I’m doing some work for a client that I do a lot of print design for, just a basic 2-3 page site I would say. I’m wondering what plan I need in order to achieve this successfully. The client will need access after it goes live to publish new product / menu items / pricing. They currently don’t have a website or any hosting at all, so I will probably try to sell them webflow hosting, but I’m unsure if they will be able to afford webflow hosting or if they even need it. I’m just not sure where to start with this.
In a nutshell, what is the basic process when working for clients? I’m going to make an assumption based on what I have read, and if I am wrong please let me know:
I pay for a plan (my choice which one, I am thinking lite since I doubt I’ll have more than 10 on-going projects at once).
I prototype/create the site under my subscription
Once client approves, I have them create their own account and I migrate the site to their account
Client can then choose to host with webflow, opening up the use of the CMS extensively, or choose their own hosting and simply export the site as a static site every time they make a change
Thanks guys, any help would be appreciated. If there’s a specific article outlining this entire process please let me know!
Your steps are correct. The only thing I wanted to add is, you can also keep the website and hosting under your account and bill the client for hosting. Webflow allows for client billing. Or you could bill them directly yourself.
Thanks Pixel very helpful, and say if the client wanted to host themselves to save dollars, would I design the site under my subscription, then migrate it to their account for them to then take over? From there they can export the site, upload to their chosen webhost and then any time there are updates, repeat the process?
Yes, that would work fine. The only thing to keep in mind though, is that forms, cms and collections won’t work on a different hosting platform - only Webflows hosting. But the rest of the site would work fine.
The Lite plan you are looking at doesn’t include transferring sites to other users, you would need the Pro Plan for that. (it’s possible to upgrade your plan and then downgrade though).
If you did transfer the site over, the client would then need at least a Lite plan in order to export the site to host elsewhere.
Given that both the CMS hosting and the Lite Plan are $16 per month billed annually - it’s the same price whichever way you approach it.
I’m also noting a couple of points from your original post:
You already do a lot of work for them (ongoing relationship)
It’s their first venture into websites and hosting
As @PixelPanda points out, you have the option to keep the site under your account, and use Webflow’s Client Billing feature (you can also add some profit in there). This would seem a good fit for a client that you have ongoing work with, and who doesn’t have experience exporting sites, setting up CMS, or FTP and hosting etc.
Make the case for the Webflow hosting based on speed, security, stability, a customisable CMS suited to their needs, and the on-page editor.
If they want additional pages or design changes, you can add that as a service going forward, and they can rest easy knowing they can’t break the site and your beautiful design via the editor.
There are lots of opinions on this around the forum, and different ways to approach it, but for me and my clients it’s great keeping things in one safe manageable place.
Hope that’s useful feedback - here’s some links and guides:
