3D Product Renders or studio photography?

Webflow: Scalable, Flexible, and Fully Managed

Webflow is a powerful platform for businesses looking for a fast, scalable, and cost-efficient solution. It’s a no-code tool, which means – in theory – you don’t need a developer on hand to make day-to-day updates or build new pages once it's been built. Webflow also provides everything in one place – hosting, security, and performance monitoring – with built-in features like automatic updates, SSL certificates, and backups, making it an excellent and secure all-in-one solution. Its fully managed hosting also removes the stress of maintaining third-party tools, and the need for ongoing maintenance fees.

One of the most powerful things we love is that sites built on Webflow can be easily created as component-based systems, where every element – from hero sections to calls-to-action – is modular. This means once your website is built, your marketing team can easily create new pages or adapt existing ones by dragging and dropping pre-built components, all without needing further technical input. This can of course be done in WordPress too, however as with most WordPress features, you'd need to use a third-party plugin.

Setting up a CMS for multiple types of posts in Webflow is incredibly straight-forward too – unlike WordPress where a new post type requires development, Webflow allows you to add new types of posts, and build post templates with minimal hassle, as and when they're needed. What's more, even without a dedicated CMS, all static content can be edited by content managers via a front-end editor, without the need to dive into a backend CMS. And if you to lock it down further, you can choose to remove editing ability only for specific content. What's not to love?

For all these reasons and more, for marketing teams looking for simplicity, scalability, and independence, Webflow is our go-to platform.

All static content can be edited by content managers via a front-end editor, without the need to dive into a backend CMS

WordPress: Tailored Solutions for Complex Needs

For larger organisations with unique requirements or complex technical needs, WordPress is often the better choice. With a huge amount of plugins, themes, and integrations available, WordPress can be tailored to deliver advanced workflows, complex e-commerce platforms, or custom features that aren’t as easily achieved in Webflow. One of the main reasons larger companies opt for WordPress is that it requires separate hosting – something that allows for more choice and control. This is a positive for many, however, for others, the ongoing maintenance and upkeep required are also some of the biggest pains.

As with Webflow, WordPress can also be built with a modular approach, so new pages can be created using a drag and drop system of components. We use Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) for this to ensure our clients' internal teams can manage their content efficiently and scale their sites with ease, post-launch.

However, it's worth considering WordPress isn't an all-in-one package, and does come with more moving – particularly third-party – parts. All these things make it a significantly larger beast. And while hosting, security, and functionality often rely on third-party platforms and plugins, WordPress sites need regular updates and careful management to avoid vulnerabilities. Many of these things add a great deal of flexibility, however they also introduce a requirement for far more oversight and ongoing maintenance to ensure everything continues to work seamlessly.

All this considered though, WordPress is still ideal for businesses with complex integration requirements, or custom technical workflows, provided there’s a plan in place to manage the additional overhead.

One of the most important questions we ask when designing a brand is "who will be managing the brand once you have it"? It's not a case of having some fonts and colours and cracking on with it. Brands need conscious and deliberate management. But we’ve likely all been there – when you’ve been working with the same brand for a while, things can start to feel… samey (especially if you're a designer). It’s tempting to want to introduce new approaches. However, branding is a long game, and familiarity breeds recognition – not contempt! Introducing new visuals here and there may seem like small changes, but without proper consideration, over time they can amount to a slow erosion.

Know yourself, and make a promise

The way a person looks, talks and moves, as well as where they're found, all contribute to how recognisable they are. The more familiar you are with someone – especially if the location is expected too – the less work they need to do to gain your trust next time. And over time, who that person is becomes pre-emptively understood by the room. People who have a real sense of self are the people who stand out. Branding is no different. This isn't about never changing, or doing the same things over and over again, but about how you choose to use familiarity, expectation, and persistence as currencies over long periods of time. Branding is a promise.

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When was the last time you really stopped and audited everything from the past few weeks, months, or year – where you were, and where you are now?

Keep an eye on the past

Marketing departments are often in a constant forward motion. As they should be. But when was the last time you really stopped and audited everything from the past few weeks, months, or year – where you were, and where you are now? Software like Miro or Figma are great places to start for visual consistency. Get as much work as you can up there – jpeg, PDFs videos. Is it consistent? Be brutal.

For most brands, it's likely there's far more meandering than you'd expect.

This is about stopping and slowing down. Next time you're reviewing work, get as much previous assets in front of you for review as possible. Put them on something like Miro for minimal effort. So when new ideas are being introduced, they're judged in the context of a brand that's already out there. Does it feel like a natural extension, or a completely separate expression? Do elements of it already exist in earlier work, that are now being reinvented or undermined, instead of reused? If this sounds pedantic – that's because it should be. Lean into what you have, or lean into change. But be deliberate.

The long of it

In the end, codifying your brand isn’t just about sticking to a set of rules. It’s about ensuring your identity remains consistent and recognisable, and isn't incrementally shifting without real intention. By playing the long game, resisting the urge to change too quickly, and sticking to your brand’s core values, you're ultimately helping build long-lasting trust with its audience. And with all this said – if you're still struggling to build on what you have, it may be worth considering if a larger brand exercise is needed.