What limitations does Webflow have in terms of design, CMS, e-commerce, hosting, and the template store?

Webflow is a powerful no-code platform, but it has some limitations across design, CMS, e-commerce, hosting, and its template store that users should be aware of.

1. Design Limitations

• No multi-language/native localization support: Webflow doesn't offer built-in localization; third-party tools like Weglot or custom setups are required.
• Limited dynamic filtering and sorting natively: Advanced filters (e.g., filtering multiple CMS collections together or adding logic-based filters) require custom code or paid plugins like Jetboost.
• No reusable components database: While components can be saved as symbols (now called Components), updating one doesn't automatically update style/content globally unless manually managed.
• No CSS mixins or custom vars via GUI: Advanced CSS features like mixins or global variables must be coded manually.

2. CMS Limitations

• Collection item limit: CMS has a cap of 10,000 items per project (as of 2024). Higher-volume projects may hit this quickly.
• Reference and multi-reference field limits: Only up to 5 reference fields and 5 multi-reference fields per collection.
• Limited nesting: Only up to 5 levels of nested CMS collections using collection lists, and only 1 nested collection list per parent.
• No native versioning or collaboration on CMS content: Users can’t track changes or restore past versions of individual CMS items.

3. E-commerce Limitations

• Max 3,000 products: Webflow supports only up to 3,000 products, inclusive of product variants.
• Basic checkout/payment customization: Checkout overlays and flows are difficult to customize without custom code.
• Limited payment gateways: Only Stripe and PayPal are supported natively; others require third-party integrations or workarounds.
• No customer portal/dashboard: There’s no built-in customer account management frontend for repeat customers.

4. Hosting Limitations

• No server-side functionality: Webflow doesn't support back-end logic like server scripts (e.g., PHP, Node.js).
• No direct database access: You can't query or edit your CMS via SQL or use it like a traditional database.
• Custom domains only via CNAME/A records: Limited control over DNS beyond basic A records (75.2.70.75 and 99.83.190.102 for root domains) and subdomain CNAMEs.

5. Template Store Limitations

• One-time purchase, no subscriptions or updates: Templates are not updated or maintained with changelogs like traditional themes in other platforms.
• Limited filtering and no live previews: The template store lacks robust filters (e.g., filters for feature sets, CMS vs. static, mobile focus) and does not offer full site interactivity in preview.
• No freeform component library per template: Purchasing a template doesn’t grant you access to a reusable component library or Figma source (unless separately offered by the designer).

Summary

Webflow offers a strong no-code solution for designers and developers, but limitations in CMS scaling, e-commerce flexibility, hosting backend, and template extensibility can be hurdles for advanced use cases. For complex applications, integrating external tools or considering hybrid setups may be necessary.