Learning Webflow: A designer's journey
The design career path offers countless directions, like graphic design, UX, branding, motion, and more. But behind all of them is a common goal: helping businesses connect with people. Whether you're working with startups or established companies, the aim is almost always to attract new users, build trust, and improve the overall experience.
And in order to do that, you need to deeply understand your audience. You need to know what feels intuitive to them, what frustrates them, and how you can simplify their experience. That’s the core of design: not just making things look good, but making them feel right.
Starting from graphic design
Five years ago, I was working as a graphic designer, mainly using Adobe tools and Canva. I started to feel a pull toward expanding my skills, particularly toward tools that could bridge the gap between visual design and actual product development.
That’s when I first discovered Webflow. It looked promising, like something powerful and creative. But back then, I was early in my design journey, and Webflow’s interface felt completely overwhelming. Even after trying tutorials, I struggled to wrap my head around how anything worked. I gave up before even building my first page.
The Figma shift
Some time later, still curious and eager to grow, I discovered Figma and the world of UX/UI design. This was a turning point. Figma didn’t just feel intuitive; it changed how I thought about design altogether.
I spent years mastering it: learning how to create components, setting up design systems, understanding hierarchy, organizing files, and thinking through user flows. Figma taught me structure, consistency, and interactivity, not just aesthetics.
And Figma itself evolved. The platform grew more complex, adding powerful features that brought it closer to prototyping and product-level thinking. It stopped being “just a design tool” and became a space where entire digital experiences were shaped.
A new look at Webflow
Fast forward to today. After working on a website redesign with a teammate who walked us through her Webflow process, something clicked. The interface no longer looked like a maze, it looked familiar. The similarities to Figma were striking, and this time, I wasn’t intimidated. I was excited.
I gave it another shot, and the difference is night and day.
Learning Webflow (for real this time)
Now with a strong Figma foundation and a clearer understanding of UX/UI logic, Webflow started to make sense. I followed the official Webflow University videos, which are impressively clear and beginner-friendly. Within the first week, I was already recreating simple landing pages (imperfectly, but confidently).
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from my first two weeks using Webflow:
- Think in boxes. Literally. Webflow is built on the idea of nested containers, divs within divs. Once this clicks, you unlock the ability to build structured, responsive layouts.
- Responsive by design. You can set breakpoints for each device size, desktop, tablet, mobile, and tweak styles specifically for them. Seeing those changes in real time makes it much easier to design adaptively.
- Component logic feels familiar. Just like Figma, Webflow uses reusable components (elements), and creating a design system or brand library inside Webflow helps maintain consistency across pages.
- Classes are powerful. Instead of just styling one-off elements, Webflow encourages you to use classes (similar to Figma styles or shared components). This improves consistency and also saves a ton of time when scaling your site.
- Animations are accessible. Interactions and animations can be added visually, without writing a line of code. It’s an excellent way to introduce motion design without diving into JavaScript.
Why it matters
Learning Webflow as a designer opens new doors. It bridges the often-frustrating gap between design and development. You’re no longer just handing off files and hoping the developer gets everything right, you can build the thing yourself.
This brings:
- More control over how your design is executed
- A deeper understanding of how the web works
- Better communication with developers
- And in many cases, faster project delivery
My advice to designers
If you’re a designer who’s curious about Webflow, my advice is: try again, even if you’ve tried before. Especially if you already know tools like Figma, Webflow won’t feel alien anymore. In fact, it might feel like a natural next step.
Design isn’t just about visuals, it’s about bringing ideas to life. And Webflow? It’s a tool that lets you do exactly that.
