Webflow’s code export gives you a ZIP of static site files—HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and images—not a complete copy of a Webflow-hosted site. CMS content, accounts, ecommerce, secondary locales, code components, and several hosted services do not transfer. You can host the exported files elsewhere, but you’ll need to replace any missing functionality and manage deployment yourself.
What does the Webflow export ZIP contain?
Webflow’s code export guide describes an archive with HTML files for site pages, a CSS folder, a JavaScript folder, and an images folder containing images uploaded through the Assets panel.
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- HTML: page markup. Collection template pages may appear as empty templates because their CMS-bound content is not included.
- CSS: three stylesheets: the site-specific stylesheet,
webflow.cssfor base layout and components such as navbars, sliders, and tabs, andnormalize.cssfor more consistent browser rendering. - JavaScript: scripts that support client-side features such as navbars, sliders, tabs, and interactions. Removing these files can leave elements styled but not functioning as expected.
- Images: images uploaded through Webflow’s Assets panel.
The ZIP is therefore a useful starting point for hosting a static rendering, but it is not a backup of every service, database, or setting behind the hosted site.
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What does not transfer—or changes after export?
Webflow’s export documentation lists important omissions and behavior changes. These limits describe what the export supplies; they do not prevent you from independently building similar functionality elsewhere.
| Feature or data | What happens in the export |
|---|---|
| CMS | Collections, items, Collection lists, and CMS functionality are not included. Collection lists show an empty state, and Collection pages do not show content bound to Collection fields. |
| User Accounts | Account data and functionality are not included. |
| Ecommerce | Product content, databases, checkout, and associated functionality are not included. |
| Localization | Only the primary locale is included. Localized pages, elements, and content beyond it are absent. |
| Code components | Code components are not included in the export. |
| Password protection | Exported pages are no longer protected by Webflow’s password protection. |
| Site search | Webflow site search does not work as expected on the exported site. |
| Forms | Webflow’s built-in form processing does not work as expected. Existing submissions are not in the site ZIP, though Webflow says submissions can be exported separately. reCAPTCHA elements within forms are not included. |
Depending on what your site uses, replacing those capabilities may require a CMS or application backend, ecommerce platform, authentication system, search service, localization infrastructure, or custom implementation.
Will the exported JavaScript keep Webflow logic working?
No. Client-side scripts in the ZIP can support interface behavior such as tabs, sliders, navbars, and interactions; their presence does not mean that server-backed Webflow services or data have transferred. Webflow says Logic flows, CMS, and Ecommerce content are not included in exported code, and Logic requires hosting to function as expected. See Webflow’s Logic export guidance.
How can you handle forms on an exported site?
Webflow’s guide to collecting submissions on exported sites says you must route submissions to a third-party service or use an embedded third-party form. For a native form, Webflow documents setting the provider’s action URL and matching submission method—usually POST—and gives Mailchimp as an example. Check the chosen service’s current configuration and data-handling requirements before connecting it. Webflow’s own form processing does not continue on an externally hosted export.
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Yes. Webflow says exported files can be hosted on another server without Webflow attribution or keeping a Webflow plan for that external site. The export process is to open the site’s Code export menu, prepare the ZIP, and download it. Webflow also allows editing the files after export, while warning that manual edits can break Webflow components.
Code export is available on paid Workspace plans, not Site plans, according to Webflow’s export documentation, updated October 31, 2025. The hosting comparison from Webflow distinguishes code export from Webflow hosting: the export route makes deployment manual through a DevOps pipeline, and the owner must arrange hosting and ongoing changes. See Webflow’s hosting comparison.
What happens to SEO metadata?
Webflow’s hosting comparison describes SEO metadata in exported code as static and manually editable. CMS-driven SEO fields are not functional when the CMS itself is absent. If you rely on CMS fields to generate titles, descriptions, or other page metadata, plan how those values will be reproduced in the exported pages or in a replacement system.
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How to decide whether code export fits your site
Before exporting, inventory what the site actually depends on. If it is a mostly static site and you can manage deployment, the ZIP may provide the files you need. If it relies on Webflow services or dynamic content, identify replacements before switching hosting.
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- Visitor features: Must accounts, checkout, password protection, or search keep working?
- Languages: Do you need pages or content beyond the primary locale?
- Forms: Where will submissions be sent and stored, and how will the form be connected?
- Operations: Who will deploy updates, maintain hosting, and edit the exported files?
- SEO: Are metadata values static in the page markup or generated from CMS fields?
Webflow’s comparison of custom hosting, Webflow hosting, and code export covers differences in CMS, form handling, publishing workflow, and metadata control. The practical choice depends on which of those capabilities your site needs to retain—not just whether its pages render from the ZIP.
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