Bubble vs. Webflow: Which Platform Offers Better SEO Features for Your Business?

To provide a deeper understanding of how Bubble and Webflow compare in terms of SEO features, we conducted an experiment where we built the same website on both platforms. 

The objective of this experiment was to assess how each platform performs across a range of important metrics, from page speed to accessibility and SEO readiness. 

Throughout this article, we'll walk you through the details of our experiment, sharing the results and insights that can help you decide which platform is the best fit for your business needs. 

Stay with us as we dive into the performance differences and offer valuable takeaways for optimizing your website's SEO.

What Are Bubble and Webflow?

Bubble: The App-Focused Powerhouse

Bubble is a no-code platform designed to help users build complex web applications without traditional programming. It’s particularly suited for startups and enterprises looking to create SaaS platforms, MVPs, or internal tools. However, Bubble’s SEO capabilities are often questioned due to its app-centric nature.

Webflow: The Designer's Choice

Webflow, on the other hand, is a visual web design tool aimed at delivering pixel-perfect websites. Known for its flexibility, Webflow combines design with front-end development and comes with built-in SEO features that cater to content creators, designers, and marketers.

Core SEO Features: Bubble vs. Webflow

When assessing the SEO performance of any platform, there are a few key areas to evaluate: speed, structure, and tools for optimization.

1. Page Speed

Page speed is a critical ranking factor for search engines, as it directly affects user experience.

• Bubble:
  Bubble is primarily designed for web applications, which makes it slower compared to traditional static website builders. The dynamic nature of Bubble apps can lead to heavier pages, affecting load times. However, optimization is possible through techniques like image compression and avoiding unnecessary workflows.
  
  
• Webflow:
  Webflow excels in speed because it generates clean, semantic HTML and CSS. With features like automatic image optimization and CDN hosting powered by AWS and Fastly, Webflow websites load faster than most Bubble-built pages.
  
  

Verdict: Webflow wins in page speed.

2. URL Structure and Hierarchy

Search engines prefer clean and logical URL structures.

• Bubble:
  Bubble gives you control over custom URLs, but its default settings often result in less SEO-friendly URLs for multi-page apps (e.g., dynamic pages like example.com/version-test/page-name). To improve this, developers need to be meticulous about structuring their site.
  
  
• Webflow:
  Webflow allows complete customization of URL paths, making it easier to implement best practices for hierarchy and keyword-rich URLs.
  
  

Verdict: Webflow offers more intuitive control over URL structure.

3. Metadata Control

Metadata plays a huge role in how your content is indexed and displayed in search engines.

• Bubble:
  Bubble provides tools to edit titles, meta descriptions, and keywords for individual pages. However, this process can be cumbersome when scaling to larger sites with hundreds of pages.
  
  
• Webflow:
  Webflow makes metadata editing easy and integrates seamlessly with schema markup, helping search engines better understand your content. Its intuitive CMS also ensures that every blog post or landing page is optimized.
  
  

Verdict: Webflow takes the lead for metadata customization.

4. Mobile-Friendliness

With mobile-first indexing now the standard, having a mobile-friendly site is non-negotiable.

• Bubble:
  Bubble enables responsive design through its flexible page editor, but achieving perfect responsiveness can be tricky and requires extra time.
  
  
• Webflow:
  Webflow offers automated responsive designs out of the box, ensuring that your site looks flawless on all devices.
  
  

Verdict: Webflow delivers a more streamlined mobile experience.

5. Advanced SEO Features

Here’s how the platforms stack up when it comes to advanced features like schema markup, 301 redirects, and sitemaps:

• Bubble:
  Bubble lets you create sitemaps, add canonical tags, and implement redirects. While these features are helpful, Bubble lacks native support for schema markup, requiring manual configuration.
  
  
• Webflow:
  Webflow provides built-in tools for structured data, canonical tags, 301 redirects, and dynamic sitemaps. These features make it ideal for businesses relying heavily on technical SEO.
  
  

Verdict: Webflow edges out Bubble due to its advanced SEO capabilities.

Page Speed Insights: Bubble vs Webflow Comparison

Google's PageSpeed Insights evaluates websites across four key categories: Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and SEO. These categories are designed to help developers identify opportunities to optimize their sites and improve their rankings on Google. Let’s dive into each category and understand their significance.

