We wanted to touch on a question we get asked fairly often—what website platform should be used for a site (re)design?

While we have our own leanings, we do want to share what we think are pros and cons of the major design-focused platforms out there today. Undoubtedly, there are more platforms we didn’t include. Some, quite frankly, are so bloated and slow to load, they fail most best-practices for website design and deployment in today’s world, so we’ve left them out.

So for the sake of this post, we’ve chosen three: Astro, Webflow, and Framer. When comparing these three for building websites, each have its own strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of each, from our humble perspective:

Astro

Pros:

1. Performance: Astro is designed for high performance, with a focus on delivering minimal JavaScript to the client. It only loads JavaScript when necessary, which can lead to faster page loads. We use this extensively to prevent unnecessary speed reductions, and we see the most impact on mobile devices.
2. Component-based: Allows you to use different front-end frameworks like React, Vue, or Svelte together in the same project, giving flexibility in choosing the right tools for different parts of your site. Thist works great when you need just a bit of interactivity, but really don’t need (or want) a full front-end framework.
3. Static Site Generation (SSG): Excels at generating static sites, which can be beneficial for SEO and performance. If anything can help with speed and SEO performance, it’s trying to pre-generate as much as possible.
4. Developer Experience: Offers a clean, modern development experience with support for modern JavaScript, TypeScript, and more. We’re huge fans of Typescript, and find it prevents entire classes of hard-to-find bugs. So that it’s built right in is a big win for us.
5. Markdown Support: Great for content-heavy sites, with built-in support for Markdown and other content formats. One of the largest fears of using something custom like Astro is that editing content regularly will perhaps become untenable. With headless CMS systems like Strapi, this really isn’t the case. Even more, you can get very detailed in how each piece of content is displayed, in a much better fashion than the simple CMS found in other products.
6. Tailwind Support: While some designers prefer to use alternative CSS styling frameworks, the fact that Tailwind is so flipping ubiquitious, it really becomes an advantage to be able to seamlessly include it into site designs with Astro. Especially if companies already have a brand guide defined in Tailwind already—it becomes super simple to extend that brand look/feel to the new work we do, without having to hand-code more CSS to match the existing system.

Cons:

1. Learning Curve: There might be a learning curve if you’re unfamiliar with the concept of partial hydration or the Astro-specific way of handling components. We’re familiar with this approach, so it’s no problem for us. But we spend many hours with Astro, and feel quite comfortable in it. It also lets us develop extremely fast.
2. Ecosystem: Although growing, Astro’s ecosystem and community are smaller compared to more established tools like Webflow or Framer. Though this seems to be changing with more Astro content arriving daily.
3. Hosting: Unlike Webflow and Framer, Astro doesn’t provide a built-in hosting solution, so you’ll need to choose a separate hosting provider. Though in our opinion, we think this is actually a hidden pro. There are free starter plans on major service providers like Cloudflare that Astro can be deployed on in minutes. We even use this approach for the site you’re reading right now!

Webflow

Pros:

1. Visual Editor: Offers a powerful, intuitive visual editor that allows you to design websites without writing code. This is great for designers and those who prefer a drag-and-drop interface.
2. CMS Capabilities: Built-in CMS functionality makes it easy to manage and update content, especially for non-technical users.
3. Hosting and Deployment: Provides integrated hosting with fast performance and built-in SSL. The deployment process is streamlined and simple.
4. Design Flexibility: High level of design flexibility with advanced styling options and interactions without needing custom code.

Cons:

1. Cost: Webflow can be more expensive compared to other options, especially if you need advanced features or multiple projects.
2. Limited Custom Code: While you can add custom code, it’s not as flexible as a fully code-based solution for extensive customizations.
3. Learning Curve: Despite being user-friendly, mastering Webflow’s full range of features and best practices can take time.

Framer

Pros:

1. Design and Prototyping: Originally known for design and prototyping, Framer now offers a robust platform for building and deploying websites with a strong focus on design and interactivity.
2. Design Flexibility: Combines visual design tools with a code editor, allowing for detailed customization and sophisticated interactions.
3. Component-Based Architecture: Supports a component-based approach, similar to modern frameworks, facilitating reuse and organization.
4. Integration: Integrates well with other design tools and allows for importing assets directly from design software.

Cons:

1. Complexity: Can be complex to use effectively, especially if you’re not familiar with combining design and code.
2. Pricing: Framer’s pricing can be higher, particularly if you need advanced features or multiple projects.
3. Learning Curve: Requires learning both design and coding aspects, which can be a challenge if you’re focused on one area.

Summary

• Astro is ideal if you prioritize performance and flexibility with modern front-end frameworks but don’t mind setting up hosting separately.
• Webflow is great for those who prefer a design-first approach with an integrated CMS and hosting solution but may find it costly.
• Framer offers a blend of design and code, making it suitable for complex, interactive sites but can be more challenging to master.

Choosing between them depends on your specific needs, skill level, and whether you prioritize visual design, performance, or flexibility. We of course work in all three, as many of our customers come to us with an existing platform already chosen, and we’ll rarely recommend a move away unless it makes sense. But when starting new projects, we usually lean towards Astro.

Happy website designing! ✨