Framer vs
WordPress
Framer is the new player, while WordPress is the long-time heavyweight. But can WordPress keep up in a world where speed and efficiency are key?
WordPress
You’ve probably heard of WordPress. It’s been around for a long time and can do just about anything, but it demands a lot of learning and technical expertise. While there’s plenty of documentation and support, its complexity can be overwhelming for beginners.
Getting started with WordPress without technical skills can be tough. Installing plugins and templates is straightforward, but full customization requires coding knowledge and technical know-how.
Framer
Framer was initially designed for designers, with an interface similar to popular tools like Figma and Sketch. This means if a designer can use it, anyone can—designers are known for avoiding tools that aren't user-friendly. While some background knowledge enhances the experience, you can still quickly create responsive pages with cool effects without it.
For more complex projects, it's worth investing time in learning, and there’s plenty of high-quality material available. Framer stands out as a top choice for user-friendliness.
WordPress
WordPress offers great flexibility in design, but it requires expertise and patience. The platform provides a variety of plugins and themes that allow for global style management and component support. Animations and effects can be added through various plugins.
While responsive design is supported, full customization typically demands coding knowledge and technical skill.
Framer
Framer excels in design capabilities, making it easy to create stunning website visuals. The platform offers global style management and component support, ensuring consistent and maintainable design systems. Animations, multimedia, and 3D effects are effortlessly integrated.
Framer also fully supports responsive design, providing a clear and intuitive approach to ensure your site looks great on any device.
Designers love that Figma and Sketch designs can be easily imported into Framer, streamlining the workflow.
WordPress
WordPress is highly flexible, offering a wide range of plugins and themes. It supports custom PHP development for full customization. Custom post types and fields allow for unique data management, and with the extensive plugin library, almost any feature can be added.
You can dream big, but for advanced functionality, it's best to work with a developer when using WordPress.
Framer
Framer is best suited for content management-based (CMS) websites and doesn’t require coding skills. With developer experience, almost anything is possible by integrating custom HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and even React components for extensive customization. However, it’s not the ideal choice for e-commerce sites and isn’t suitable for user-generated content platforms like forums.
WordPress
WordPress offers highly flexible SEO options, with plugins like Yoast SEO to help with optimization. Custom meta tags, descriptions, and keywords are easy to set up. Performance can vary depending on hosting and plugins, but with proper optimization, excellent results are achievable.
Framer
Framer offers strong SEO and performance tools. You can easily optimize your site for search engines with built-in tools for meta tags, descriptions, and alt text. Modern technologies like static generation and automatic optimization ensure fast load times, supported by CloudFront CDN.
WordPress
With WordPress, you’ll need a hosting provider. There are many options to choose from, offering different levels of performance and support based on your needs and budget.
Framer
Framer provides its own hosting service, built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure. The default CDN is CloudFront, ensuring fast and reliable page loading. There’s no need for an external hosting provider, as Framer offers a complete hosting solution.
WordPress
WordPress releases major updates quarterly, featuring new features and improvements, along with regular bug fixes and security updates.
The extensive WordPress community provides broad support through official forums, blogs, and tutorials. However, manual updates are necessary, and the quality of individual support can vary.
Framer
Framer regularly updates its platform, often monthly or more frequently, bringing new features, performance improvements, and bug fixes. The community is growing and supportive, offering access to detailed documentation, tutorials, and videos.
Framer also features advanced AI support for quick responses to user queries, enhancing the overall user experience.
WordPress
WordPress offers a free plan, with paid plans ranging from $4 (Personal) to $45 (eCommerce) per month with annual billing. No workspace subscription is needed.
WordPress templates typically range from $30 to $200, though free templates are also available.
Framer
Framer offers a free plan if you don't need a custom domain and don’t mind a Framer logo on your site. Paid plans range from $5 (Mini) to $30 (Pro) per month with annual billing. Workspace plans, suitable for teams with multiple editors, are available but optional.
Framer templates are priced between $18 and $150, with a wide range of free templates also available.
Verdict
Getting Started
Design
Development
SEO and Performance
Hosting
Support and Community
Pricing
The good old WordPress ecosystem is unmatched by Framer, except when speed and design are priorities. If you have plenty of time and budget, WordPress can handle anything—but it requires a team and all the complexity that comes with it.
The comparison is based on 2024 Q3 data and personal user experiences.
Framer vs. other platforms
Which platform is right for your website?
