Webflow vs. Contentful: Which CMS Is Best for Enterprise?
Companies of all sizes need websites and the corresponding content management systems (CMS) to manage those sites. Businesses can choose to hire web developers to make the sites from scratch, or they can choose to use a user-friendly CMS to build their websites and host them once they go live. The question is: Which CMS should businesses choose for enterprise-level operations?
In this article, we’ll look at which CMS is the best choice for enterprise businesses. We’ll compare two powerful options: Webflow vs. Contentful. We'll also discuss the potential drawbacks of each and cover their features, capabilities, and strong points to provide a better understanding of which CMS is best for enterprise-level businesses.
Enterprise Web Development Platforms
Companies can choose from an array of web development and hosting platforms for their sites. And these sites can be anything from a company’s homepage to large-scale platforms that handle sales and high-volume traffic.
Enterprise-level companies have unique website demands because their sites typically have larger traffic volumes and more complex requirements. These companies need a CMS that can handle enterprise-level demand and the deployment of enterprise-level marketing strategies.
Two of the most popular content management systems for enterprise-level businesses are Webflow and Contentful. Let’s take a look at what each of these systems offer.
What Is Webflow?
As a customizable content management system (CMS), Webflow has servers that host the text, images, and video content found on a typical website. Additionally, it is a visual web development platform that allows users to create websites without coding, HTML, or CSS experience. Anyone can build websites from scratch using Webflow’s drag-and-drop editor.
While it is easy to use as a website builder, Webflow is more than just a simple drag-and-drop website creation interface. It is also a fully comprehensive CMS that hosts websites for large enterprise clients.
Webflow Enterprise is an excellent choice for marketing managers who don’t have the time to work with full-stack developers, as this process is time-consuming. These companies can quickly create new marketing campaigns using Webflow’s easy interface and deploy them faster than their competitors.
What Is Contentful?
For the more technically inclined, Contentful is another CMS option for large companies. Contentful may attract larger companies due to its advanced technical capabilities. But be aware that it is not as beginner-friendly as Webflow.
Contentful operates as a headless architecture, separating the presentation layer from back-end services. Content is created and stored independently of the front-end display. The headless nature of the platform means content can be easily repurposed across multiple websites, applications, platforms, and devices.
Contentful focuses on application programming interfaces (APIs). This lets users access and retrieve content through other applications and systems via API. Contentful can also integrate with other tools, platforms, and applications, allowing for flexible and complex content delivery.
Developers can make custom applications using Contentful’s APIs and software development kits (SDK). Because of the learning curve required for successfully using APIs and SDKs, Contentful is better suited to companies with team members with ample technical experience.
Comparing and Contrasting: Webflow vs. Contentful
In this section, we'll compare Webflow vs. Contentful performance metrics:
- CMS security features for enterprises
- CMS integration capabilities
- CMS support and training for enterprises
- CMS compliance standards for enterprises
- A customizable CMS for branding
- A scalable CMS for growing enterprises
Let’s look at each of these content management systems to determine which is the better option from the point of view of marketing managers, web developers, or IT team members working at large enterprise companies.
Security Features
In terms of security features, Webflow offers SSL encryption, which ensures all data transmitted and received between users and the website is secure. All of Webflow’s content is backed up on Amazon Web Services, which offers a layer of security. Webflow also has password protections and two-factor authentication that help to prevent malicious web traffic.
Contentful also has SSL encryption, as well as more advanced authentication. Both CMS options have advanced security features, although Webflow’s SSO and dedicated security team are exclusive to Webflow Enterprise.
Integration Capabilities
Contentful’s headless architecture and API-first approach offer seamless, custom integrations that may require technical skill. Webflow, on the other hand, allows for code to be embedded into sites without requiring extensive technical knowledge.
Support and Training
Webflow offers Webflow University, which has free video courses that teach web design and development. Webflow Enterprise plans provide direct access to the Webflow team, including a technical architect. Webflow also has a customer support page with frequently asked questions.
