Regarding pricing with Ecommerce

Hi all at Webflow.

I know that the pricing will come soon. but i have a question regarding the model.

You said it will be separate pricing for Ecommerce, but what about if the client are using a CMS solution already and addning Ecommers will it be Hosting + Ecommece? And what about if the client only would like to have Ecommerce?

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I’d like more info around this as well and am really hoping Webflow doesn’t overprice this aspect of the product.

Although Webflow is a great product and it’s hosting pricing is inline with similar products it’s missing some features that are important to clients and therefore make the hosting of less value compared to others. For example, with other platforms you get a built-in Instagram feed, free Accuity Scheduling plan, multiple built-in options for handling form submissions and a few other options that create a lot of value for the client. Not to mention there are pre built elements that offer more and quicker functionality for users.

Other platforms also aren’t charging a Designer package fee each month. I’ve been supportive of Webflow’s pricing but do think that it’s probably time to deliver more value in the hosting/designer.

I hope Webflow is looking deep enough at competitor features before setting pricing.

Keep in mind that ecommerce needs the CMS to work! So you can have only an ecommerce plan and still have a blog, etc. (CMS) but you can’t only have the ecommerce functionality since you need all that CMS side. Maybe more plans will be announced in the future with only ecommerce.

*Please note that this is based on what I know and it’s not an official statement.

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I’m also curious if this will be able to handle subscriptions or recurring payments.

Not on the first release but certainly in the future!

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Where did you find that info? I didn’t see it listed in the planned features.

Here you go!

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Did you have a time marker(s). I’ve watched both of those before but didn’t see anything specific or definitive.

52:28

Sorry man, adding it to the wishlist isn’t the same as it’s going to happen. :grinning: I’ve been around Webflow long enough to know that you don’t count on anything materializing until they put it in writing or it actually happens. And even in writing…it might be coming soon a VERY long time.

As a reminder, they had e-commerce coming soon on a version of their Website over two years ago (fall 2016 I believe). I was a community expert for a year or so maybe longer. For a while, they had a habit of over promising and under delivering…timing wise.

They have gotten much better and I think they have always had their hearts in the right place.

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A couple of questions:

Will I be able to integrate the ecommerce solution into an already existing site?

If so, will it require me to have CMS added to my plan, too?

Thanks!

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A friend of mine has the beta and in the hosting settings found a new tab for ecommerce sites with the current pricing…

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I can confirm that these are the prices shown in the hosting settings after getting access. These are pretty steep and put a bit of a damper on my excitement but I’ll hold off judgement until we hear official pricing information.

That being said, I’m excited to get started with the new functionality. Congrats Webflow, you folks rule!

The pricing seems pretty steep to me as well. I think the 2%/transaction fee on the first option is a bit much since it’s already priced higher than most entry level plans on other ecommerce platforms with more features. Also this is beta pricing, so it most likely will increase. I think Webflow ecommerce pricing will seem better when more features are added that compete with other ecommerce platforms.

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What comparison are people here using to compare the new pricing of Ecommerce? I can’t be the only one that feels the pricing is reasonable?

I’ve worked at a small Ecom agency for the past 5 years, and I can assure you that $36 a month for the speed, the reliability of AWS hosting for an Ecom site built on a platform with the customisation (and future features), reliability and support & community that Webflow offers IMO is extremely reasonable.

Can’t wait to try Ecom with a live project :slight_smile:

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It’s not outrageous, but it’s the most pricey option available out of the most noteworthy options currently available.

Staring e-commerce price per month (with yearly billing):
Shopify & Bigcommerce - $30/mo
Squarespace - $26/mo
Wix - $17/mo

Competing with Shopify would give Webflow a huge edge, and with Squarespace charging ~30% less it’s going to be a hard sell — even with the fast, reliable hosting. To be honest I find that this is a factor for clients that can realistically afford more to begin with, so that’s not really a selling point in most cases for me.

With a lesser know name like Webflow, I’d be surprised if I can sell the upgrade to many clients until it becomes more feature rich. $36/mo after the introduction period feels more acceptable to me personally, and if it was the price of Shopify to start then I’d bet it would be easy to get folks on board.

