: content migration, design rebuild (usually can't directly convert), development, testing, SEO preservation, training, and post-migration optimization.

Migration timeline: 2-3 months minimum, often longer.

Success factors: thorough redirect mapping (preserve SEO), content inventory and cleanup, realistic timeline (don't rush), adequate budget (don't underfund), experienced migration team, and user acceptance testing.

When to migrate: current platform can't meet requirements, total cost of ownership favors switch, technology debt too high, or acquisition/merger requires consolidation.

When to avoid migration: minor inconveniences (not worth cost), following trends, platform problems solvable with better implementation, or inadequate budget/timeline. Choose initial platform carefully—migration costs are substantial.

Back to all FAQs

Like what you see?

Build something with us.

Talk to us