Contentful offers support in tiers. Free users can access Contentful’s help center and Discord to find answers to common questions, while paid users can put in a support ticket.
Compliance
Both platforms take compliance seriously. Webflow complies with ISO 27001 and CIS Critical Security Controls (CIS Controls). Contentful is also certified as compliant with the ISO 27001 standard. All data is encrypted, backed up, and protected by security features like SSO and System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM).
Branding Capabilities
Enterprise companies need consistent branding across all of their apps, platforms, and websites. For that reason, a CMS must maintain a consistent visual identity across platforms for its enterprise customers. As with other criteria, Webflow’s easy-to-use visual tools may be the better option for non-developers, while Contentful’s headless architecture can be used to deliver branded content.
Scalability
When looking for scalable CMS solutions, enterprise companies need to have a CMS that can withstand expansion and meet increased demand as the company scales. As shown in the following case studies, Webflow is up to the task of scaling growing companies just as much as Contentful.
Case Studies
The following case studies are about real companies that have taken advantage of Webflow enterprise features.
Scalability for Growing Enterprises
Airbyte aimed to be the leading website for data engineers. As the company grew, it needed to migrate from WordPress to a site that could better handle its growth and let them scale its marketing site. The solution was Webflow Enterprise to help them migrate their WordPress, enhance their page development, and maintain their SEO (search engine optimization).
Belt Creative helped Airbyte transition to Webflow, which allows Airbyte to stay adaptable with a customizable platform that can handle scaling, high-traffic volumes, and continued growth. WordPress's limitations no longer restrain Airbyte, and the company can use Webflow’s built-in SEO to ensure its pages stay on top of search results.
Flexibility and Customization
Zearn Math, an educational learning resource, needed to create a customizable and flexible platform for students, teachers, caregivers, and parents to educate kids about math. The site needed to be visually appealing to students to entice them to learn more about math.
At the same time, Zearn was growing and needed a site that could handle its rapid expansion. Zearn looked at different platforms, but only Webflow Enterprise could meet their traffic and design standards while also making it simple for the marketing team to publish new pages quickly.
Zearn needed a platform that could handle its continued growth and support its expanding user base. A Webflow site was perfect for Zearn because of its customization abilities and flexibility. Since launching its new site, Zearn has been able to provide its educational resources to students and teachers at a pace that had been impossible before. Upgrades and site redesigns are also easier, thanks to Webflow Enterprise.
SEO and User-Friendly Platforms
Proof, an auditable verification platform, was launching a user-friendly and SEO-optimized platform for identity-assured transactions. As a brand new site, Proof needed to rank quickly in search results and keep users returning. To meet its goal of attracting users fast, Proof chose Webflow. Webflow has built-in SEO features, ensuring each published page is optimized to rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs) — and putting Webflow sites in front of new users.
The user-friendliness of Proof's Webflow-designed site ensured satisfied customers and repeat users. Proof's high-performing, easy-to-use site supports its mission. And it gets new users every day, largely thanks to Webflow’s SEO capabilities and its design of an intuitive and attractive interface.
Get Started With Webflow
So which is the best CMS For enterprise companies? Contentful user reviews for large-scale projects show the platform could be more user-friendly, although the API focus is a popular feature for the more technically inclined. Because of its highly technical capabilities, Contentful can be a powerful platform for companies with a large team of technical experts on hand. We recommend Contentful only for big businesses that employ a team of web developers to handle the platform's technical requirements, such as using APIs and SDKs.
We recommend Webflow for large corporations that don't employ a team of developers and all other enterprises for its ease of use and unmatched Webflow University training. This second feature means anyone on your team can learn to design, develop, and update your websites.
Belt Creative is ready to help your organization get started with Webflow Enterprise to get your site up and running. If you're ready to launch your site with Webflow, we can show you how.
We hope you’ve found this enterprise CMS comparison helpful. For more enterprise digital strategy and CMS solutions for marketing managers — including tailored enterprise website management and large-scale projects — get in touch with us and schedule a consultation today.