What is integration?
If you have an apple and an orange, how many ways can you combine them? apple-orange salad. baked apple with orange zest. apple-orange slices, layered. apple-orange juice. dehydrated candied oranges in spicy apple broth. It's kind of unlimited.
Platform integrations are the same way. You have to be specific about what you want to create, and then you can think about what tools you need to create it.
You can tell your client that Webflow has quite a few tools for integration-
- IFRAMEs widgets in the HTML, good for things like booking calendars and special media players
- Webflow apps, for things like form-to-service integrations
- Whalesync, byteline, and powerimporter for sync integrations between external datasources and Webflow's CMS
- Zapier, Make, n8n, etc. for automations, using Webflow's webhooks and Data API.
- And then custom code and reverse proxies can be used to fundamentally extend the hosting platform
Just understand it's usually not like plugging a toaster into a wall outlet, it's usually more like building a bridge. Make sure to set expectations on costs, bring in specific expertise when needed, write up a plan on ongoing monitoring of the bridge, etc.
Also, systems which offer built-in "integrations" generally have these bridges pre-built, but they are very specific, narrow bridges that serve a specific need - like payment processing or adding emails to an email newsletter list.
Integrating Systems
Need to integrate something like a real-estate listings system into Webflow?
Start by looking at its integration options and API.
In general you have 5 approaches;
- Use some integration widgets that you drop into Embeds, primarily
- CMS + external automation. If the Webflow + CMS is suitable for the build, and you just need data, you might be able to automate updating the CMS through the API using tools like Whalesync, Zapier, Make, etc.
- Use custom JS and a middle tier to make calls, pull the data and render it on page
- Reverse proxy. Connection directly to Propstack API or scrape pages, meld that into WF pages, create awesomeness
- Export. Export your webflow HTML, and build an app that directly integrates propstack data in some way.
In general, these are ordered least to most effort, and least to most capability.
