Table of Contents
- Who This Guide Is For
- Why Migrate: Joomla vs. Webflow
- Limitations of Joomla
- Strengths of Webflow
- Cost of Ownership Comparison
- Important Insights on Cost and Maintenance
- Pre-Migration Checklist
- Joomla to Webflow Migration Process (Step-by-Step)
- Why Choose Us for Your Migration
Recently, we assisted a mid-sized consulting firm that was frustrated with their Joomla website. They had invested significantly in maintaining their site, dealing with plugin updates, template conflicts, and a complex backend that required developers for even minor changes. Basic content updates could take days.
This issue is common. Many businesses are moving away from legacy CMS platforms like Joomla, primarily due to the need for greater control. Teams are seeking more flexibility, quicker updates, and a clean design system without the need for coding.
Webflow provides an excellent solution, offering:
- An intuitive user experience suitable for non-technical users
- Visual development tools that merge design and responsiveness
- No dependency on plugins, with built-in features for animations and forms
- Cleaner code and faster page speeds
Who This Guide Is For
This guide is tailored for:
- Small to Medium Businesses (SMBs) looking to simplify web management and reduce technical burdens.
- Marketing and Creative Agencies wanting more control over design and faster project timelines.
- Content-Heavy Websites such as news sites, educational platforms, or knowledge bases needing structured CMS management without unnecessary complexity.
- Business Owners frustrated with Joomla’s intricacies or plugin issues, seeking a clean and scalable solution.
This guide will help you transition to a platform that grants you complete creative control with minimal hassle.
Why Migrate: Joomla vs. Webflow
While Joomla has been a reliable platform for many, evolving digital expectations highlight its shortcomings. Here’s a comparison illustrating why businesses are shifting from Joomla to Webflow:
| Feature | Joomla | Webflow |
| Ease of Use | Requires developer assistance, complex backend | User-friendly visual editor |
| Design Flexibility | Template-based, limited control | Full design freedom with precise control |
| Maintenance | Frequent plugin updates and security patches | Minimal maintenance, no plugins needed |
| Performance | Heavier code, slower loading times | Optimised code for speed |
| Responsive Design | Requires manual adjustments | Automatic responsiveness on all devices |
| Hosting & Deployment | External hosting needed | Built-in fast, secure hosting |
| SEO Control | Needs extensions, manual setup | Built-in SEO features easily adjustable |
If you’re weary of managing cumbersome dashboards and constant updates, Webflow presents a more streamlined way to handle your online presence.
Limitations of Joomla
Despite its popularity, Joomla increasingly shows its age, creating friction for teams seeking flexibility. Here are the primary limitations:
- Plugin Dependency: Many custom features rely on third-party plugins that frequently conflict and require updates.
- Complex Backend: The admin interface can be unintuitive for non-technical users.
- Slower Development Cycles: Small changes often necessitate developer assistance, leading to delays.
- Design Limitations: Customising layouts can be more tedious compared to modern visual builders.
- Security Risks: Frequent vulnerabilities in plugins increase maintenance and security concerns.
Strengths of Webflow
Webflow addresses many of Joomla’s challenges with its powerful visual builder, allowing designers and marketers to create custom, responsive websites without coding. This speeds up development and empowers non-technical users to make direct updates. Webflow’s clean code enhances performance and simplifies maintenance, while built-in SEO tools make it easier to optimise content.
Key advantages include:
- Visual Builder: Drag-and-drop design tools with complete layout control.
- Clean Code Output: Generates lightweight, standards-compliant code for speed and ease of maintenance.
- SEO-Friendly: Built-in features for managing meta titles, descriptions, and sitemaps.
- Responsive Design: Automatically adapts to all screen sizes.
- No Plugin Issues: Most features are native, reducing security risks.
Cost of Ownership Comparison
When comparing Joomla and Webflow, consider the total cost of ownership, which includes maintenance, hosting, and development resources:
| Cost Component | Joomla (Annual Cost) | Webflow (Annual Cost) |
| Hosting | $200–$500 | $300–$500 |
| Maintenance | $1,200–$3,000 | $0–$500 |
| Development Resources | $3,000–$6,000 | $1,000–$2,000 |
| Theme Development | $10,000+ | ~$5,000 |
| Total Estimated Cost | $15,000+ | $6,300–$8,000 |
Important Insights on Cost and Maintenance
- Joomla’s plugin dependency can lead to unexpected costs due to fixing conflicts or upgrading outdated code.
- Theme development on Joomla can be costly due to its rigid structure and need for ongoing customisation.
- Webflow’s visual builder significantly reduces theme development time, allowing quicker launches.
- With Webflow, automatic updates reduce maintenance overhead, making long-term costs more manageable.
