Refract Group2026
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Which platform should you build on?
Side-by-side comparisons of the platforms we design and build on: speed, content, design freedom, upkeep, and who runs the site after launch.
Trusted by teams from pre-seed to the S&P 100
8 comparisons
- Framer vs WebflowFramer if a design-led team wants to launch fast and keep shipping pages. Webflow if a marketing team will run a large, structured site.
- Webflow vs WordPressWebflow if a marketing team wants a fast, tidy site without plugins. WordPress if an editorial team already lives in it, or needs its ecosystem.
- Webflow vs Custom codeWebflow if marketing needs to change the site without a developer. Custom code if the site has to share parts or logins with your product, or do what no builder can.
- Framer vs Custom codeFramer for a fast, polished launch site that designers can run. Custom code when the site has to behave like part of the product.
- WordPress vs Custom codeWordPress if editors publish every day and depend on its ecosystem. Custom code if speed, security and a product-like site matter more than plugins.
- Framer vs WordPressFramer for a fast, design-led site your marketing team edits itself. WordPress for an editorial site that publishes daily or relies on plugins.
- Webflow vs ShopifyWebflow for a marketing site with a few things to sell. Shopify when the store is the business, with inventory, checkout and fulfilment at its heart.
- Shopify vs Custom codeShopify for a store that runs on its own. Custom code, often on top of Shopify, when the shopping experience has to do something a theme cannot.
Which platform fits which team
The short version of every comparison above, read from who runs the site day to day.
FramerA design-led startup shipping launches and landing pages, fast.Complex content structures and app-like features outgrow it.vs Webflowvs Custom code
WebflowA marketing team running a growing site, with structured content and many pages.More to learn, and the CMS has limits on very large or relational content.vs Framervs WordPress
WordPressAn editorial team publishing every day, already living in wp-admin.Plugins pile up; speed and security need looking after.vs Webflowvs Custom code
ShopifyA brand selling physical products online.Built around a store; the rest of the site bends to fit it.vs Webflowvs Custom code
Custom codeA site that shares parts or logins with your product, or must do something no builder can.Editing needs a CMS set up for your team, or a developer.vs Webflowvs FramerRefract, or another way to get it made
How we compare with the other ways founders get a site built, including when they’re the better pick.
They’re the better pick for one isolated task with a clear brief and a tight budget.
We’re the better pick for brand, product and site that have to move together, with a team that already works as one.
Guides
Longer reads for the decision, from our blog.
From decision to launch
Once you know what to build on, the people who’d design it are the people who’d build it.
- WebMarketing sites designed and built on the platform that suits the team that runs them.
- EngineeringCustom builds, integrations and the parts of a site that share code with your product.
- Product designFlows and interfaces for the app-like parts of a site, tested before they’re built.
- SEO / GEOMoving platforms without losing what you rank for, and being found by AI search after.
Morse Micro
Website design and restructure for a semiconductor company.
“Love your work Team Refract. From the very first connection, you guys have been sparky and contemporary in your approach. I feel we're nicely walking that tightrope of pragmatism and creative cut through. Most of all...it's fun! THANK YOU for the journey travelled so far!”
AndyVP Marketing, Morse MicroTell us what you’re building.
Tell us who will run the site and what it has to do. We’ll recommend a platform, even if it’s one we don’t build on.
Most teams start with a call. Some start with a fixed-price sprint.
The people you’d work with, from the first call to launch