Editor X (Wix) vs Webflow - thoughts after using both

Hello,

I picked up Webflow back during the start of the year and have been actively learning how to properly use it, and so far I really love it! It’s such an amazing tool and I do wholeheartedly believe it is one of the best tools out there for designers on the market. I’ve told all my design friends about the tool, and on top of that I’ve invested a lot of my personal time and money trying to learn Webflow to the best of my ability.

A friend of mine told me about the new Editor X (from wix) that just recently launched. I started playing around with the functionality of the designer, and although it’s still in beta, and missing a lot of the custom capabilities that Webflow offers in terms of HTML, I can’t help but say they’re off to a good start. The main thing that I really loved and couldn’t get over was that it felt “familiar” in the sense that it functions like a design tool similar to adobe xd, sketch, figma, etc, making it so much easier to pick up, learn and properly use. For example: their take on flex box is simple and straightforward when compared to the ways of webflow. A flex box is easily created by multi-selecting the main elements and components you want affected, right clicking and selecting flex box. I just loved how easy it was!

Also one of the things I really loved while playing around with Editor X was it’s ability to drag out elements onto the canvas while manipulating the size and proportions without having to input a value for pixel size, vh, vw, etc. I’m curious as to if anyone else has played with editor x? I ended up taking one of my own designs from Webflow and created it within Editor X. Although it lacks some animations, the time it took me to create what I did on Webflow was a lot quicker and I can’t help but say it’s because of how “familiar” it feels to that of a design tool such as adobe xd, figma, and sketch. And on top of that, it was responsive, an issue that has plagued Wix for a while!

I’m also curious as to why Webflow hasn’t offered designers the ability to do this, or adopted this model of functionality? (giving designers the ability to freely place, drag and manipulate content vs manually entering the exact dimensions of elements/content). One thing that I hear constantly from my design friends who I try to get to use webflow is that it feels restrictive in the sense that it doesn’t give designers the freedom to properly create (not having the ability to drag elements around the body freely, not having the ability to drag out the desired size of selected elements, etc)

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I haven’t played around with it yet, but my guess by how you’re describing it would be the code it creates won’t be as clean and compliant as Webflow’s. (I do know that Wix’s generated code has been a problem in the past.) Have you looked at the code it spits out?

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Editor X is very cool but what got my attention is CORVID and the API with integrated development. A lightyear ahead of WF for app development and custom site features. HINT HINT Webflow.

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Agreed. Wix makes me shudder from my past experiences, but Corvid does look like a nice feature set. I really wish Webflow had something like this.

Hello @_kevnn,

Editor X is not for everybody. I tried it and, like you mentioned, it felt more like figma or adobe xd. I thought it was a little frustrating to use, specially when it came to adding classes and setting up grids and pre-designed layouts. I prefer Webflow, because of how clear it shows what elements of HTML and CSS you are using within your design. Now, designers might find Editor X easier, but I think they will learn more about HTML and CSS by using Webflow.
Designer tools are great for designing, but turning a design into a functional website is more complicated than just dragging elements around. So I think Webflow combines the flexibility of a visual design editor with real developing tools, and that is the competitive edge that, I think, webflow has over Wix, Squaresapce, or any other drag and drop template-generic alternatives.

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As someone who started off from writing websites with text editors, and from my understanding of how HTML and CSS works, drag and drop is a pretty bad idea. Cause that’s not how HTML and CSS functions, like if you drag and drop in a div in the middle of the page, does it place there with a fixed positioning? Fixed positioning placement of pixels? %? or vw and vh?

Maybe they came up with a clever way to address that, but I’ve never thought drag and drop is ever a good idea, just like Dreamweaver and why its dead. The reason why I love Webflow is because of how it makes a seemingly WYSIWYG, but is actually intuitive and made with a team of people who truly understands web development, design, and design software.

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I’m watching Editor X and BondLayer closely. I see so many small and big things I love with both that I just wish Webflow was doing.

  • Custom breakpoints
  • Changing colors on svg
  • Easier image control
  • Language control (bondlayer)

But there is a couple of things that neither is doing that makes me stick with Webflow.

  1. They don’t have a editor like Webflow. Where the client can come in and change copy and add CMS items, without messing up the website completely.
  2. They don’t use class name system.

I do really feel Webflow is a more professional system and tool. But I also feel they are missing out on some of the updates that could make the tool more practical.

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Since the original post, both platforms have changed and adapted. Webflow has added more integration support and has developed a strong CMS.

In terms of ease of use, Editor X used to be a popular choice for designers who want to build out their designs fast. However, since then Webflow has taken over the helm and it’s now easier than ever to build out pages using their pre-defined layouts and free templates.

Over at Memberstack.com, we’ve compared Webflow & Editor X in detail, check it out here: Memberstack - Blog - Editor X vs Webflow: Which One is Better for Developers?

Here is an excerpt from the blog comparing the development experience of both platforms:

“Where the two platforms differ in design control is animation. Editor X has recently added an interactions tab to their editor tab, however, it is currently still in beta mode. Webflow offers more robust interactions & animation panel, giving the user the ability to control the state of any element. Also, with their developer-friendly IDE, you can even integrate JavaScript animation libraries to make your project stand out. There’s even the possibility to add React.js, a JavaScript framework which omits the need to write long lines of vanilla JS.”

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O agree with @Pablo_Cortes, still | wix studio | editor x is a product of wix which has many apps | integrations | plug ins. It all depends on Your client or target audience.

In both You can use templates and clones but if my lead need more custiomised front end webflow ide is slightly more perspicuous for me.

I am convinced that webflow will also have so many integrations but as everything it takes time.

Editor X is now Wix Studio

Hey @meagencycloud, Wix Studio is different than Editor X, they are two different products made by Wix. You are right, no matter what tool you end up using, it all depends on on what tool allows you to bring the most value to your clients.