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HLabs uncovers why using Webflow’s CMS is a smart SEO move
The great challenge of SEO: it’s human kind’s greatest mystery for most of us. The lucky few who have actually conquered it are probably the masters of the universe, right?
We’re all in the stressful race to the top of search engine results, which is why SEO capabilities are so important when it comes to choosing a website platform.
Here at HLabs, we love Webflow for many reasons, but its incredible CMS is high up on our list because it will give you the best start when it comes to SEO.
Join us as we explore everything you need to know about Webflow’s CMS and SEO, as well as some of our top tips for making the most out of the tools available.
7 reasons why HLabs loves the powerful SEO capabilities of Webflow’s CMS
It generates clean code
By default, Webflow generates clean HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. This clean, semantic code means the code behind your site will be beautifully organised and properly formatted.
Why is that relevant? Because search engines love clean code. It’s much easier for Google to understand and index pages with clean code, and it also helps accurately interpret the content. That means it will be easier for search engines to rank your site and show it to its intended audience.
Bonus benefit: properly formatted CSS and JavaScript contribute to faster loading times which will positively impact your SEO rankings.
You can control your sitemap
When you create your website, Webflow will automatically generate a sitemap.xml file. This file contains a list of all the pages on your site, along with lots of metadata. Now, this is quite standard among website builders, but Webflow has a neat trick up its sleeve:
Whenever you publish or unpublish a page, Webflow dynamically updates the sitemap.xml file to reflect these changes. This means that search engines always have the latest information about your website's structure and content, without you having to manually submit anything like you would with other website builders.
Webflow also automatically adds canonical tags to each page, specifying the preferred URL for indexing. This helps prevent duplicate content issues and ensures that search engines attribute the correct SEO value to each page.
You can customise so much (and especially your site’s metadata)
A web page’s metadata is super important for informing search engines and users about the content of a webpage. It’s something simple you can do to improve your performance in search results.
In fact, tailoring metadata for each page will make it a lot easier for search engines to understand and index the content, contributing to higher search engine rankings and increased visibility in search results, driving organic traffic to your site.
And the great thing is, Webflow’s CMS interface has a really smooth process for customising meta titles, descriptions, and other SEO-related elements for each page of your site. You’ll also be able to customise the slug (the part of the URL that comes after the domain) for each page. Webflow also makes it easy to customise proper header tags (H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6) which is very useful for SEO.
But our favourite customisation feature with Webflow is that you can build your CMS according to your design and not the other way around. For example, here at HLabs, we create custom-built story templates for clients and then adapt the CMS to fit the design. This hugely helps in converting intricate designs (which we’re able to create using tools like the Figma to Webflow plugin) into functional websites which are easy to maintain.
You can add structured data
Structured data provides additional context and information about your content to search engines, helping them better understand the meaning and relevance of your pages.
In turn, this enhances your chances of appearing in rich snippets, knowledge panels and other special search result features. These often attract more attention from users, which can get you more clicks.
Adding structured data can be quite complicated with some website builders out there, but Webflow does an excellent job of simplifying the process, even if you have limited technical knowledge.
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It has impressive loading speeds
Fast loading speed is a critical factor in search engine ranking algorithms – they will inevitably prioritise websites that load quickly, simply because they provide a better experience for users. That’s why quick-loading websites are more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) compared to slower-loading sites.
Webflow's optimised hosting infrastructure, coupled with its efficient code generation contribute to lightning fast loading times without you even having to move a finger. That’s a huge win in our book!
It has built-in SSL encryption
Webflow automatically provides SSL encryption for all websites hosted on its platform – there’s no need for you to purchase and configure SSL certificates separately. This SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption ensures that data transmitted between the user's browser and the website server is encrypted and secure.
It comes to no surprise that search engines prioritise secure websites in search results because they are safer for users. That’s why having SSL encryption implemented on your website will positively impact your SEO rankings.
You can easily set up 301 redirects
You might think we’ve gone too deep down the SEO rabbit hole, but this one’s an unsung search engine hero: the 301 redirect.
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that informs search engines that a page has been moved to a new location. When you change URLs or move content on your website, implementing 301 redirects is crucial for maintaining the SEO value you’ve built and preserving the authority of the original page.
If you skip the 301 redirect, you’re essentially leaving your users at a dead end. Properly implemented 301 redirects mean that users and search engines are automatically directed to the new URL, minimising disruptions and preserving the user experience. It will also transfer the backlinks and search engine rankings from the old URL to the next one.
Webflow's CMS interface makes it easy to set up and manage 301 redirects. When you change any published URL in the designer mode, you’ll get a prompt that gives you the option to create a permanent redirect by clicking a button.
Enhanceyour online presence and driving more traffic to your site with the help of our Webflow & SEO experts.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
What’s a Rich Text element?
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
Static and dynamic content editing
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
How to customize formatting for each rich text
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
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