Silex

French developer Alex Hoyau and the non-profit organization Silex Labs started Silex to provide a libre alternative to closed visual web authoring tools. Today, that translates into an in-browser drag-and-drop builder that compiles standard HTML and CSS rather than trapping site owners inside proprietary hosting.

Why Silex instead of Webflow

Webflow packages its visual canvas, CMS database, form submission handlers, and hosting into a single subscription. Migrating away requires exporting static code that strips out collection dynamics and form handling, locking production sites into Webflow's cloud. Silex separates visual design from infrastructure entirely. Designers arrange components on a canvas powered by GrapesJS and link dynamic elements to external headless sources like WordPress, Strapi, or GraphQL endpoints, while 11ty generates static pages at build time.

This separation changes how self-hosters integrate web design into their workflow. Instead of paying recurring fees for staging and hosting, you run Silex locally or on a homelab server through Docker, outputting portable static files deployable to any web server or S3 bucket. In exchange, Silex requires manual assembly: you configure your own build scripts, provision dynamic form backends, and maintain external data connections rather than relying on an all-inclusive SaaS ecosystem.

What it does well

• Standard HTML and CSS generation: Exports clean markup and stylesheets without proprietary client scripts, making sites easy to serve from lightweight static servers like Nginx or Caddy.
• Single-container deployment: Runs as a self-contained Docker container with file-based storage, removing the need to manage an external SQL database.
• Headless CMS connectivity: Binds visual elements to REST or GraphQL endpoints, including self-hosted WordPress or Strapi instances, without theme rewriting.
• Static site generation via 11ty: Compiles dynamic data into prerendered static pages at build time, eliminating runtime server-side rendering overhead.
• Local-first desktop editing: Offers desktop application packages that run locally, enabling visual editing without active internet connections or third-party accounts.
• Granular CSS control: Exposes raw layout properties, custom classes, media queries, and inline code blocks in the visual editor for exact styling adjustments.