Use the lightest platform that can preserve authority and keep the team shipping.
Framer is often enough for a focused marketing site. Custom React/static architecture makes sense when routing, structured data, integrations, content modeling, or verification needs exceed the builder layer.
The clean decision rule
Do not pick custom code to feel serious, and do not pick a builder to avoid thinking. Pick the platform that lets the business keep its authority signals accurate, testable, and maintainable.
| Need | Framer | Custom React/static |
|---|
| Visual marketing velocity | Usually strong. | Depends on design system and developer workflow. |
| Complex structured data | Possible, but implementation discipline matters. | Greater control over route-level schema generation and validation. |
| Legacy URL preservation | Possible for many common cases. | Best when redirects, route inventory, and generated metadata need deeper automation. |
| Team autonomy | Strong for design and marketing teams. | Strong for engineering-led teams with code review and deployment habits. |
Pick Framer when
The site is mostly marketing, the team values visual control, and the content model is simple enough that the platform can carry it cleanly.
- Landing pages, portfolio pages, product marketing, and light CMS content.
- Design-led teams that want to ship without waiting on engineering.
- Lower integration complexity.
Pick custom React/static when
The site is part of a larger authority system and needs deeper control over generated metadata, structured data, redirects, data sources, or verification gates.
- Large route inventories or complex legacy migrations.
- Programmatic schema and per-route metadata generation.
- Strict pre-launch checks for links, schema, routes, and rendering.
- Integration with custom products, apps, dashboards, or gated content.
Next step
Built in Framer? Run the free Framer AEO Gap Check to see whether ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can explain the company behind the site.
Framer-aware resources
- Framer AEO Gap Check — Built or migrated a site in Framer? Run a free Mythos proof to see whether ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can explain, cite, and compare your company.
- Framer AEO Scanner vs Mythos — Compare Framer's AEO Scanner with Mythos: a quick site scan versus a founder-reviewed AI visibility audit across ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
- Is Framer Good for AI Search Visibility? — Framer can support strong SEO and AI-readable site structure, but visibility depends on content clarity, schema, citations, and whether AI engines actually cite you.
- How to Add llms.txt and Schema to a Framer Site — A practical guide to llms.txt, JSON-LD schema, metadata, and AI-readable structure for Framer sites.
- Framer vs WordPress for SEO and AI Visibility — Compare Framer and WordPress for SEO, AEO, security, publishing workflows, schema, redirects, and authority preservation.
- Aegis vs Framer: Website Builder vs Authority Rebuild — Compare Framer's website-building platform with Aegis, the authority rebuild layer for preserving SEO, routes, schema, redirects, and AI-readable source signals.
- Before Migrating WordPress to Framer: SEO Preservation Checklist — A pre-migration checklist for moving from WordPress to Framer without throwing away routes, redirects, metadata, structured data, or AI-readable authority.
- Framer SEO Audit Checklist for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini — A Framer SEO and AEO checklist for teams that want their site to be clear to Google, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other answer engines.
- The Framer AI Visibility Checklist — A practical Framer AI visibility checklist covering llms.txt, JSON-LD, metadata, service pages, comparison pages, citations, and Mythos proof testing.
Download the Framer AI Visibility Checklist.