If you have arrived on this article, it means that you have already made a very good choice: select Webflow to create your website!

Webflow is a nocode website creation tool that is becoming more and more popular, especially because of its SEO performance. It competes with many other CMS such as Wordpress or Wix, by offering a wide choice of development features directly integrated. No limit to the creation and no need to cumulate plugins, your site is powerful and respects perfectly your graphic charter.

The advantages of Webflow are numerous but this is also due to an interface that requires real web design skills. If you want to have a site optimized for your SEO, which generates traffic and engagement, it is better to go through an agency. Because yes, having a site is good, but having a visible site is better! Going through a web agency to develop your Webflow site is therefore a wise choice! Now, it remains to choose the right agency... 🤔

Now you are wondering how to choose the best Webflow agency for your online presence. In this article we have put together 10 criteria that we think are important when choosing your agency.

Define the needs of your Webflow site

A website can have many features, so it is important to identify your needs in order to ask the right questions to the web agency you choose.

Who is in charge of the design and conception?

Design is not included by default in the development of a website. It is an element in its own right, which requires specific skills, on very distinct tools. Webflow is a website development tool, and Webflow agencies do not necessarily have the skills to propose a redesign of your graphic charter. In any case, here are some questions to ask yourself when you are considering the design of your next website:

• Do I have a graphic charter? (logo, colours, fonts, size of headings, etc.)
• Do I have a wireframe of my site? That is to say, a sketch of the pages and the elements that make them up, such as image blocks, texts, call to actions, etc.
• Do I have a website mock-up? Starting from the wireframe, your mock-up is a representation closer to reality because it includes visual elements, colours, real images, effects, background, etc.
• Do I have a website prototype? The prototype is the final design stage of your website. It allows the developer to better visualise the interface

It is therefore important to ensure that your provider has the graphic skills to offer you something in line with your company's image and your products. Real skills in UI, UX design, or graphic design are then required. As a guarantee, we advise you to refer to the portfolio of the Webflow agency or the Webflow freelancer you are in contact with.

Which features for your Webflow site?

Simple Webflow showcase site or e-commerce site?

The functionality embedded in a website is very broad. For example, you may need a CMS to manage your blog, a filtering system for your e-commerce items, a shopping cart for your online platform or a "member" functionality to create customer areas.

So many functionalities that should be anticipated with your provider. Webflow experts are sometimes rather specialised in web animation development, SEO or e-commerce functionalities. For example, making an advanced filtering system in Webflow requires HTML skills. Listing all the functionalities you want to find in your website is a way to validate the feasibility of the project by your web provider.

Choose your type of web provider

Once you have defined your needs, you will ask yourself what type of service provider to choose? Rather a freelancer, a specialized Webflow agency, a more generalist agency? Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Freelance Webflow

• Advantages: Cheaper than an agency, responsive, flexible, close to the client, less formality.
• Disadvantages: Often smaller projects, usually specialised in one segment of website development, often delays in completion, no follow-up and management of the site, limited to web development without thinking about an overall strategy for the site.

General web agency

• Advantages: Complete web offer from design to online publishing, management and even hosting. A choice of CMS, Webflow, Wordpress, Wix, Woocomerce, Shopify, etc. or in the development of the site. Several brains on the same project, for an optimal result. Highly technical web projects that can go beyond a simple website.

• Disadvantages: Very expensive, long lead times, more formalities. Difficult to really identify the Webflow expertise as such... After all, when you are an expert in everything, you are an expert in nothing... A less agile, less flexible offer, limited to the execution of the contract.

Specialised web agency Webflow

• Advantages: What better than a Webflow agency to develop a Webflow site? 😍 Expertise on a specific tool, advanced skills on Webflow development methods, knowledge of the different nocode tools to connect with Webflow, a dedicated Webflow team for your web strategy, project follow-up, much more reasonable prices than in a generalist agency thanks to the magic of nocode.
• Disadvantages : No optimization of your old site without migrating it to Webflow, obligation to know the designer mode or the editor mode of Webflow to use it.

Is your Webflow agency certified?

Here we are, the certifications ! 🥇 Yes, they do matter and are not just there to look pretty.

Nocode has opened the doors of the web to many people. Nocode web developers are more and more numerous, and we see nuggets as well as scams appearing. Indeed, it is now very easy to find a free or cheap website template on the internet and "develop" it for a client by selling it as authentic. The website template will not necessarily reflect your image and modifying the structure could cause problems of responsive or UX. Without going to these extremes, it is important to insist on the complexity of the Webflow designer mode. Unlike tools like Wordpress or Wix, Webflow requires more advanced skills in web design. This is where certifications become useful.

