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November 27,2023

Typical Problems That Web Designers Face #
It’s important to start with understanding what challenges web design teams face when they create websites:

A disconnection between visual design and coding.
Visual designers create mocks/prototypes in a visual tool (like Sketch) and hand them off to developers who need to code them. It creates an extra round of back-and-forth since developers have to go through an extra iteration of coding.
It’s hard to code complex interactions (especially animated transitions).
Designers can introduce beautiful effects in hi-fi prototypes, but developers will have a hard time reproducing the same layout or effect in code.
Optimizing designs for various screens.
Your designs should be responsive right from the start.
What Is Webflow? #
Webflow is an in-browser design tool that gives you the power to design, build, and launch responsive websites visually. It’s basically an all-in-one design platform that you can use to go from the initial idea to ready-to-use product.

Here are a few things that make Webflow different:

The visual design and code are not separated.
What you create in the visual editor is powered by HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
It allows you to reuse CSS classes.
Once defined, you can use a class for any elements that should have the same styling or use it as a starting point for a variation (base class).
It is a platform and as such, it offers hosting plans.
For $12 per month, it allows you to connect a custom domain and host your HTML site. And for an additional $4 per month, you can use the Webflow CMS.
Building A One-Page Website Using Webflow #
The best way to understand what the tool is capable of is to build a real product with it. For this review, I will use Webflow to create a simple landing page for a fictional smart speaker device.

DEFINE THE STRUCTURE OF THE FUTURE PAGE #
While it’s possible to use Webflow to create a structure of your layout, it’s better to use another tool for that. Why? Because you need to experiment and try various approaches before finding the one that you think is the best. It’s better to use a sheet of paper or any prototyping tool to define the bones of your page.

It’s also crucial to have a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve. Find an example of what you want and sketch it on paper or in your favorite design tool.

Tip: You don’t need to create a high-fidelity design all of the time. In many cases, it’s possible to use lo-fi wireframes. The idea is to use a sketch/prototype as a reference when you work on your website.

For our website, we will need the following structure:

A hero section with a large product image, copy, and a call-to-action button.
A section with the benefits of using our product. We will use a zig-zag layout (this layout pairs images with text sections).
A section with quick voice commands which will provide a better sense of how to interact with a device.
A section with contact information. To make contact inquiries easier for visitors, we’ll provide a contact form instead of a regular email address.
CREATE A NEW PROJECT IN WEBFLOW #
When you open the Webflow dashboard for the first time, you immediately notice a funny illustration with a short but helpful line of text. It is an excellent example of an empty state that is used to guide users and create the right mood from the start. It’s hard to resist the temptation to click “New Project.”

When you click “New Project,” Webflow will offer you a few options to start with: a blank site, three common presets, and an impressive list of ready-to-use templates. Some of the templates that you find on this page are integrated with the CMS which means that you can create CMS-based content in Webflow.

Templates are great when you want to get up and running very quickly, but since our goal is to learn how to create the design ourselves, we will choose “Blank Site.”

As soon as you create a new project, we will see Webflow’s front-end design interface. Webflow provides a series of quick how-to videos. They are handy for anyone who’s using Webflow for the first time.