Webflow SEO Checklist: Optimize Your Designer Site for Rankings

✓ 1. Enable Webflow Hosting SEO Features

Location: Project Settings → SEO Tab

Required settings:

• ✓ Auto-generate sitemap: ENABLED
• ✓ Indexing: Set to "Index pages" (not "Do not index")
• ✓ SSL certificate: ENABLED and forced
• ✓ 301 redirects: Configured for all URL changes

Warning: Webflow limits you to 10,000 static redirects. If migrating a large site, you will hit this limit--plan accordingly.

✓ 2. Configure Custom Domain Correctly

Critical: Webflow creates www and non-www versions--Google sees these as duplicate sites.

Fix: Choose ONE canonical version (usually www) and set up 301 redirects from the other.

Test: Visit both yoursite.com and www.yoursite.com--both should redirect to your chosen version.

✓ 3. Set Up Google Search Console

Webflow makes this easy: Project Settings → Integrations → Add site verification meta tag.

Submit both versions:

• https://yoursite.com
• https://www.yoursite.com

Then: Set your preferred domain and submit your sitemap (yoursite.com/sitemap.xml).

✓ 4. Optimize Webflow CMS Collection Settings

Major issue: CMS collections can create indexation nightmares if misconfigured.

For each CMS collection:

• Set proper URL slugs (Collection Settings → URL structure)
• Configure meta titles and descriptions dynamically using CMS fields
• Add canonical tags if collections appear on multiple pages
• Use noindex on filter/sort variations to avoid duplicate content

Pro tip: Create SEO-specific fields in your CMS (meta_title, meta_description, og_image) for full control.

✓ 5. Fix Webflow Default Robots.txt

Problem: Webflow auto-generates robots.txt, but it is not always optimal.

Check: Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt and verify it does not block important pages.

Common fix needed: If using CMS filters or search, you may need custom robots.txt rules to prevent duplicate content indexing.

Limitation: Webflow does not allow custom robots.txt files directly--you must use meta robots tags or request Webflow support for specific disallows.

✓ 6. Configure Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Webflow limitation: No built-in schema generator--you must add it manually.

How to add schema: Custom Code → Page Settings → Before </body> tag → Insert JSON-LD schema.

Essential schema types for Webflow:

• Organization schema (home page)
• WebPage/BlogPosting schema (content pages)
• Product schema (ecommerce sites)
• FAQ schema (service pages)

Test: Use Google Rich Results Test to validate schema before publishing.

✓ 7. Enable Webflow Built-in XML Sitemap

Auto-generated at: yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Verify includes:

• All static pages
• All CMS collection items
• Proper lastmod dates
• No 404 or noindexed pages

Submit to: Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools.

Limitation: Webflow sitemaps do not include priority or changefreq--Google ignores these anyway, so not critical.

✓ 8. Set Up 301 Redirects for URL Changes

Location: Project Settings → Hosting → 301 Redirects

When to add redirects:

• Changing page slugs
• Deleting pages
• Restructuring site navigation
• Migrating from another platform

Critical limit: 10,000 redirect maximum. For large migrations, prioritize high-traffic pages or consider server-side redirects if self-hosting.

✓ 9. Configure Open Graph & Twitter Cards

Location: Page Settings → SEO Settings → Open Graph

Required for every page:

• og:title (can differ from page title for better social CTR)
• og:description (155 characters max)
• og:image (1200x630px, under 8MB)
• og:type (website, article, product, etc.)

For CMS collections: Use dynamic fields to populate OG tags automatically--do not set them manually for every post.

✓ 10. Enable Webflow Asset Optimization

Auto-enabled features: CSS/JS minification, image compression via CDN, Gzip compression.

Additional optimization:

• Upload images in WebP format when possible
• Use Webflow responsive image feature (auto-generates multiple sizes)
• Enable lazy loading for below-fold images
• Minimize custom code additions that bloat page weight

Test: Run PageSpeed Insights after enabling optimizations--target 90+ mobile score.

✓ 11. Optimize Page Titles (Every Page)

Location: Page Settings → SEO Settings → Title Tag

Best practices:

• 50-60 characters maximum
• Primary keyword near the beginning
• Include brand name (Brand Name | Page Title)
• Make it clickable--not just keyword stuffing

For CMS collections: Create a title_tag field and use format: Post Title | Category | Site Name

✓ 12. Write Compelling Meta Descriptions

Location: Page Settings → SEO Settings → Meta Description

Formula that works: Problem + Solution + CTA in 150-155 characters.

Example: "Webflow SEO has 7 critical quirks most designers miss. This checklist fixes all of them--boost rankings by 43%."

Do not: Leave blank (Google writes bad ones), stuff keywords, use duplicate descriptions across pages.

✓ 13. Use H1 Tags Correctly

Webflow default: Often sets multiple H1s or uses H1 for logo--both are SEO mistakes.

Rule: ONE H1 per page, different from title tag, includes primary keyword.

How to fix: Select text block → Style panel → Set to H1 heading.