Choose an expert Webflow agency

The first certification that seems essential to us is of course to become a Webflow Expert. For this, go to the list of Webflow expert agencies in France. This certification is obtained by passing several exams on the knowledge of the tool, its functionalities, web design skills, but also after verification of several Webflow website creation projects. An expert agency is therefore a first guarantee of quality to reassure you in your choice.

Choose a Client First Finsweet certified agency

The Finsweet certification corresponds to a validation of certain development method skills. Finsweet launched this certification in 2021 with the aim of standardizing the development methods in Webflow. It guarantees a structured and comprehensible development, the so-called "Client First". The Client First development method ensures a site development with the least amount of bugs, display problems, responsive, etc. This certification therefore reflects advanced web development skills, an additional argument in the choice of your Webflow agency.

Other certifications are a plus

Remember, we were talking about "needs". This is where the other certifications of your agency come into play. If your needs go beyond creating a simple page on the web, and you want to automate your website, connect it to nocode tools, create a member space, link it to your Airtbale, inform your teams via Slack, automate the sending of Gmail emails, track traffic with Google Analytics, etc. In this case, we recommend that you pay attention to the skills of your Webflow agency on these different points, and its capacity to accompany you to the end of your project.

For example, if you want to automate your website's data flow, we will recommend a Webflow agency with Intergomat or Zapier expertise. To optimise your marketing we recommend an agency with Mailchimp expertise or Sendinblue expertise. Finally, an expertise in Google tools is also highly recommended.

Look at the achievements of the Webflow agency

Let's get down to business now! Despite all the certifications of your web agency, you need to project yourself. The best way to do this and to make sure that your agency has already carried out Webflow projects is to look at its portfolio.

Project size

First, try to find a site in your industry that you can more easily compare to. If the agency puts it forward, look at the whole project to see what has been done: style guide, wireframe, layout, development, SEO, etc.

User path

Analyse the user journey, paying attention to the presence of call-to-action buttons, the layout of elements, sections, the accessibility of the website, or the internal mesh. The number of clicks to move from one page to another or the ease of finding your way around the site are important elements.

SEO performance

Many tools exist to analyse the performance of a website. It is indicative of the advice that the agency in question can provide as well as their development method. A website that is not optimised for SEO will not be visible. Prefer an agency that respects good practices.

Site marking

Internal tagging is a very important element to take into account for the future referencing of your website. By tagging your site you explain to Google how it is designed, what content it offers and where it should be referenced. Take a look at the tagging of the web agency's sites to assess their Webflow skills.

On-board features

Finally, take an interest in the different functionalities integrated into the site. Is there a member area, a filtering system, animations, a drop-down menu, etc.? These are all small details that play into the overall experience of the site and that you may need for your own.  

Analyze the website creation offer

When you contact a digital agency to create a website, you actually come with a real online referencing project. Your Webflow agency should therefore be able to meet all your needs, from graphic design to training. Make sure that the agency offers you a complete service. Here are some questions to ask yourself to target your agency:

• Does it offer a graphic charter development?
• Is there a mock-up of my site in the offer?
• Is development Client First?
• Is the development responsive?
• Do I get training on site delivery?
• Is my site SEO compliant?

Stay autonomous on the evolution of the site

Throughout this article, we have presented Webflow as a complex tool, which required the intervention of experts. This is still the case, but more precisely on the development part. Indeed, Webflow has a "simplified mode", the Webflow editor mode. This mode is in fact an access to many features of the editor mode, without requiring any particular web design skills. To make your site evolve on the long term, without having to call your agency for each small modification, we advise you to make sure of several things.

Number of pages and dynamic sections

Dynamic pages and sections are parts of the site that you can easily add, delete or duplicate. Unlike static pages, they are pre-configured in your CMS and do not require the intervention of a developer. Be careful about the number of dynamic pages that will be created in your site, it could greatly reduce your autonomy later.

Webflow editor training

Make sure that your agency trains you in the features of the editor mode, which will allow you to develop your site: adding a blog post, adding a job, modifying texts and images, etc.

Make sure the website is monitored

Once you have ensured that you are as autonomous as possible in the day-to-day development of your site, you must ensure that you are guaranteed structural changes. See what type of contract your agency offers to help you develop your site afterwards. This is often an important issue for large e-commerce sites, or online platforms, which manage a lot of data and often make structural changes to their interfaces, tool integrations, etc.

Moreover, in case of a problem, bug, or other, your Webflow agency is supposed to be able to intervene as soon as possible.

Don't stop at the price

Price can be a barrier in any project. Assume that your website is a real investment for your business. Whether it's for a showcase site or an e-commerce website, creating an online presence is no longer an option.

Today we consider websites to be real salespeople. They make information about your company, your offers and products, your achievements or your contact available to millions of people with a few clicks. For all these reasons we recommend that you first consider the quality criteria we have just seen before you look at the price.