Webflow is a visual builder plus hosted CMS: you design in the browser, Webflow writes the HTML and CSS and hosts the result on a site plan from $15 a month (Basic) or $25 a month (Premium, with the CMS and code components), billed yearly, in US dollars plus tax. It is far closer to real code than Squarespace or Wix, which is why it is one of the two ways I build. So this is not tool against tool. It is Webflow on your own, or with a Webflow designer over three to eight weeks, against a site I design from a blank page and build in seven days for £1,000 a sprint: either in Webflow, on a site plan you pay Webflow for directly, or in custom code in Astro or Next.js that you own outright with hosting free. Pick DIY Webflow when you have the hours and enjoy the canvas. Pick a build from me when the site has to convert and be live on a named date. Pick custom code over Webflow when speed and portability matter more than editing pages yourself.
Upfront vs five-year
Webflow Basic at $15 a month, billed yearly, × 60 months = $900 before tax, hosting only. A Webflow build from me runs on the same plan, paid to Webflow; the custom-build figure has no hosting line because hosting is free.
When building it yourself on Webflow is the right call
- You have 30 to 80 hours to give it and you enjoy the canvas. The tool is capable; the question is your time.
- The site is low-stakes for now: a holding page, a side project, something you will rebuild properly later.
- You already have a Webflow designer on the team and the model is working.
- You will run several sites on it and want to learn the tool properly.
When a build from me is the better buy
- The site has to convert and be live on a named date. Seven days, money back if I miss it.
- You want the editing Webflow gives you without spending your evenings learning it: I build it in my Webflow workspace on a plan billed to your card, you edit text, images and CMS content afterwards.
- Speed and ownership matter more than editing pages yourself: custom code in Astro or Next.js, in your name, hosting free.
- You need logic or an integration Webflow does not do natively. On Webflow I bring it in as a code component or embed; on a custom build I just write it.
Webflow yourself, Webflow built by me, or custom code
Three routes, one honest split. Webflow on your own costs the plan and your time, and the result depends on how much you know about conversion and search. Webflow built by me costs the sprint plus the same plan, paid to Webflow, and you can still edit pages afterwards. Custom code costs the sprint and nothing monthly, is faster and is fully portable, but changes go through a developer. Pick by who will change the site in year two.
| Webflow | 1 Week Sites | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting cost | From $15/mo, billed yearly, plus tax | Same plan on a Webflow build; £0 on a custom build | Depends |
| What you hold | Your workspace, your plan | Webflow: my workspace, your plan and card, transferred on request; custom code: the repo, hosting and domain | Depends |
| Editing after launch | Everything, once you have learned the Designer | Content editor on Webflow; me or any developer on custom code | Depends |
| Conversion and SEO | Down to you | Built in: a page per service, schema, Core Web Vitals green | 1 Week Sites |
Side-by-side
| Webflow | 1 Week Sites | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $0 to start, then the plan and your hours | From £1,000, once |
| Ongoing cost | From $15/mo, billed yearly, plus tax, for as long as the site is up | Webflow build: the same plan, paid to Webflow. Custom build: about £60 a year, domain and email |
| Timeline to live | Your evenings, or 3–8 weeks with a Webflow designer | 7 days |
| What you hold | Your Webflow workspace; Webflow hosts it and CMS content stays there | Webflow build: in my workspace, plan billed to your card, transferred to you on request, and Webflow still hosts it; on a custom build the code, hosting and domain are all in your name |
| Performance | Depends on what you put on the canvas | Lighthouse 95+ on mobile is the target on both routes; custom code gets there with more headroom |
| Design | A template, or a blank canvas and your taste | Designed from a blank page for your business |
| Editing after launch | Everything, once you have learned the Designer | Content editor on a Webflow build; me or any developer on custom code |
| Exit cost | HTML and CSS export; CMS content stays on Webflow | The same on Webflow; nothing to exit on custom code, it is already yours |
| Accessibility | Possible with care, easy to break | WCAG 2.2 AA baseline built in |
| If it is late | It is your time | Full refund |
Five-year total cost
On Webflow the plan is the predictable cost and the surprise is the time, or the designer. Basic at $15 a month over five years is $900 before tax, hosting only; most small-business Webflow sites are also built by a Webflow designer charging £500 to £5,000 on top. A build from me is from £1,000, once. On a custom build the only recurring cost is the domain and email; on a Webflow build you add the same Webflow plan you would have paid anyway.
| Option | Five-year total | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Webflow Basic, DIY ($15/mo × 60 months) | $900 | before tax, hosting only — plus your hours, or a £500–5,000 Webflow designer fee |
| 1 Week Sites custom build + 5 years of hosting | ~£1,300 | £1,000 build + £60/yr domain & email; a Webflow build from me adds the same Webflow plan, paid to Webflow |
Common questions
Do you build in Webflow?
Yes, for clients who want to edit pages themselves. The site is designed from a blank page like any other build, with anything Webflow cannot do natively brought in as a code component or an embed. It lives in my Webflow workspace, on a site plan you pay Webflow for directly with your own card, and you edit text, images and CMS content in Webflow's Content editor afterwards. If you ever want it in your own Webflow account, I transfer it, plan and domain included, with no downtime.
What does a Webflow site cost me each month?
The site plan, paid to Webflow, not to me: Basic from $15 a month, or Premium from $25 a month if the site needs the CMS or code components. Both are billed yearly, in US dollars plus tax, and Webflow sets the prices, so check webflow.com/pricing before you decide. The domain is separate, about £12 a year at your registrar.
Custom code or Webflow: which should I pick?
Custom code if speed and ownership matter most and you are happy for me, or any developer, to make changes: it is the fastest a page can be, hosting is free, and the repository is in your name. Webflow if you will change text, images and pages yourself and would rather pay Webflow for the plan than wait for a developer. Both are designed from a blank page, both run Tuesday to Tuesday at £1,000 a sprint, both carry the refund. I recommend one on the call and say why.
Is £1,000 really all-in?
£1,000 is all-in for a five-to-seven-page bespoke marketing site, custom-coded or built in Webflow: brief, design, build, one revision round, launch. No monthly fee to me, no retainer, no kill fee. You pay for your own domain (≈£12/year) and email hosting (≈£4/month on a provider of your choice), and on a Webflow build the Webflow site plan, from $15 a month billed yearly, USD plus tax. Nothing goes through me. Sites that need more pages take longer than a week and are scoped and priced on the discovery call.
Can I move a Webflow site to custom code?
Yes. Webflow exports the HTML and CSS, which gives me a clean visual reference for the design. The CMS collections do not export, so I rebuild them as a small typed data layer or a light CMS and move the content across inside the seven-day sprint. Going the other way, from custom code into Webflow, is a rebuild too, and I say which direction makes sense on the call.
Why is a custom build faster than Webflow?
Webflow ships its runtime plus every page's interactions as CSS and JavaScript baked from the canvas. A custom build in Astro or Next.js ships only what the page needs. The difference is usually 10–15 Lighthouse points on mobile — enough to matter for paid ads and enough to help organic rankings. A Webflow build from me is still held to the same standards; it just has less headroom.
Bespoke, live in seven days.
From £1,000, one sprint, paid before work starts. Full refund if I miss day seven. Code, hosting, and domain all in your name.
Free · no obligation · I’ll tell you straight if it isn’t a fit