Google Sites vs Webflow: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

Google Sites and Webflow cater to different user needs, with Google Sites being more suitable for simple, collaborative projects, and Webflow excelling in professional, customizable web design.

• 
  Google Sites (Overall Grade: 5.6/10)
  
  is ideal for users seeking a straightforward, no-code website builder with strong integration with Google services. It’s perfect for team projects, personal portfolios, and small business websites. Google Sites offers ease of use, robust security, and seamless collaboration features, making it a great choice for those who prioritize simplicity and integration with Google Workspace.
• 
  Webflow (Overall Grade: 7.9/10)
  
  stands out for its powerful design tools, flexible CMS, and top-tier hosting services. It’s designed for professional designers and developers who need a comprehensive solution for creating custom, responsive websites. Webflow offers extensive design functionalities, advanced ecommerce features, and superior website speed optimization, making it the preferred choice for users who require a high level of customization and performance.

Best for ecommerce

Verdict

: Google Sites is not designed for ecommerce, relying heavily on third-party integrations, whereas Webflow offers a robust and comprehensive ecommerce solution.

• 
  Google Sites
  
  : Google Sites is primarily a tool for creating simple websites and lacks built-in ecommerce features. Users can integrate third-party tools or widgets to add ecommerce functionalities, but this approach is less seamless and more limited compared to dedicated ecommerce platforms. When comparing Google Sites vs Webflow, Google Sites falls short in providing a comprehensive ecommerce experience.
• 
  Webflow
  
  : Webflow excels in ecommerce with its extensive features, including customizable product pages, integrated payment gateways, and a variety of ecommerce templates. It is designed to handle complex ecommerce needs, making it a strong choice for businesses looking to build a professional online store.

Best for informational & business websites

Verdict

: When it comes to creating informational and business websites, Webflow takes the lead with its advanced design capabilities and robust hosting services. Google Sites, while user-friendly and integrated with Google services, falls short in terms of customization and advanced features.

• 
  Google Sites
  
  : Google Sites is an excellent choice for users who need a simple, collaborative platform to create informational websites quickly. Its drag-and-drop interface and integration with Google services make it ideal for team projects and small business websites. However, it offers limited design customization and fewer advanced features compared to Webflow. Google Sites scores 7.2 in this category.
• 
  Webflow
  
  : Webflow excels in providing a comprehensive solution for creating custom, responsive websites. It offers powerful design tools, a flexible CMS, and top-tier hosting services, making it suitable for professional designers and businesses looking for advanced customization. Webflow’s higher learning curve is offset by its extensive learning resources and community support. Webflow scores 8.6 in this category.

Detailed comparison

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Winner: Webflow.

If you’re looking for a platform that offers more creative control, a wide array of design features, and a diverse range of template and customization options, Webflow is the preferred choice.

Google Sites offers a limited number of templates suitable for various purposes, from personal blogs to business websites, with both free and premium options available. These templates are designed for user engagement, simplicity, and functionality, allowing for customization to meet specific needs. However, compared to other website builders like 10Web or Squarespace, Google Sites might offer less variety in templates and design customization options.

Google Sites Themes

Compared to Google Sites, Webflow delivers a robust design experience with a diverse range of template and customization options. Boasting over 1000 pre-built templates covering various industries and website types, including free and premium options, Webflow ensures a constantly evolving library for users. Templates are categorized for easy browsing, considering industry, website type, style, and features. The design customization features include a visual drag-and-drop editor for real-time adjustments, fine-grained control over every aspect of the design, and the ability to inject custom code for advanced users seeking additional personalization and unique functionalities.

Webflow Themes

🏆 Winner: Google Sites

. With a score of 8.3, Google Sites offers a user-friendly interface that allows individuals with no coding experience to create and publish websites easily. On the other hand, Webflow, scoring 7.5, is user-friendly for experienced designers and developers but may present a steeper learning curve for beginners.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Webflow

. Both platforms offer a wide array of learning resources, but Webflow stands out with its comprehensive set of learning resources, including Webflow University and a thriving community across multiple platforms.

Google Sites and Webflow offer different levels of ecommerce capabilities. Google Sites does not have built-in ecommerce features, but it allows for the integration of third-party tools or widgets for ecommerce functionalities. On the other hand, Webflow is a robust platform for creating online stores, offering comprehensive ecommerce features.

