Anyone had experience going from an Adobe xD prototype to webflow implementation? What was your initial impression on the process?
Are there limitations that came up when you went to implement a prototype in webflow? Are there any specific designs that are easy to create in xD but difficult or impossible to create in webflow?
is xD even worth using? Or has webflow matured to the point you can prototype with webflow nearly as fast as xD?
Feedback is a crucial piece of prototypes, and xD has improved on their ability to allow customer feedback. Is it enough or should I look to integrate some third party feedback tool?
Yes. It’s no different from going from AI or Sketch to Webflow, actually.
No specific limitation comes in mind…
Xd is simply amazing! In my opinion, you should stick using it even if it’s still a beat. This app is mind blowing, extremely fast, way faster than anything else.
Some projects need a strong prototyping phase where Xd will shine, some other projects can be achieve with a pen & paper draft or even just an idea in mind, and for them, you can totally start designing in Webflow.
However good site is good code and structure, and starting right with HTML and CSS can lead to a lot of fiddling and a messy structure.
It all depends on the type of project and your skills in HTML, CSS and Webflow. You can totally start from scratch in Webflow and end up with a solid and as clean as possible structure and code, if you know a little bit what you do.
I’d say pen+paper, or even a Balsamiq prototype, then/or Xd (Xd is also good for graphic design, not just structure prototype), then Webflow. Nothing else is needed. Prototype phase is essential when you have to define strong structure and, most importantly, strong content model (for CMS).
Just be sure to use the best of all tools. For instance, use Symbols in Xd, learn about the features to make the content look diverse and real.
One thing you may realize, is how it’s immensely better to work with Webflow CMS and REAL CMS content, versus simulating diverse dynamic content with Xd or Sketch. All the time you put in Webflow to define CMS content model and add real content is time well invest because it’s data you’ll use up to production. Tools like Xd should allow us to inject real data and export if to CMS afterward. And maybe Webflow should allow us to use CMS as just a design/prototype tool, with the possibility of flattening some Dynamic Lists when we want.