Just my .02

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@mikeyevin I’ve not used all of those other services, but here are my guesses:

Shopify & Bigcommerce: I think these both have their own markup lang? (I know Shopify does), so good luck creating something visually with the fidelity that Webflow offers. I dread to think of all the time I’d have to spend learning their markup, making updates to the store I doubt are going to be as easy as a click of a button.

Squarespace & Wix: I’ve never used this, although I’ve heard mixed reviews. Both I think are drag & drop builders? For me personally, I like the ability to build my sites visually after the design stage so I guess I can’t really comment because this isn’t how I work. I can imagine there are some levels of customisation if you feel ok writing your own html for a custom template, but still that’s going to be a lot more time consuming.

I agree with you it’s a hard sell at $36/m right now but I’m guessing this price won’t change for some time (even after the new features are released).

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Can’t speak for BC but Shopify uses Liquid markup, however most sites are well designed and flexible enough that you won’t need to dive into it. Overall though it’s a very easy language to learn.

Technically all of the platforms allow basic level customization, but this is something that doesn’t translate well to the end client — plus there is already a monthly fee associated with the editor use. That being said, you’d be surprised at how far you can take most D&D websites nowadays, and a good chunk of clients aren’t looking for you to reinvent the wheel on their website design — they want a good looking site, which is something most other services have been able to provide.

As a designer, I definitely see the benefit of Webflow’s design flexibility but that doesn’t translate to the client very easily. In fact, I’d rather pay more for my base account in return for a lower (more competitive) hosting rate because I’m the one getting the most benefit from it. That way I can charge slightly more for managing costs to make some money from hosting and still be offering something reasonable for my clients.

I know there is a hosting break for members hosting many sites, but I’ll admit I’m not sure what the discount is and how many sites you need to host to get it. Obviously this is the goal for me, but if I have trouble migrating a large amount of my clients I won’t ever get to that point.

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Hey all,

Not wanting to debate so I may not respond further than this.

  • If Webflow ecommerce is right for you/client, you’ll know it.
  • My personal thoughts down below if you want to read them.
  • View the plan charts for a side-by-side price comparison

I did a comparison for myself to understand where Webflow is positioning themselves compared to a couple companies. (see above) Squarespace and Shopify are the two that I get asked about most often. From what I see Webflow is positioning themselves in-between or maybe even creating its own category.

Squarespace is a cheap and quick website builder with ecommerce tacked on. For design it is highly in-flexible and template based. The commerce function is workable but messy and unintuitive at times.

Shopify is an ecommerce platform primarily with extremely basic blog and pages that can be added. Major customization will require a developer or finding a suitable template.

Webflow gives you complete customization over design and data in a way that is either impossible or extremely difficult with other platforms.

  • The Standard plan sits right in-between the Squarespace price points and above the Shopify Basic. This seems fair because of everything Webflow provides for site building.
  • The Plus and Pro plans line up or come just under the Shopify Business and Advanced plans. For mid to large ecommerce businesses this is a no-brainer to get the power of Webflow and it is the same or cheaper than Shopify.

Of course the ecommerce feature set is limited right now during the Beta, but we all know that with a committed team to ecommerce that the features will come. Webflow listens and responds to its customers.

I truly believe Webflow Ecommerce is going to change the market. It’s just a matter of timing. When will the features and pricing be right for you and your client to jump on the train? That’s a question only you can answer, and everyone’s answer will be different. And that’s okay.

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"Alright, Mr./Ms. Customer! Webflow ecommerce, that thing I’ve been hyping to you for the past 6 months, is finally here!

Are you ready to stop paying that ridiculous $420 per year to Ecwid, and start paying $2,820 per year to Webflow?

Hello? Hello? Weird… I wasn’t aware it was even possible to get disconnected via email."

I should’ve known. Ecommerce is now just an awesome button in the designer that I will never touch because there is absolutely no way I’m going to be able to sell customers on this kind of price increase.

I get that there’s a ton of value being added, but 90% of that benefits me, the designer. Businesses in the position to pay freelancers don’t stay in business by routinely giving away 1-2% of their revenues for marginally-aesthetic purposes. The AWS is cool, but they don’t care (and won’t be convinced to care).

At least it’s introductory, and will be going up next year!

You guys are killing me, here.

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