Google Sites ecommerce features:

Google Sites itself does not have built-in eCommerce features. However, you can integrate eCommerce functionalities into a Google Sites website by embedding third-party tools or widgets, linking to an external eCommerce platform, or using buttons that link to payment processors. For instance, you could use Google Forms for order forms and integrate PayPal or another payment service for transactions. To have a full-fledged eCommerce platform with Google Sites, you’d need to rely on these external integrations or services.

Webflow ecommerce features:

• Checkout and Payment Processing with Stripe, PayPal, etc.
• Marketing and Promotions
• Tax and Shipping calculations

Ecommerce themes & templates

Google Sites does not have any ecommerce templates. On the other hand, Webflow offers a diverse range of ecommerce themes and templates designed to cater to various types of online stores, from fashion and technology to artisan crafts and children’s products. Each template comes equipped with built-in ecommerce functionality, allowing you to easily add products and manage your store without the need for coding.

Product page customization

Google Sites lacks any product page customization features, as the products can be listed with embedding third-party platforms, all the customization can be done within the mentioned platforms. In contrast, Webflow offers extensive customization options for eCommerce product pages, allowing users to design and personalize their pages without coding. It provides tutorials for creating product pages from scratch, offers responsive templates for various devices, and allows users to add custom code and dynamic content using Webflow’s CMS for maximum customization flexibility.

Payment processing

You can integrate payment gateways into Google Sites using external tools or links, not through native features. This can be done by embedding HTML code for payment buttons from services like PayPal, Square, or Stripe, or by linking to an external checkout page. Third-party eCommerce widgets also offer a way to add payment functionalities. However, Google Sites doesn’t offer the comprehensive eCommerce capabilities that dedicated platforms provide.

Webflow provides a flexible and secure platform for payment processing and ecommerce through integrations with leading payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal. This allows users to accept a wide range of payments, including credit card transactions directly from their websites. Given the versatility of Stripe and PayPal, businesses can manage online sales efficiently, and these integrations likely support various transaction types, potentially including POS transactions for physical sales environments.

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Winner: Webflow

. With a score of 9.0, Webflow’s website builder editor is praised for its intuitive visual interface that simplifies the process of designing and editing responsive websites without requiring deep technical knowledge. It offers a perfect blend of ease of use for beginners and the flexibility for more advanced users, enabling significant cost savings by allowing users to customize and manage their sites without hiring professionals.

Google Sites, scoring 7.0, offers a user-friendly website builder editor that allows users to create and design websites without needing coding knowledge. With its drag-and-drop interface, users can easily add, customize, and arrange elements such as text, images, and videos on their web pages. However, users seeking more sophisticated design capabilities or specific functionalities might find Google Sites somewhat limiting.

Mobile editor/app

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Winner: Webflow

. Neither Google Sites nor Webflow offer an official mobile editor app. However, Webflow has a third-party app called EditFlow, created by a community member for Webflow users. This app, currently only available for iOS, allows users to edit their Webflow sites on mobile devices. On the other hand, Google Sites does not have any mobile editing capabilities.

Therefore, Webflow has a slight edge over Google Sites in terms of mobile editing capabilities.

Overall Result

:

Google Sites wins

. Google Sites scores 6.9, slightly higher than Webflow’s 6.3. Both platforms offer a free version, but Google Sites also provides a 14-day free trial, allowing users to test some premium features. Webflow, on the other hand, does not offer a trial version, and users can only test some basic features with the free plan. Neither platform offers a money-back guarantee.

Google Sites and Webflow offer a range of pricing plans suitable for different needs, from individuals to large enterprises.

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Winner: Webflow

Webflow offers managed hosting with a 99.99% uptime guarantee on their Enterprise plan, and leverages a globally distributed network of data centers from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Fastly. Google Sites, on the other hand, offers cloud-based managed hosting with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and operates 21 data centers globally. However, Google Sites only offers basic storage with 100MB free per site, which can be increased by upgrading to Google Workspace. Webflow’s hosting services are more comprehensive and reliable, earning it a higher rating.

🏆 Winner: Webflow

Both Google Sites and Webflow prioritize website performance and page speed, but Webflow outperforms Google Sites in this aspect with a higher Website Speed Optimization score.

