Figma and Webflow are tools used at different stages of making websites. Figma is mainly for designing and creating prototypes, while Webflow is mostly used to build actual websites.
However, Webflow is also promoted as a design tool, causing some confusion.
Here's an example: Your design team uses Figma to create designs and style guides. They then give these to developers who use Webflow to turn them into a fully functional website.
Moreover, this has become the standard in the industry, and Webflow even made a Figma to Webflow plugin to make this handoff smoother. This means a lot of the project gets designed in Figma before moving to Webflow, which might surprise most of the clients.
Both Webflow and Figma are established and capable tools, and when used together, they make web design much better. Now, let's compare Figma vs Webflow and talk about how they work well side by side.
Webflow Vs Figma: The Basics
Before we get into the detailed comparison of Figma vs Webflow, let’s introduce the basics of these platforms!
Webflow: What Is It?
Simply put, Webflow is a visual website-building platform that requires no coding to create great websites. It comes with an easy drag-and-drop interface, so designing becomes easy peasy.
Behind the scenes, Webflow creates all the necessary codes (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript). You can, of course, modify or export those codes, if you want to.
Webflow comes with useful features like editable templates, web hosting, support for plugins, editable code, collaborative tools, and shareable prototypes. Websites made with Webflow can grow and connect with various third-party tools.
You're not bound to specific themes, and you can design your site in many ways without extra plugins. Whether it's an e-commerce or corporate site, Webflow has got you covered.
Figma: What Is It?
Figma is a web-based design app for creating UI/UX, and graphic design tasks. Designers, and developers use it to make everything from basic wireframes to detailed mockups.
In Figma's vector graphics editor, users create mockups and prototypes for login pages, web pages, buttons, icons, and other UI elements before the final versions are coded and released.
What makes Figma stand out is its collaborative approach and extensive features. Figma designs are developer-friendly, allowing for real-time collaboration, comments, and revisions.
Designs and prototypes are shared as interactive URL links, making it easy for developers, clients, project managers, and others to access. Figma is so impressive that in the previous year, its nearby competitor, "Adobe XD," did $20 billion agreement plan for Figma acquisition.
Figma Vs Webflow: At A Glance
Here’s a quick comparison table between Figma and Webflow, highlighting the key comparing factors:
Figma Vs Webflow: Detailed Comparison
Both tools are made for users who are mainly user interface designers. But what makes Figma and Webflow special? How are they different? Check out this Figma vs. Webflow comparison. It'll help you figure out which one is better for your next design job.
1. Ease Of Usage
If you're just starting with web design or development, Figma and Webflow might seem tricky. But even experts might need some time to get used to these tools.
Webflow:
Webflow is great for mixing balance and simplicity. It lets designers make pro-looking websites without needing to code – perfect if coding isn't your thing. But, if you're new to all this or don't know much about web design, there's a bit of a learning curve. You'll need some time to get the hang of it before you create standout sites.
Figma:
Figma is a top choice for UI/UX designers thanks to its user-friendly interface and collaboration features. It's easy to learn, especially for those familiar with design software. The Smart Animate feature simplifies creating animated prototypes.
However, collaborative real-time work with many users can get messy without a proper system. If you're new to design tools, Figma might feel overwhelming at first.
2. Design Capabilities
Webflow and Figma are powerful tools for design, but they work a bit differently. Webflow stands out with responsive web design, and Figma features modern vector based graphics design.
Figma excels in conceptual and interactive UI/UX designs. For straightforward projects with minimal design changes, Webflow may be a more suitable choice.
Webflow:
Webflow is a handy tool for creating good-looking websites that work well on any device. You can personalize your site with animations, layouts, and cool design features. Webflow even has filters for great color effects. The best part? You don't need to be a coding whiz to add fancy animations.
Webflow's interactions feature lets you do it without messing with JavaScript. Plus, it has tools to check color contrast and how your site looks for different vision needs.
Figma:
Figma is a design tool that makes designing stuff easy and fun. It's got cool features like auto layout and resizing, along with handy plugins for shortcuts. You can switch designs and link files super smoothly with its flexible styles and library. Figma is fast – it helps you make changes quickly with smart tools.