After running identical websites built with Bubble and Webflow, we found that Webflow outperformed Bubble across all four key categories measured by PageSpeed Insights. 

Bubble scored a Performance rating of 50, Accessibility 84, Best Practices 74, and SEO 85—resulting in an Overall Score of 73 for Desktop.

Webflow significantly outperformed it with a Performance score of 88, Accessibility 91, Best Practices 100, and SEO 91, leading to an Overall Score of 93 for Desktop. 

The results for mobile favored Webflow even more. 

These results highlight Webflow's superior optimization, which can lead to faster loading times, improved user experience, and better rankings on Google. 

Although Bubble offers great flexibility for building complex applications, Webflow's focus on performance and adherence to best practices positions it as the better choice for those seeking faster load times and superior SEO performance.

Performance

This category measures how quickly your page loads and becomes usable. It includes metrics such as First Contentful Paint (FCP), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).

• Impact on Google Rankings:
  Website performance directly influences user experience, engagement, and bounce rates. Pages with poor performance scores often struggle to rank, as Google prioritizes fast-loading and user-friendly sites.
  
  
• How to Improve Performance:
  Optimize images, leverage browser caching, remove unused CSS/JavaScript, and use a content delivery network (CDN). Performance is also part of Google’s Core Web Vitals, which are key ranking factors.

Accessibility

This category evaluates how well your website is usable by individuals with disabilities, including features like text readability, keyboard navigation, and proper ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes.

• Impact on Google Rankings:
  While accessibility isn't a direct ranking factor, it improves user engagement and aligns with Google's broader focus on user experience. Accessible websites often outperform their competitors by catering to a wider audience.
  
  
• How to Improve Accessibility:
  Use proper HTML semantics, add descriptive alt text to images, ensure sufficient color contrast, and make all interactive elements keyboard-accessible.

Best Practices

This category assesses your site's adherence to modern development standards and security guidelines. It checks for issues like HTTPS implementation, use of outdated libraries, and safe resource loading.

• Impact on Google Rankings:
  Following best practices ensures that your site is secure, modern, and reliable. While not a direct ranking factor, failing in this category can lead to poor user trust and performance issues, indirectly impacting your rankings.
  
  
• How to Improve Best Practices:
  Always use HTTPS, keep dependencies updated, avoid deprecated APIs, and minimize security vulnerabilities like mixed content or improper resource usage.

SEO

This category focuses specifically on technical aspects that affect your website's visibility in search results, such as meta tags, descriptive link text, and proper use of headers.

• Impact on Google Rankings:
  SEO is the backbone of search engine visibility. Even if your content is great, technical issues like missing meta descriptions, improper indexing, or broken links can prevent Google from ranking your page effectively.
  
  
• How to Improve SEO:
  Use unique and descriptive meta tags, ensure mobile-friendliness, fix broken links, and implement structured data to help search engines better understand your content.

Why Page Speed Insights Categories Matter

Each category in PageSpeed Insights addresses critical components of website optimization. Together, they enhance your site’s usability, security, and performance—key elements that Google considers for ranking. 

Ensuring high scores in all four categories will not only improve your search visibility but also provide an exceptional experience for users. Here is an The Ultimate Guide to Core Web Vitals.

If you’re building your website on a no-code platform like Bubble and need help optimizing it for performance and rankings, Big House is here to guide you. Check out our portfolio to see how we’ve helped clients succeed.

SEO Speed Performance: Bubble vs Webflow Comparison

Website speed is a critical factor for SEO and user experience. Google’s PageSpeed Insights evaluates your site's performance based on key metrics that impact rankings and usability. Below is an explanation of these metrics and how they influence your SEO success.

In the exercise where we ran two identical websites built with Bubble and Webflow to compare their performance across five key performance subcategories. Bubble scored as follows: First Contentful Paint at 7.3 seconds, Total Blocking Time at 1,360 ms, Speed Index at 8.1 seconds, Largest Contentful Paint at 9.9 seconds, and Cumulative Layout Shift of 0, resulting in an overall performance score of 32. 

