This comprehensive guide is a roadmap to success for Webflow projects, ensuring that clients, designers, and agencies are on the same page, resulting in a product that meets or exceeds expectations.
With insights emphasizing on safeguarding the client by setting clear expectations.
The Clients Guideline to Your Landing Page Project with Webflow
We know, navigating the realm of web-design and web-development can be intricate. This guide aims to set clear expectations for clients like you venturing into Webflow projects, ensuring you are equipped with the knowledge needed to collaborate effectively and are not taken advantage of.
Understanding Modern Design Tools: Figma
The way tools like Figma are typically used within the web design community sets certain expectations. Figma, unlike general-purpose design tools like Keynote or even graphic design software like Adobe Illustrator, is specifically tailored for web and app design. It has built-in tools for expressing responsive behavior, states (like hover or clicked), and even rudimentary interactions.
So, when someone mentions they're providing a Figma design for a website, the typical expectation is that this design will be reasonably detailed, follow web conventions, and potentially provide some of those CSS insights, which can be extremely helpful during the development process.
If a designer or client is using Figma just to arrange mockups they created elsewhere (like in Notion or another tool), it can certainly be confusing and even inefficient. This kind of process can lead to a lot of back-and-forth, potential misinterpretations, and wasted time during development.
It underscores the importance of clarifying expectations upfront, understanding the depth of the provided design, and ensuring both the developer and designer (or client) are on the same page from the beginning.
1. Purpose & Potential of Figma:
Figma is tailored for web and app design, providing tools for responsive behavior, states, and interactions. It's expected to be detailed and follow web conventions.
2. What You Should Expect:
- Detail & Precision: Figma designs should be detailed, reflecting the final look and feel of the desired website.
- Responsiveness Indications: Designs tailored for various devices, ensuring a consistent experience across all platforms.
- Interactivity Insights: Annotations for hover, click, or other interactive states.
3. Pitfalls to Avoid:
- Misplaced Mockups: Using Figma just to arrange mockups created elsewhere can be inefficient. This can lead to misinterpretations and wasted time.
- Insufficient Information: A design without clear annotations or lacking in detail can lead to extended back-and-forth discussions, increasing the project's duration. Increasing costs and time-to-market.
4. Setting Clear Expectations: It's crucial to understand the depth of the provided design and ensure alignment between all parties from the project's inception.
Expectations from a Figma Design File when Working with a Designer or Agency
1. Organized Layout:
- Structured Figma file with named layers, groups, and frames.
- Separate frames for various device views.
2. Complete Assets:
- High-resolution images, icons, and other assets.
- Fonts or web font links.
3. Design Consistency:
- Consistency with brand guidelines.
- Established grid system.
4. Interactions & Animations:
- Annotations describing specific animations or interactions.
- Prototype links showcasing interaction flow.
5. Feedback & Iteration:
- Opportunities to review and provide feedback.
- Defined revision cycles.
Transitioning a Design from Figma to Webflow: What to Expect
Understanding the intricacies of transitioning a design from Figma to Webflow is paramount for smooth collaboration between clients, designers, and agencies. Clear expectations and standards for all involved parties, ensure for a professional and streamlined workflow.
Setting the Stage: Pre-Project Considerations
These are basics of project management and must never be forgotten:
1. Clarity of Purpose:
- Ensure the design's intent and purpose are clear. This aids in translating visuals into functional elements in Webflow.
2. Expectations Alignment:
- It's essential to align on what is expected from both the design and development phases. Define roles, responsibilities, and deliverables.
3. Effective Communication:
- Establish clear communication channels. Regular updates, feedback loops, and milestones help in preventing misunderstandings and delays.
4. Client Knowledge & Education:
- If the client is new to the Webflow platform or the transition process, consider offering an introductory session or providing educational resources.
Transitioning the Design from Figma to Webflow: What to Expect
1. Clear Communication: Opportunities to provide feedback during the transition phase.
2. Inputs Required:
- A finalized Figma design file.
- All assets: images, icons, fonts, etc.
- Annotations within the Figma file highlighting specific interactions or animations.
- Access to brand guidelines or style guides.
- Established feedback timelines.
3. Output Deliverables:
- A responsive Webflow site matching the Figma design.
- Performance and SEO best practices like Meta-tags site.
- A Webflow project link and associated documentation.
Expectations from a Webflow Project when Working with an Agency or Freelancer
1. Quality Assurance:
- A fully responsive design across breakpoints and browsers.
2. Optimized Performance:
- Compressed and optimized site assets.
- Implemented SEO best practices.
3. CMS & Dynamic Elements:
- Clear documentation on Webflow's CMS (if utilized).
- Functional dynamic elements, like forms.
4. Custom Code:
- Documented and explained custom code.
- Ensure custom code's compatibility.
5. Training & Documentation:
- A walkthrough on Webflow's interface.
- Some sort of project documentation where necessary.
6. Post-Launch Support:
- A defined support period post-launch.
By setting these expectations upfront and being aware of what to look out for, clients can ensure a smoother process when transitioning designs from tools like Figma to platforms like Webflow. This knowledge empowers clients like you, ensuring you get value for your investment and that the end product aligns with your vision.
What happens if the designer or agency has not provided me with a proper Figma Design?
If the designer is using Figma in a manner similar to Keynote (i.e., primarily for layout and visual presentation without detailed style specifications), then the CSS and style guide will not be provided directly by the Figma file. Instead, you will have to derive or create these elements yourself based on the visual cues given.
Here's what might happen in such a scenario:
- Manual CSS Creation: Based on the Figma design, you'd manually write the CSS for the Webflow project. You'd use the Figma design as a reference to determine things like font sizes, colors, spacing, and other styles.
- Style Guide Derivation: If a detailed style guide isn't provided, you'd interpret the design's consistent patterns and styles to create a makeshift style guide. This helps ensure consistency across the site, even if you're building out additional pages or elements not explicitly designed in the Figma file.
- Iterative Feedback: Given that explicit styles might not be provided, expect to have a more iterative feedback process with the designer or client. You'll likely need to make adjustments as you go to ensure the website matches the intended look and feel.
- Use of Figma's CSS Insights: Figma does offer some insights into CSS properties for a selected element (like font size, color, and spacing). However, these aren't always a direct translation to a complete CSS stylesheet, but they can be useful as a starting point.
- Clarifications: If unsure about a particular design detail, always ask the designer for clarifications. It's better to understand the intent upfront rather than making assumptions that might need to be corrected later.
If you're working with designers who primarily use tools for visual presentation without much detail on the actual web styling, it's beneficial to set expectations at the project's start. Establishing clear communication channels and feedback loops can help smooth out the development process.