You can also add interactive elements to your designs. That makes Figma awesome for creating designs for websites, desktops, or apps on your phone.
Pro Tip: If you want to reap out most of the benefits with both designing platforms, you can even check out Webflow Integration Services to integrate Figma with Webflow.
3. User Interface
In terms of user interface, Webflow provides multi-layered interactive menus, where Figma comes with a clutter-free user interface.
Webflow:
Using Webflow Designer is a breeze! It has a clean layout with sections, grids, and containers. The website canvas is in the middle, and there are panels on each side of the screen.
Just drag items from the menus to design your site. Webflow's menus are cool – they have layers (mega menus), making it easy to find buttons and tabs. Picking colors, borders, backgrounds, and fonts is simple. Basically, it's a user-friendly interface, perfect for beginners.
Figma:
Figma has a super easy and neat design interface. Designers can quickly find all the tools they need. It works well in your browser, responds fast, and is easy to move around with icons and buttons. The main tools are at the top, and the left side shows your design pages in layers.
Using Figma is smooth – it doesn't get slow, even if your design is complicated. Both Figma and Webflow have really good user interfaces, so there's not much to gripe about!
4. Prototyping Features
Webflow stands in this criteria with interactive and live prototypes. On the other side, Figma features shareable and animated prototypes. If you want things done fast, Webflow is your pick. But if you love flexibility, teamwork, and playing with your prototypes, Figma might be more your style.
Webflow:
Webflow is cool for making live prototypes that look just like your final website. Unlike some other tools, Webflow's prototypes aren't just pictures – they're like using the real website.
Buttons work, and you can edit text right there. Even better, you can turn your prototype into code that developers can use. This makes it easy for designers and developers to work together. And if your prototype is good to go, you can publish your website without hiring developers.
Figma:
Figma's prototype feature lets you turn your still designs into interactive prototypes. Make your design come alive with animations and cool transitions.
You can connect different design parts to make it interactive. Figma plays nice with tools like Notion & Dropbox. You can easily share your prototypes, get feedback, and make things better.
Webflow is super smooth for going from prototype to a live site, but it's stuck on the Webflow platform. Figma gives more freedom to tweak and use your prototypes on different platforms.
5. External Integrations
Figma and Webflow both team up with other tools, but there's a difference. Figma integrates with various design tools. Webflow hangs out more with web development, SEO, marketing, analytics, and tools that are super useful for the actual website.
Webflow:
Webflow has lots of extra features you can integrate with. These extras are mostly for improving how you design and build websites. They integrate with e-commerce, marketing, analytics, and tools for engaging with customers.
Webflow’s integration goal is to make it even more powerful in creating cool, interactive websites, handling online stores, checking how users behave, and talking to visitors.
The idea is to give website builders, marketers, and business owners a bunch of integrations to make their websites super effective.
Figma:
Figma integrates well with different tools to do more things in teamwork, turning designs into code, and managing projects. These extras include platforms for working together, systems to keep track of changes, and other design tools.
For instance, Figma can integrate with Sketch, Adobe XD, and InVision, making it easier to talk between these tools.
6. Collaboration Features
Webflow and Figma are both good for collaboration, but they suit different needs. Figma is also good if clients want to see project files in real-time. Webflow is great for web design teams with different access needs, while Figma works best for teams with multiple designers who all need the same access.
Webflow:
Webflow Designer enables team collaboration by allowing multiple users to work on web designs simultaneously. Team leads can assign specific access, roles, and permissions to each member, facilitating real-time changes in various design aspects such as layout, content, and code.
Figma:
Figma stands out with real-time collaboration features. Its tools include Observation mode, version history, diverse access controls, shareable links, and prototype functionalities. The comment and chat system supports direct feedback on the design page, facilitating clear communication between clients and designers.
FigJam, Figma's brainstorming tool, streamlines idea gathering at the project's outset, eliminating the need for multiple design files and ensuring auto-save to prevent data loss.
7. Customization
Customization feature is also a key considerable factor for website building and designing tools. Let’s see how each one steps in this criteria!
