Is Webflow Good for Ecommerce? The Answer is No.

When choosing a platform for your online store, functionality, scalability, and cost-effectiveness should be top priorities. While Webflow is an excellent tool for portfolios, company websites, and small personal projects, it falls short when it comes to ecommerce. If you’re serious about growing your online business, Shopify or Square are far superior options. Here’s why Webflow is not the right choice for ecommerce.

Webflow Has Discontinued Memberships

Memberships are a crucial part of modern ecommerce, allowing businesses to build loyal customer bases, offer exclusive content, and implement subscription-based models. Webflow has discontinued its membership feature and has offloaded it to a third-party vendor, Memberstack. This means an additional cost for you, making Webflow a less cost-effective solution compared to platforms like Shopify, which includes robust membership and subscription options natively.

Major Limitations in Functionality

Webflow’s ecommerce capabilities lack several essential features that other platforms provide seamlessly:

1. Limited Payment Options – Unlike Shopify and Square, which support multiple payment gateways and methods, Webflow offers fewer choices, limiting how customers can pay.
2. No In-Store Pickup – For businesses that have both an online and physical presence, Webflow does not support in-store pickup options, a feature that is essential for many retailers.
3. No Manual Tax Adjustments – Managing taxes manually is necessary for many businesses, especially those selling internationally. Webflow does not provide this flexibility, making it difficult to comply with specific tax regulations.
4. No Volume Discounts – Bulk discounts and tiered pricing structures are common in ecommerce, yet Webflow does not natively support volume discounts, making it less suitable for businesses looking to scale.
5. Lack of Fraud Detection – Unlike Shopify, which offers advanced fraud analysis tools, Webflow does not provide built-in fraud detection, leaving your business more vulnerable to fraudulent transactions.
6. No Upsells – Webflow does not offer native upsell features, which are crucial for increasing average order value and driving more revenue.
7. No Auto-Fulfillment for Digital Products – There’s not even a way to automatically fulfill digital products, making it a hassle for businesses selling digital goods.
8. Cannot Edit Customer Emails – If a customer makes a typo in their email address when placing an order, there is no way to correct it, which can create serious communication and service issues.
9. No Proper Invoices or Receipts – Webflow does not allow you to send an actual invoice or receipt beyond the standard order confirmation email, which may not meet the needs of all businesses and customers.
10. Not Suitable for Complex Checkout Processes – If you have any complexity in your store’s checkout process, Webflow ecommerce is not what you should use. Its limited customization and lack of advanced checkout options make it a poor choice for businesses that require flexibility.

Webflow’s Scalability Issues

If you are looking to grow your online store, Webflow will eventually limit you. Its lack of advanced ecommerce features means you’ll hit a ceiling, forcing you to migrate to another platform down the line. This can be a costly and time-consuming process. Businesses that want to scale efficiently should invest in platforms like Shopify or Square from the beginning.

When Webflow is a Good Choice

While Webflow is not suitable for ecommerce, it does have its strengths. If you need a visually stunning website for a portfolio, a company website, or a small personal project, Webflow offers unparalleled design flexibility and an easy-to-use CMS. However, for ecommerce, it is simply not built to handle the demands of a growing business.

Webflow is not the right choice for ecommerce. With limited functionality, missing features, and additional costs due to third-party integrations, it is not a scalable solution for businesses looking to grow. If you are serious about ecommerce, Shopify or Square provide superior tools, better scalability, and more robust backend support. Save yourself the headache—choose a platform that is built for success.