Outraged with new basic hosting price! UPDATED

I know i am a bit slow to react on these price hikes (only just noticed as i was working on a lengthy project)…But i can’t believe the price hikes at the lower end, it’s outrageous?!!

Don’t get me wrong, i’m not ranting because Webflow have backed me into a corner; i will just simply export my code from now on (as i used to). I am ranting because, even for their sake it just doesn’t make sense!

Here’s why:
$15 a month for basic hosting? Now even at $5 p/m i was pushed to use Webflow’s hosting as you can get it for more than half that price (considering we are talking basic hosting). But for two reasons i stuck with Webflow hosting.

  1. Ease of use: saves me having to export then upload (not a big job anyways). Also saves me from re-directing the forms and applying just one script (also not a major job).
  2. Genuine LOYALTY: along with ease of use, i actually took some satisfaction knowing that my money is going to Webflow, rather than a huge number of web hosts already out there; because i, like many of you appreciate what the Webflow web-tool, community and service offers us.

So with no other benefits to me (other than stated in reason #1), i can’t see why anyone in their right mind would pay the $15.

As some others have voiced: this is very concerning about the future of Webflow. Who remembers the bold price increase to basic hosting when CMS came out? Webflow saved themselves and soon changed it back…

But now it’s happening again, this has me looking elsewhere. I’ve seen a Webflow staff saying the prices have been considered for months, with surveys and the competition’s prices taken into account - Really? Take Wordpress for instance; i can cover the basic hosting and have a well known CMS ready to handover to the client for half the price of Webflow’s new basic hosting price!

To Webflow staff: As you justify the price hike, it looks as though you won’t revert back to the old prices (unlike with the release of CMS)…but you would really be wise to.

Sincerely,
A loyal user for a couple of years on multiple accounts, corporate, freelance and personal.

P.s before anyone states the discounted prices…That doesn’t help me in 5 months time!

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Argh, am i the only one? Maybe i need to cool off!:sunglasses:

Yes and no. $15-20 per account is not too much when you consider backups, CDN, fast hosting, support (especially this) however for resellers/designers then yes. Its too expensive. My clients will go to me when needing support so Webflow does not need to cover that expense. They have promised discount for resellers/designers who host clients sites so I am waiting to hear more on that.

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Well, i suppose that’s a fair point.

I too, look forward to any discount for designers hosting clients sites. As it stands, i will lose money off basic hosting if i kept my prices the same.

I am about to purchase Webflow with CMS hosting today. Excited about the platform but nervous. Also, for this hosting price, I would expect phone service support. I am spoiled by Hostgator support. Hoping the pricing for multi- site comes soon. Otherwise, I am currently searching for a WordPress solution.

I am a WordPress guy :slight_smile: I have done all my websites in WP but keeping a close eye on Webflow because I am getting increasingly tired of the bloat in WP and difficult to do custom themes/websites. Also I am getting to the point where I feel that just because WP can do everything you want does not mean you should do everything in WP.

The new price for CMS is GOOD value i think.

Speaking from experience using the CMS for a number of clients - i think it’s a great option, and the service has been fantastic from Webflow as well.

It’s only the basic hosting that has become a joke for pricing.

Basic hosting :-1: - CMS hosting :+1:

“Basic hosting :-1: - CMS hosting :+1:

I think the reverse is true. I can design a non-CMS site in Webflow and export and host it myself. I can’t do that with a CMS site, so I have to go with Wordpress :frowning: or try to convince clients to accept high hosting costs with Webflow.

Wordpress :-1: - Webflow :thumbsup:

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No you’re not alone. There’s a few big threads in feedback with the same theme. Also I agree.

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You guys are “outraged” by $15 hosting?

Really?

Wow.

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Well not really, you’ve just agreed with me that basic hosting is a :-1:

You even just said you would export the code. That’s not using the $15 p/m basic hosting is it?

Read what I’ve written and you’ll see I am all for webflow and not advocating Wordpress at all. I repeat, my gripe is with the new basic hosting cost… Thanks

Yes better believe it. I’m surprised you think a x3 increase isn’t. Unfortunately real world businesses run on tight margins.

