How Web Designers Should Adapt

Design and build

We both design in Figma and build in Webflow. I asked Félix if he ever wants to do only one. A year ago, people on Twitter talked about doing only Webflow, because design takes the longest. Development is simpler. It either works or it doesn’t.

He once asked online whether design or development should cost more. Corey Moen answered that you should charge more if you can do both. It didn’t answer the question, but it was a good point. You see the bigger picture and can help clients better. I agree there is a synergy. When you design, you know what is possible to build. When you build, you know how the design should bend around a limitation. I’m always looking for the client who benefits from one person doing both.

From product design to Webflow

Félix studied business IT and found UX design there. At his first agency, designers also wrote HTML and CSS.

He worked in UX and product design for years. Then he found Webflow while building his own portfolio. It used his HTML and CSS in a more fun way.

He was tired of research and stakeholder talks, and web design felt fresh. He wasn’t a web designer or a Webflow developer yet, so he did it as a freelancer himself.

He has ADHD, and there was no perfect timing. He had never had trouble finding a product design job.

He made sure he had savings for a few months. I didn’t plan either. My employer sold part of the business to someone I didn’t like. So I started my own company, first offering marketing services. WordPress made websites way too hard. Then I found Webflow, and very quickly I was doing only Webflow sites. Félix found me on Webflow’s experts page, and half a year later he was on it too.

Many paths to clients

Félix had zero clients when he started.

Another past colleague with a marketing agency hired him next.

It snowballed. Social media has never been part of my sales. My clients come from Google, where I ranked well for Webflow searches in Finland. Félix tried SEO too, but it wasn’t where his clients came from.

So we are opposites. And a third freelancer might have started on Upwork. There are many paths. Whichever you pick, don’t expect fresh leads after a week. You have to put the effort in first.

Freelancer to studio

Félix is turning his freelance business into a studio.

He brings in specialists for design, illustration or hand-written code. Now he is deciding whether to scale back, grow into an agency or optimise what he has. Optimising feels like his sweet spot. He has to learn to think like a business owner, about finances and forecasts.

I’m not sure an agency is right for everybody. You might end up managing and doing none of the work you used to do. Félix wants to split his time closer to 50/50 between client work and the business. Today it is more like 90/10.

I haven’t thought about the next few years, but I have thought about retiring in 30 years. Would I still be a Webflow person? It’s risky to assume nothing changes. I’ve been teaching Webflow, and I like it. Freelancers have no clear career path. Maybe we could make one, as senior web designers who coach others.

Félix thinks AI makes simple landing pages easier, while Webflow keeps getting more complex. He wonders if AI will replace templates. I think it might. But someone will always want to move that button a couple of pixels. And prompting is not the best interface for that. His clients are mostly heads of marketing.

So he wants to stay adaptable.

Lumos over Client-First

Félix switched to Lumos. The first project was a struggle. After that, he saw the benefits.

Client-First was built so clients could understand the structure, so it adds a lot of divs. Félix now builds every part of the page as a component. Clients never see those divs.

He still learned a lot from it. I had just finished the Client-First certification, and I agree it needs an update. Relume is what keeps me on Client-First, because my process leans on it. Félix still uses Relume, but not its Webflow components any more.

When I teach complete beginners, I wonder whether to show them a framework at all. Last time I used a very simple structure of section, container and wrapper, and it went well. A big framework has a lot of details to explain. It can even change how Webflow seems to work. Félix would start with naming a class and applying styles.

I’ll keep thinking about it with every group. The basic concepts come first, because you have to get them to edit anything safely. It just shows that Webflow is not an easy tool, and you have to make time to learn it.