Webflow’s approach to enhancing site speed includes custom cache settings, custom element lazy loading, automatic minification, responsive templates, and a content delivery network (CDN). Webflow websites have an average load time of below 2 seconds and an average PageSpeed score of 77.2/100. Webflow also focuses on improving components’ usability and the Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, and CLS).

Google Sites, on the other hand, uses automated optimization, a CDN, mobile optimization, browser caching, code minification, and AMP for speed optimization. However, Google does not disclose statistics about website Page Speed scores or load times. Like Webflow, Google Sites also emphasizes on improving the Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, and CLS).

🏆 Winner: Google Sites.

Google Sites scores 6.4, offering a wide array of plugins and extensions to enhance website functionality. It integrates with various services like Elfsight and Common Ninja, providing functionalities like social media feeds, review displays, chat support, e-commerce tools, and various interactive widgets. On the other hand, Webflow, with a score of 5.5, doesn’t have plugins or extensions in the traditional sense. Instead, it offers a built-in library of website elements and functionalities and integrates with a number of third-party services and tools. However, Google Sites’ extensive range of plugins and seamless integrations give it the upper hand.

Google Sites Applications

Webflow Applications

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Overall Winner: Webflow

. Webflow offers a more comprehensive set of marketing features, including email marketing, blogging, and advanced SEO tools. Google Sites, while offering basic SEO and social media integration, lacks in areas like email marketing and blogging.

🏆 Winner: Webflow

. In the comparison of Google Sites vs Webflow, Webflow takes the lead with a higher customer support score of 8.3. Webflow offers 24/7 support through live chat, email, and a community forum, ensuring users have access to assistance whenever needed. Additionally, Webflow provides extensive documentation and video tutorials, making it easier for users to navigate the platform and resolve issues independently.

Google Sites, with a customer support score of 7.2, primarily relies on self-service resources like a Help Center and community forums. Direct support, including phone, email, and live chat, is available to Google Workspace customers, with varying levels of support based on the subscription tier. While Google Sites offers 24/7 support for critical issues to eligible customers, free users have limited access to direct support, relying more on self-help resources.

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Winner: Google Sites

. Google Sites, part of the Google Workspace, offers robust security measures including SSL encryption, two-factor authentication, and automatic malware scanning. It also benefits from Google’s regular security updates and compliance with international data protection standards. Google’s infrastructure offers DDoS protection and data redundancy, ensuring a secure environment for website creators and visitors.

Webflow, while offering strong security measures such as SSL encryption, regular security audits, and two-factor authentication, does not match the comprehensive security features provided by Google Sites.

🏆 Winner: Webflow

. Although neither Google Sites nor Webflow currently have AI capabilities, Webflow has announced plans to introduce AI features in the future. These features are expected to improve the visual development learning journey, create and iterate designs faster with an AI copilot, and offer AI-customized templates for quicker website creation. On the other hand, Google Sites does not have any AI capabilities at present.

🏆 Winner: Webflow

. Both Google Sites and Webflow allow multiple users to collaborate on a website, but they differ in the number of users allowed and the roles and access levels they offer.

• Google Sites does not have a strict limit on the number of users who can edit a site and offers roles like Owners, who have full control, and Editors, who can modify content but not site settings.
• Webflow, on the other hand, limits the number of content editors based on the plan. Access levels include Designer for full access and Editor for content editing. Workspace roles like Admin, Designer, and Editor ensure collaboration and security through features like the Site Activity Log and role-based permissions.

Webflow User Roles and Access Levels:

Additional Features

User Feedback

Users consistently praise Google Workspace, particularly Google Sites, for its seamless integration, ease of use, and collaborative features, making it a go-to solution for various professional and educational needs. The platform’s simplicity and user-friendly interface are lauded, enabling effortless website creation and sharing of information within organizations. While some users desire more customization options and additional features, overall, Google Workspace remains highly valued for its versatility and streamlined workflow facilitation.

Webflow receives high praise for its user-friendly interface, eliminating the need for coding while offering extensive design flexibility. Users appreciate its scalability, cost-effectiveness, and seamless integration of essential features like forms and CMS. However, some users note a slight learning curve and occasional limitations, particularly in ecommerce functionalities and content management. Overall, Webflow proves to be a powerful tool for building and managing websites, offering robust features for both beginners and experienced developers, albeit with some room for improvement in certain areas like collaborative editing and content management.

FAQ