Pre-Migration Checklist
This checklist outlines essential steps to audit, back up, and prepare your Joomla site before migrating to Webflow, ensuring a smooth process.
1. Audit Your Joomla Site
Review your current site to account for all content, extensions, and SEO elements:
- Inventory all pages and content types
- List custom modules and their functionalities
- Crawl the site to export all URLs and SEO metadata
2. Backup Joomla Website
Create a complete backup of your site to safeguard against potential issues:
- Backup all files and the database
- Export all articles and media assets
3. Define Migration Goals and Scope
Clarify what needs to be transferred and what can be improved:
- Decide what to migrate, improve, or discard
- Confirm the new design direction and project timeline
4. Prepare Content for Webflow
Organise your content for compatibility with Webflow:
- Edit outdated or broken content
- Group content logically for Webflow CMS Collections
- Resize and compress images for faster loading
5. Plan SEO and URL Strategy
Preserve search rankings with planned redirects and optimised SEO fields:
- Create a URL map from Joomla to Webflow
- Prepare 301 redirects
- Ready your SEO titles and descriptions for import
6. Set Up Webflow Project
Establish a well-structured Webflow project:
- Create a Webflow account and new project
- Build your style guide and CMS Collections
- Design responsive templates for key pages
7. Test Content Import
Conduct a trial import to identify any issues:
- Import a small batch of content
- Check layout, SEO metadata, and structure
8. Migrate Media Assets
Transfer your media library efficiently:
- Upload all images and videos to Webflow
- Ensure all files are properly compressed
9. Set Up SEO and Analytics Tools
Maintain visibility and tracking by configuring analytics:
- Add meta tags and alt text across the site
- Integrate Google Analytics and Search Console
10. Plan Launch and Post-Migration Tasks
Ensure a smooth launch and monitor for post-launch issues:
- Schedule launch and notify stakeholders
- Thoroughly test the staging site
- Set up redirects and monitor analytics post-launch
Joomla to Webflow Migration Process (Step-by-Step)
Follow the steps outlined below for a successful migration from Joomla to Webflow:
1. Set Up Webflow Environment
Create a new project in Webflow as the foundation for your new website:
- Create a fresh Webflow project
- Define your global styles, brand colours, typography, and spacing
- Review existing Joomla content types
- Set up corresponding CMS Collections in Webflow
- Ensure the structure aligns with your Joomla setup
2. Export Joomla Content
Carefully export all content from Joomla:
- Use a reliable backup tool to create a complete backup of your website
- Export menus and navigation structures separately
- Download all media files and SEO metadata
- Organise exported files clearly for easy import into Webflow
3. Clean and Format Content
Review and prepare your content before importing:
- Remove duplicates or outdated content
- Fix formatting issues for compatibility with Webflow
- Standardise the structure for easy mapping into Webflow’s CMS
- Optimise media files for web performance
- Verify SEO metadata
4. Import Content to Webflow
Bring your content into Webflow’s CMS:
- Prepare your import files (CSV or JSON) matching Webflow’s CMS structure
- Upload the content files using Webflow’s built-in import tool
- Map each field to ensure correct correspondence
- Check relationships and validate imported content
5. Rebuild Site Structure and Navigation
Reconstruct your site’s structure:
- Recreate menus and establish page hierarchies
- Configure internal links
- Use Webflow’s CMS to dynamically generate navigation elements
- Test all navigation paths
6. Design, Customise Pages, and Optimise Media Assets
Create visually appealing, responsive pages:
- Use Webflow’s visual builder for static and dynamic templates
- Ensure responsiveness across all devices
- Upload and optimise media assets
- Add alt text and SEO-friendly file names
- Test media loading and responsiveness
7. Migrate and Optimise Media Assets
After exporting media assets from Joomla:
- Upload all media into Webflow’s Asset Manager
- Compress media for faster load times
- Set proper dimensions and enable lazy loading
- Add SEO-friendly file names and alt text
- Test all media for loading speed
8. Set Up SEO Elements
- Configure unique meta titles and descriptions for each page
- Add descriptive alt text to images
- Use clean, keyword-rich URL slugs
- Set up 301 redirects to maintain search rankings
- Adjust SEO settings in Webflow
- Test SEO performance
9. Test & Launch
- Review all pages for layout accuracy and broken links
- Test forms and interactive elements across devices
- Verify SEO elements are configured correctly
- Ensure all redirects are functioning
- Switch DNS settings to point to the new site
- Monitor site performance after launch
Why Choose Us for Your Migration
Choosing us for your Joomla to Webflow migration ensures a smooth, reliable transition. We carefully transfer your content, design, and structure without data loss or disruption. Our Webflow builds are responsive, optimised for search engines, and scalable.
From planning to launch, we handle every step, providing ongoing support for updates and improvements, allowing you to focus on your business.