Audit: View page source (Ctrl+U) and search for "<h1>"--should find exactly one instance.

✓ 14. Structure Content with H2-H6 Hierarchy

Common Webflow mistake: Using heading styles visually without proper semantic structure.

Correct hierarchy:

• H1: Main page title (once)
• H2: Major sections (3-7 times)
• H3: Subsections under H2s
• H4-H6: Rarely needed, only for very deep content

Never skip levels: Do not go H1 → H3 without H2 in between.

✓ 15. Optimize Image Alt Text

Location: Click image → Settings (gear icon) → Alt text field

Write descriptive alt text for every image:

• Bad: "image1.jpg" or "photo"
• Good: "Webflow SEO settings panel showing sitemap configuration"

Include keywords naturally: But only if they accurately describe the image.

For CMS images: Create alt_text field and populate dynamically.

✓ 16. Create SEO-Friendly URL Slugs

Webflow auto-generates slugs from page names--often poorly.

Best practices:

• Lowercase only
• Hyphens, not underscores
• Include primary keyword
• Keep under 5 words
• Avoid dates unless critical (blog posts)

Change slugs before publishing: Page Settings → Slug field. Changing after publishing requires 301 redirects.

✓ 17. Implement Internal Linking Strategy

Webflow makes this easy: Highlight text → Link settings → Select internal page.

Strategy:

• Link from high-authority pages to new content
• Use descriptive anchor text (not "click here")
• Aim for 3-5 internal links per page
• Create content hubs with pillar pages

For CMS blogs: Use related posts component with dynamic links to same category.

✓ 18. Add Breadcrumb Navigation

Not built-in to Webflow: You must create custom breadcrumbs.

Build breadcrumbs using: Text blocks + dynamic links + BreadcrumbList schema markup.

Benefits: Better UX, improved crawlability, rich results in SERPs.

Format: Home › Category › Current Page

✓ 19. Optimize Content Length & Quality

Minimum word count: 800+ words for blog posts, 400+ for service pages, 200+ for product pages.

Quality markers:

• Answers search intent completely
• Includes examples and specifics
• Contains unique insights, not generic fluff
• Uses varied vocabulary (LSI keywords)

Use Webflow Rich Text Editor: Supports formatting, lists, quotes, and embedded media.

✓ 20. Add Author & Date Information

For blog posts and articles: Include author name, bio, and publish date.

Create CMS fields: author_name, author_bio, author_photo, publish_date, last_updated.

Add to schema: Include author information in BlogPosting schema for enhanced SERP display.

E-E-A-T signal: Google favors content with clear authorship and credentials.

✓ 21. Compress & Optimize All Images

Before uploading to Webflow: Compress images using TinyPNG, ImageOptim, or Squoosh.

Image specifications:

• Use WebP format (90% smaller than JPG)
• Maximum 500KB per image
• Hero images: 1920px wide max
• Thumbnail images: 600px wide max

Webflow auto-optimization: Webflow compresses images via CDN, but starting with optimized images yields better results.

✓ 22. Enable Lazy Loading for Images

Built-in Webflow feature: Image Settings → Loading → Lazy

When to use lazy loading: All images below the fold (not visible on initial page load).

When NOT to use: Hero images and above-fold content--these should load immediately.

Impact: Can improve Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) by 30%+.

✓ 23. Minimize Custom Code & Scripts

Webflow sites often bloated with: Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, heatmaps, chat widgets, etc.

Optimization:

• Use Google Tag Manager for all tracking (one script loads everything)
• Defer non-critical JavaScript (add defer or async attributes)
• Remove unused scripts and integrations
• Avoid heavy animation libraries if possible

Test impact: PageSpeed Insights flags render-blocking resources--eliminate them.

✓ 24. Reduce Webflow Interactions & Animations

Beautiful but costly: Webflow visual interactions add significant JavaScript overhead.

Balance design vs. performance:

• Limit interactions to 3-5 per page maximum
• Use CSS animations instead of JS when possible
• Disable interactions on mobile (Performance settings)
• Avoid scroll-triggered animations on long pages

Priority: Speed over flashy effects--47% of users expect 2s load times or less.

✓ 25. Use System Fonts or Limit Web Fonts

Web font problem: Custom fonts add 100-300KB+ and delay text rendering.

Optimization:

• Use max 2 font families (1 is better)
• Load only necessary font weights (not all 9 weights)
• Use font-display: swap to prevent FOIT (Flash of Invisible Text)
• Consider system fonts (San Francisco, Segoe UI, Roboto) for body text

Webflow font settings: Project Settings → Fonts → Select only needed weights.

✓ 26. Test Core Web Vitals Regularly

Google ranking factors: LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), FID (First Input Delay), CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift).

Target scores:

• LCP: Under 2.5s (Green)
• FID: Under 100ms (Green)
• CLS: Under 0.1 (Green)

Test with: Google PageSpeed Insights, Search Console Core Web Vitals report, WebPageTest.

Common Webflow issues: High CLS from ads/embeds loading late, high LCP from unoptimized hero images.