Webflow updates its plans: Explanations and Reviews

Yesterday, Webflow updated its various subscriptions (plans), introducing flexible plans with new add-on purchase options as well as updates on the limitations of certain features such as CMS elements, static pages and bandwidth.

Naturally, the subject has caused quite a stir on X (formerly Twitter). Let's decipher the major changes in this update.

1. Summary of updates to site plan boundaries :

Firstly, in preparation for this update, Webflow has integrated new features across all plans:

1.1 New features :

• Summary dashboard for better visibility of site consumption
• No more limits on the number of site visitors
• Custom code limit increased to 50,000 characters for all paid plans
• HSTS security on all sites
• Convert CMS images to WebP files to reduce bandwidth

Then more targeted MaJs on CMS and Bandwidth.

1.2 Plan boundary updates Site :

1.2.1 Starter plan :

• Fields per collection: 60 (instead of 30)
• References per collection: 10 (instead of 5)

1.2.2 Plan Basic :

• Bandwidth limit: 10GB (instead of 50GB)

1.2.3 CMS plan :

• Fields per collection: 60 (instead of 30)
• References per collection: 10 (instead of 5)
• Bandwidth limit: 50GB (instead of 200GB)

1.2.4 Business plan :

• Static page limit: 300 (instead of 150)
• Bandwidth limit: 100GB (instead of 400GB)
• New add-ons to increase bandwidth and CMS elements :
  • Bandwidth add-ons (+50GB to +400GB)
  • CMS element add-ons (+5k and +10k)

To better understand these changes, here are a few key definitions:

The CMS: The CMS (Content Management System) is a back-office that lets you manage and edit your site's data directly from the tool. It facilitates content updating without the need for programming skills.

Bandwidth: Bandwidth refers to the amount of data transferred between your website and its visitors. This includes all resources such as images, videos, HTML, CSS and JavaScript files. Effective bandwidth management is essential to optimize site performance and avoid the additional costs associated with exceeding bandwidth limits.

2. The pluses and minuses of this update

2.1 The benefits of this update

This update offers two major advantages.

• Increased limits: Many limits have been increased (as mentioned above) while maintaining the same rates.
• Greater flexibility: It is now possible to increase the CMS element limit via an à la carte module. This flexible option meets a real market need for sites requiring more elements without having to subscribe to a Webflow Enterprise plan.

2.2 Minuses

The main drawback of this upgrade is the reduction in bandwidth. This calls for increased technical vigilance during site development and evolution, in order to stay below the 100GB limit. For "big" sites, it will probably be necessary to subscribe to add-ons to increase bandwidth sooner or later.

Note: At Digidop, with a site of over 2,000 pages and more than a million visitors a year, our site consumes "only" 60% of the bandwidth limit. Well optimized, it's still manageable.

3. How to overcome the bandwidth limit (Bandwidht)?

Reminder: Bandwidth refers to the amount of data transferred between your website and its visitors. This includes all resources such as images, videos, HTML, CSS and JavaScript files. Effective bandwidth management is essential to optimize site performance and avoid the additional costs associated with exceeding bandwidth limits.

If you exceed this limit, here are three options to remedy the situation:

Option 1: Subscribe to more bandwidth via a la carte purchase

Webflow offers the possibility of adding bandwidth according to your needs, thanks to flexible add-ons. You can adapt your business plan via the flexible plan offer. Here are the different options for adding bandwidth:

Option 2 [To be preferred]: Optimize the bandwidth of your Webflow site

Use the Site Usage interface to monitor and optimize your Webflow site's bandwidth consumption.

→ Find out in this comprehensive guide how to optimize your Webflow site's bandwidth.

Option 3: Support for a customized Enterprise plan

If you want or need to increase the bandwidth of your Webflow site to more than 500GB, you'll need to subscribe to a customized Webflow offer via the Enterprise plan.

4. My opinion on the update

I personally believe that Webflow has found the right balance to enable sites to develop at an affordable price, without necessarily pushing users towards the Enterprise plan.
Reduced bandwidth is certainly an inconvenience, but it encourages good development practices and enhances the value of well-optimized sites on Webflow, highlighting the work of good developers.

"Bad developers cost more and more."