Webflow:
Webflow gives you lots of ways to customize and make your site look unique – you can choose custom fonts, colors, and layouts. It's cool because you can even get into the nitty-gritty and customize the HTML and CSS code of your design.
With Webflow's Custom Code Editor, you can write your own code in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making your website look exactly how you want.
Figma:
Figma also lets you customize things, but it's not as detailed as Webflow. You can add some custom codes, but there are limits. If you want super-fancy customization, you might need extra tools.
8. SEO Capabilities
Webflow wins because Figma doesn't have any SEO options. Figma isn't made for building websites. Let's dig into this a bit more.
Webflow:
Webflow directly helps with SEO by offering tools built into its platform. These tools let users make their websites better for search engines. Webflow is good for SEO as it includes features like customizable titles and descriptions, image descriptions, automatic sitemaps, and more.
Webflow also supports designs that look good on any device, which is important for Google's ranking. Plus, Webflow's clean code helps with site performance and loading speed, making SEO even better.
Figma:
Figma indirectly helps with SEO by letting designers create web designs that are good for SEO. This means making designs that are easy to use, have visuals that load fast, and work well on different devices.
But remember, Figma itself doesn't do the actual SEO work – that happens when the website gets built.
9. Support And Community
Figma and Webflow are widely used platforms with big communities and lots of official and community-made educational content for comprehensive support.
Webflow:
Webflow has good customer support. They have a great help center with articles and guides. If you're a registered user, you can reach out to the Webflow support team for direct help.
They also have guides to fix issues and a list of Webflow Experts if you need professional assistance. Webflow has a wide community base. They have forums where users can talk and share ideas. Webflow supports local user groups and global events, making users feel like part of a community.
Figma:
Figma helps you out with lots of support. They have a big help center, FAQs, and a support team for any tricky questions or tech problems. There's a lively Figma community too. You can join forums, go to events, and chat with other designers.
It's a cool place to share what you know, get advice, and connect with creative folks. Figma even has a page where designers can show off their work and find cool stuff made by others.
10. Pricing Plans
Webflow includes tiered pricing with increasing capabilities, whereas Figma features handy free options with advanced collaboration tools on paid plans.
Webflow:
Webflow's pricing can be a bit tricky, and we explained it in another blog post. We recommend giving that a read for all the details. In a nutshell, Webflow have plans for hosting your site and plans for your workspace.
If you don't get a site plan, your site can only be a subdomain on Webflow, with not much space and none of the important extras, like custom code.
Figma:
Figma's free plan has a lot of cool stuff for different design projects, like drawing tools and animations. If you're a pro or part of a big team, Figma's paid plans have extra features like audio chats, private projects, and cool design analytics.
But, if you're into web development, Webflow might be more your thing, as it has extra tools for that. So, if you're all about design, Figma's your pick. If you need hosting and development tools, Webflow might be the way to go.
Figma Vs Webflow: Why Not Both?
Webflow and Figma work great together for web design and development. Webflow is awesome for making functional and responsive websites easily.
Figma is the go-to tool for design and layout of websites, apps, and other interfaces. It's easy to design your site in Figma first, fine-tune everything, and then bring it into Webflow.
Figma helps you try out different design ideas and make changes before turning them into code with Webflow. Now, with the Figma to Webflow plugin, introduced a few months ago, makes sure all your design elements, like styles, images, text, and layout, transfer seamlessly.
You can create your website blueprint in Figma, then use this plugin to bring it into Webflow, getting the best of both worlds without missing any features.
Not sure how you’re going to bring those crazy Figma designs and animations into a real website? Why fear when you have Flowzai backing you up with the best Webflow developers in the world? Contact Us To Discuss a Project
Conclusion
Unlike other alternative tools like WordPress or Framer, Figma isn't really in competition with Webflow. Many see Figma as a natural addition to Webflow, where you can create website designs before actually building them using the visual builder.
We hope this comparison helped you see how these tools work together. If you need a Webflow expert who knows both tools, reach out to FlowZai!
About Flowzai
At Flowzai we craft beautiful, modern and easy to use Webflow templates & UI Kits.