I’ve used Webflow enough to know my way around and feel comfortable comparing it to hand coding if you want another opinion. I can’t speak into the CMS portion as for now my goal is to simply use the exported code (still undecided).
I think to a designer that doesn’t understand how to code, Webflow is a dream. It allows them to accomplish something they never have before.
Speaking from the coding perspective, I think it’s a trade off of speed vs. control (especially at first). In the brief time that I’ve tried Webflow I found it frustrating to set up all these “defaults” where I use to just add in my base/reset style sheet. Another thing I found is that you need to be very careful on what you click on. Combo classes vs. Global classes also feel weird (http://selectors.webflow.io/). I recommend setting up a page for your global styles and possibly components for separation. This video may be helpful.
That said, it can speed up the coding process once you learn the tool. I think having a solid coding background gives you a massive advantage over designers who click around in the UI until they end up with something that looks okay. The code output is clean if you take your time and choose the proper options and what it’s lacking can usually be fixed in some way.
Here are a few of my hangups:
- Navbar accessibility: Navbar - Navigation Accessibility
- No HTML tag styling which means no REM: Limitations with Webflow? - #7 by madebytincans
- Combo vs Global: Why doesn't selector default to the "All" global setting?
- Pseudo Selectors: Ability to style CSS Combinators: combo classes, | Webflow Wishlist
- Can’t style tags like .nav a for instance.
Hope this helps.