I’ve just literally discovered webflow, but not sure on how I feel about it… I’m always wanting to get into web design, for the front end-rather than a back end, but always lose patience and give up.
This tool looks pretty cool, and the fact that you can export the code is pretty rad, but I just feel like I’m cheating myself - and it doesn’t seem as cool to me that I’m not actually hard-coding it myself?
i’ve covered this question before in previous workshops.
When you need to hammer a nail into a piece of wood, you can easily pick up a rock and hit it in. But then humans invented the hammer which makes this process easier. Then after that we created nail guns to make this process even faster.
Hand-coding is like a rock. It’s simple, reliable but new tools like Dreamweaver came out to make this process easier. Webflow is like a nailgun which makes this process even more easier and faster.
As long as you know the fundamentals of code, using Webflow shouldn’t be looked at like a handicap, but more of a tool that you use to speed up your process of coding.
Want proof? Challenge a seasoned front-end dev to a race. See who can code and publish a responsive webpage faster.
Hi @Bansisingh
I also had similar feelings to you about the ‘coolness’ of hand coding a website…then my head hurt from banging it against a brick wall everytime I needed to learn something new because of how quickly new technology is introduced into the web design/development process.
As @PixelGeek has described, Webflow is a tool that enables you to do your work quicker (and more often better). Everybody has different strengths and abilities, so there will always be a debate about what is ‘Best’. The ‘Best’ is what works best for you.
The beauty of Webflow is that it allows you to use all of your design and development concepts/skills, in fact having that basis will help you so much in making full use of Webflow.
Don’t think or compare Webflow to Wordpress or other ‘Drag and Drop’ website builders, as it is completely different. Having a basic understanding of design and development will serve you well and give you more control/freedom to create the things you want to create, rather than just using a template.
As with everything there is a learning curve, and Webflow is no different. However, there are awesome free resources available to learn from and the forum community is amazing! There is always someone willing to help when you get stuck.
Give it an honest try, play with it, stick with it, persevere.
All the best
Keiran
I also couldn’t decide whether to use webflow or not. I worked only with website builders (by the way, a review on this website helped me a lot) as they don’t require special skills and provide me with all features. But finally I agreed to try webflow. Now I’ve been working on my website using webflow and I also like it. So, I recommend to try it.
I feel it creates a lot of untidy code in an established bespoke code base which was initially clean, i’d wish our designer stopped using it overall as it misleads junior developers into thinking development is all about copy and pasting and not understanding css. Coming from a developer standpoint
As a computer scientist, I was repulsed towards no-code website creator such as Webflow. Then I realised that having both tools at your disposal is the real superpower: you can create something personalized and unique when you have the time and budget, or you can create something nice and good-looking when you have more of a time crunch.
I had a hard time learning about Webflow, as there are so many videos and tutorials to choose from! I ended up finding this free webflow website with exercises called Learnflow which is what helped me get on my feet. I recommend it if you’re getting started or want to know how to integrate payments or complex systems like that.
Cheers and hope this helps! 