Hello and ... Editors can't create new pages or add to the Nav Menu?

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1

Hi all,

I am moving away from Wordpress and Elementor Pro. The constant updates and security shenanigans have burned me out. I am a small business managing about 30 sites currently.

I have been watching Webflow for some time and I can see it has really well thought out features:

  • Design tools - I have not found a better UI or more capable page builder
  • CMS integration - so easy to create Collections with structured content
  • Documentation and tutorials are excellent
  • Pricing - even the cost is reasonable when you consider the alternatives: premium page builder plugins, security plugins, hosting, SSL.

I am so keen to use Webflow in my business model, but what I’m struggling to understand is how this beautiful system does not allow clients/editors to create new pages or add to the nav menu?

I have seen comments in this forum explaining: allowing Editors to add pages or edit nav can create problems.

Positives are: The client will come to us to create new pages. More money for us. Client not able to break the design.

Negatives, as I see it: The client won’t ask us to build the site in the first place, because they don’t like the inability to add a new page without asking us to do it for them.

I think the responsibility should be on us to create a good ‘default’ template where the client can add a new page with at least an area for rich text and then update the nav, without breaking the design consistency.

I have tried many CMSs, and genuinely think Webflow has got so much right about managing the client/editors ability to break site and design.

Is a client/business going to pay $432 per year for a system that restricts them in this way and ties them to asking us when they’d like to create a new page?

I realise Webflow isn’t perfect, but it seems very very good and would value any thoughts or comments from freelancers/business owners using Webflow as their solution and have come up against this issue.

2

Hello Simon, I too come from wordpress and Elementor pro.
once you design the website you move it to the customers account.
Then they can do what ever they want.
Not a lot of people keep a clients website on their personal account.
Does that help?
PS you can setup pages with passwords etc so the owner of the site can choose who to allow to edit pages etc.
You can also block individual elements from being updates.

3

Thanks, I didn’t think of it like that. I imagined I would be billing the client through Webflow for each of their sites and hosting.

I think some of my clients might be ok with using the Designer, but some would definitely get stuck.

Using the Editor and the ability to add simple pages and edit the main menu I think is what most would want.

4

I think your goal here is to convince the customers that the site isn’t locked and they can go back to you, do it inhouse or go to someone else.

You can include a non published website on their account with template pages which they can copy to new pages on their domain website to edit.
Yes you can copy sections, elements etc and past to a different project/account.

Hope that helps a little more.