I agree with what you wrote about Wordpress, that’s why I gave it a :-1:

I also agree with what you wrote about the basic plan. My point was that you can export the code and host it yourself if you wish, which you cannot do with CMS. Yes, $15 is too much for basic hosting, I can set up a reseller account for that here in the UK.

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Check the costs of any other reputable clustered hosting solution - Azure, Amazon

The $5 hosts are not!

Trust me. I know!

$15 is a bargain, especially if you want 100% uptime.

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There’s a lot of confusion about what webflow is to the majority of its users.

Webflow provides a tool for freelancers and agencies. We don’t sell webflow hosting to clients. We resell it with our own margins. And that is where people get confused.

If my success were to be based on the success of my clients, then I would empower my clients by encouraging that success. And my success as a client to webflow is quantity and sustainability.

I stopped hosting with Webflow because I was simply losing too much and my margins were far too tight for feasible business. For a small traffic client I can host their site at 10% of the cost of hosting with Webflow with ease. Sometimes loyalty isn’t enough when the difference is so great.

I made a thread to propose bulk hosting instead. Specifically bandwidth driven pricing. It seems that webflow IS looking at their hosting plans right now and IS aware of the current state of their clientbase.

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In real world use you are absolutely incorrect. AWS can be used direct or via static site resellers with ease. My smaller clients cost me under $2 per month from a $50 hosting pool. I occasionally make use of CMS hosting as the CMS is excellent. But only when needed. There is nothing new about webflow users exporting static content as it’s just good business.

Don’t forget that Webflow is also a rapid prototyping tool which in my opinion is unmatched. Other alternatives like Sketch do not generate code, so it’s literally a non-functional prototype. With Webflow I can give a client a fully-functional demo. Animation design on it is also a huge boon for me. It is not the only tool in my tool set, but it is a useful one. You can’t prototype with bootstrap.

It’s great that you have expanded your skill set, and I believe anyone that considers them self a pro should understand CSS, HTML, and JS. Webflow simply takes those concepts and alleviates the repetitive stuff.

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Fair comment actually. I probably will be using Webflow for that function which i overlooked in the haste of my emotional comment haha. *EDIT: I do still prefer Sketch for that function. Yes it doesn’t export code, but can’t see the benefit if i’m going to code it myself anyway.

I didn’t spend enough time explaining how much i do actually rate Webflow and its uses.

Although, even after all the good points about it - the new pricing structure on hosting doesn’t make sense.

I’m sure they will have many people use the CMS hosting for $20 p/m (if they need it obviously), but I just can’t imagine anyone justifying the $15 a month for basic?

Given that there is no simple e-commerce integration, it still doesn’t compare that well to Squarespace, for example. But overall the $20 seem ok to pay for a company that uses CMS functionality.

But I agree completely that the $15 seem unreasonably high for just basic hosting to which you can’t even upload a PDF.

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I will continue to work with the folks at Webflow to foster better practices that I know will result in an increase in dependability and predictability. I hope for success. I love the base concept of the system, the Designer, the implementation of CMS (although immature) and the speed of workflow I enjoy.

I also think that the staff at Webflow are outstanding. They are eager to help and provide over the top service. Kudos to the staff for sure (I consider the owners to be staff as well, since they routinely roll up their sleeves)

I am in the same position as you @HarryField. However, I have decided to stay and continue to speak up (with my little voice) in an effort to drive changes that we can all enjoy in the future. I am encouraging that Webflow move to a more planned, collaborative (with us) approach and re-invest in ensuring that core functionality of the system is finished (improve forms to include conditionals and calculated fields, email notification routing, expand CMS editor ability).

Recently, I am using the Designer, exporting, using FormStack for all forms, email routing and using ECWID or Shopify for Ecommerce. I stopped selling the CMS of Webflow to my clients. Too unstable and immature at this time.

With all this said - right now, I believe that system instability is the No 1 problem at Webflow and gives me angst recommending to my clients. People rag on WP for bloat. I will say, all of the WP sites I have created for my clients are MUCH MORE stable than the Webflow CMS offering. None of my WP sites go down.

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