From WordPress to Webflow — How ACO left its “update hell” and became a premium brand

Short and concise

• The problem: An outdated wordpress-system caused constant errors, security gaps and high costs. Each plugin-Update was a risk.
• The mistake: For reasons of cost, ACO initially chose a cheaper agency — a disaster that 6 months It took time and the entire budget, with no result.
• The solution: A complete restart with marketer UX. We opted for a high-endWebflow-Frontend, a custom Webflow CMS and a clever multi-languagesolution with Weglot.
• The result: An internationally active, quadrilingual website, a rebrand with a new logo and a stable system that gives customers full control over their contents gives and saves costs.
• Thanks to the new blog software and the simple management of posts and blogs, users now benefit from significantly increased traffic, flexible plugins and efficient organization of content — clear advantages for the site and future projects.

The starting point: A ticking time bomb called WordPress

The Amateur Chess Organization (ACO) organizes chess tournaments worldwide at exclusive locations such as Crete or Kos.

After the hard COVID years, it was clear: to stand out in the event business, professional marketing was necessary.

The core of the problem was the website, which “looked like it was from the 2000s.”

That was fatal, because the entire business depends on this platform:
Tournament information, winner lists, event clips, the complete booking process and invoicing.

The content management system used was WordPress — and it was a nightmare.
Tobias Hirneise, CEO of ACO, remembers:

“We had our entire system on WordPress, which was very error-prone because it felt like we had to write SOS to our developer once a week.”

The variety of plugins and the complexity of the blog software meant that even small changes to posts or content often led to problems with the entire site.

The core problem that many WordPress operators know: the ecosystem is unstable.

The reasons lie in the large number of versions, incompatible plugins and constant adjustments to user and developer requirements.

Managing various areas, content and data — often including exporting to CSV files — is complex and error-prone.

Even maintaining the system required basic knowledge, which posed an additional hurdle for many projects and agencies.

Common WordPress problems arise mainly due to:

• the variety of plugin/theme/version combinations
• difficult troubleshooting
• update conflicts

The update hell: Constant WordPress updates are necessary. When installed, important plugins are often no longer compatible — and the website breaks.

The security risk: Anyone who avoids updates out of fear is running an insecure system — a “ticking time bomb.”

Infrastructure was also a challenge: in addition to hosting, domain administration had to be organized independently, which increased complexity.

Either way, it was expensive: freelance developers had to be paid for bug fixing, and since the webpage was on its own servers, ACO was fully responsible for hosting and infrastructure.

“If we do something wrong there […] website offline, no customers, no revenue, no money.”

Support was often slow and you had to wait a long time for answers — especially problematic when facing critical issues.

The expensive detour: Why “cheap” ends up costing twice

In 2022, the decision was clear: a new, professional high-end website was needed, including a modernized branding (the old blue/white logo had to go).

The research led ACO to Webflow as the best tool — and to marketer UX as a potential agency.

“The initial meeting with Alex from the UX team was very professional,” says Hirneise.
“Thanks to his many years of WordPress experience, he understood our pain exactly.”

When selecting an agency, experience and multi-project management are crucial.

The solution we proposed was clear:
Frontend and marketing 100% via Webflow, the booking process via a separate instance for full control.

But then came the price.

After the COVID period, there was fear of investing the last reserves.

ACO spoke to other providers — and chose a cheaper one.

“That was the biggest mistake,” summarizes Hirneise.

The money was gone, and even after 6 months there was no result.

Instead: frustration, missed deadlines and poor design quality.

ACO pulled the ripcord and returned to marketer UX.

The learning:

“Instead of buying cheaply, we had to buy expensively twice.
Check which agency you hire! Check reviews! Call agency customers!”

Restart with experts: The marketer UX Webflow process

Half a year later than planned, the project started — now with marketer UX.

ACO experienced how uncomplicated web development can be with specialists and experienced designers.

Webflow offers design freedom that other systems can’t match.

Based on inspirational websites provided by the customer, the desired result was created:
an elegant black-and-gold homepage.

The process was transparent:

• a dedicated contact
• regular updates
• web design first in Figma (not directly in code)
• 100% approval before development

As a bonus, our design team under Chris even optimized ACO’s aging 3D logo.
It was a change, especially for chess grandmasters — but today, years later, satisfaction is high.

The solution in detail: High-end Webflow development that works

After design approval, development began — and here the wheat separates from the chaff.

ACO had very clear requirements for the CMS structure, content zones and the multi-language setup.

For data migration, a CSV file was used. The import took place in several guided steps to ensure smooth content integration.

Challenge 1: A complex CMS for laymen

Requirement:
ACO, as absolute laymen, must be able to manage ALL events and winner lists themselves — almost via drag-and-drop.

But with Webflow’s then-limit of 50 CMS fields, that was impossible.

Our solution:
Instead of restricting the customer, we used clever workarounds:

• smart reference & collection fields
• integration of Google Spreadsheets via Zapier

The result:

“Even 3 years later, the system runs flawlessly […] and we’re really happy to have escaped the WordPress update/bug fixing hell.”

Challenge 2: A 4-language website without Webflow Localization

As an international provider with guests from 20+ countries, localization was essential.

Four language versions were planned:
English (core), German, Spanish and French.

The problem: Webflow Localization didn’t exist yet.

Our solution:
Implementation via Weglot.com.

Marketer UX handled the entire setup and Webflow integration.

ACO received tutorial videos showing how to edit texts, images and SEO settings (titles, descriptions) per language.

Thanks to Weglot’s subdomain structure, each language version got its own subdomain — ideal for indexing and international SEO.

Search engine optimization: Visibility as the success factor

A modern website is only successful if it can be found.
For ACO, it was essential that the new Webflow page not only look great but also rank well.

Conclusion: The combination of powerful SEO functions, intuitive operation and maximum design freedom makes Webflow the ideal platform for companies that not only impress with their website, but also found want to be.

A robust system that saves costs and impresses

The final setup combined performance and stability:

• Webflow for the main frontend and marketing
• Webflow CMS as a flexible database
• Weglot as multi-language tool
• a custom server instance for booking & automated invoicing

Another major advantage:
Reliable support from marketer UX, fast responses, smooth processes.

“The system is still running today and saves us a lot of work and costs,” says Tobias Hirneise.

“We are very happy to have marketer UX as a partner.
As a chess champion, you're meticulous — but marketer UX satisfied us.”

Are you stuck in the WordPress trap too?

The story of the Amateur Chess Organization is not unique.

Many companies fight daily with outdated CMS systems: high maintenance costs, weak performance and the fear of the next plugin error.

If you’re planning the move from WordPress to Webflow and want a professional, scalable, low-maintenance solution right from the start, let’s talk.

We understand the pain points of old systems and are specialists in clean migration.

Schedule a free and non-binding potential analysis for your project now.