In contrast, Webflow significantly outperformed Bubble, with First Contentful Paint at 3.3 seconds, Total Blocking Time at 0 ms, Speed Index at 3.3 seconds, Largest Contentful Paint at 3.9 seconds, and Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.098, achieving an overall performance score of 78. 

These results emphasize Webflow's superior optimization for faster load times, improved user interaction, and better performance metrics overall, which can contribute directly to a stronger SEO ranking.

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First Contentful Paint (FCP)

The First Contentful Paint measures the time it takes for the first visible element of your website (text, image, or canvas) to render.

• Impact on SEO:
  Faster FCP improves user satisfaction, reduces bounce rates, and signals Google that your site loads quickly, which can improve rankings. Slow FCP times, on the other hand, frustrate users and harm your site's performance in search results.
• Optimization Tip:
  Minimize render-blocking resources like JavaScript and optimize server response times to improve FCP.

Total Blocking Time (TBT)

The Total Blocking Time measures the time between FCP and when the site becomes fully interactive. It identifies delays caused by JavaScript execution or long tasks blocking user interaction.

• Impact on SEO:
  High TBT harms usability, especially for interactive websites, and indirectly impacts search rankings due to poor user engagement.
• Optimization Tip:
  Reduce JavaScript execution times, remove unused third-party scripts, and defer non-critical JavaScript to improve interactivity.

Speed Index (SI)

The Speed Index measures how quickly the visible content is displayed during page load. It’s expressed as a score based on rendering progress.

• Impact on SEO:
  A better Speed Index improves perceived performance and ensures users stay engaged, leading to lower bounce rates and improved rankings. Poor scores can harm mobile SEO, where speed is especially critical.
• Optimization Tip:
  Optimize critical CSS, implement lazy loading for images, and use content delivery networks (CDNs) to improve your Speed Index.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

The Largest Contentful Paint measures the time it takes for the largest visible element (like a hero image or large block of text) to load and be fully visible.

• Impact on SEO:
  LCP is one of Google’s Core Web Vitals and directly impacts search rankings. A poor LCP score indicates a slow-loading page, harming your site's visibility and user satisfaction.
• Optimization Tip:
  Compress images, preload critical resources, and prioritize above-the-fold content to improve LCP times.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

The Cumulative Layout Shift measures the visual stability of a website during loading. It tracks how often elements on the page shift unexpectedly.

• Impact on SEO:
  High CLS scores frustrate users, especially on mobile, and signal poor user experience to Google. Stable layouts improve rankings and usability.
• Optimization Tip:
  Set dimensions for media (images, videos) and reserve space for dynamic content like ads to prevent unexpected shifts.

Why These Metrics Matter for SEO

These metrics collectively reflect your website’s usability and loading speed, which are key ranking factors for Google. Optimizing them ensures better performance, higher search visibility, and a better user experience, all of which contribute to business growth.

By focusing on these metrics, tools like Bubble can help you create responsive, fast-loading apps. If you need assistance with optimizing your Bubble site for performance, Big House is here to help! Reach out to bring your ideas to life.

Use Cases: When to Choose Bubble vs. Webflow

When Bubble Is the Right Choice

Bubble is a great option for businesses that prioritize functionality over content. For instance:

• If you're building a SaaS platform or a complex internal tool, Bubble's robust backend capabilities can be invaluable.
• Example: Check out this healthtech project we developed for a client that needed a custom SaaS platform.

When Webflow Is the Right Choice

Webflow shines when your goal is to rank high on Google with a beautifully designed, content-driven website. It’s perfect for:

• E-commerce stores
• Marketing websites
• Portfolios showcasing your work (like ours here)

Real-Life SEO Performance: Bubble vs. Webflow

While Bubble and Webflow each have their strengths, SEO performance in real-world applications often boils down to your ability to optimize.

• For a comparison of SEO features in action, check out our detailed guide on choosing the right no-code platform.
• To learn how we approach building SEO-friendly apps, visit our methodology page.

Key Takeaways

• Bubble: Best for app functionality and complex workflows, but SEO can require extra effort.
• Webflow: Superior for page speed, mobile-friendliness, and overall SEO capabilities.

Ready to build your SEO-friendly app or website? Reach out to Big House today, and let’s turn your ideas into reality.

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