When Figma introduced Websites, designers lit up prefer it was Christmas, WWDC, and Adobe’s funeral all rolled into one. Lastly, they cried — a software that will let me publish immediately from Figma. No builders. No handoff. No intermediary. Simply click on “Publish” and increase — you’re dwell on the web.
Some known as it a Framer killer. Others whispered it is likely to be a WordPress murderer. And within the chaos of hype and scorching takes, a really uncomfortable reality bought misplaced:
Figma Websites is… not prepared.
Not but, anyway.
And but, regardless of being clearly undercooked, it’d nonetheless be essentially the most harmful factor to occur to WordPress and Framer in years.
Let’s speak about it.
WordPress: Nonetheless All over the place, Nonetheless Exhausting
WordPress is the explanation half the net exists. It’s highly effective. It’s extensible. It’s additionally a bloated mess duct-taped along with legacy plugins, outdated themes, and group boards that advocate capabilities written in 2009.
Designers have by no means cherished it — they’ve tolerated it. In case you’ve ever handed off a clear Figma mockup solely to see it chewed up and spit out by Elementor, you realize the ache. WordPress is a CMS first and a visible platform second… or perhaps third… or perhaps under no circumstances.
And let’s be trustworthy: should you’re constructing a advertising and marketing website, a portfolio, or perhaps a launch web page, WordPress is the very last thing you need to contact until you’re being paid hourly.
Framer: Quietly Sensible, Ludicrously Underrated
Framer, however, has been slowly profitable over designers who need extra management and extra delight. It’s clear. It’s interactive. It truly respects structure. It offers you CMS options, stunning transitions, and actual responsiveness with out a line of code.
It’s every little thing Webflow needs it was — however simpler to make use of and 10x extra elegant.
The one situation? Framer remains to be a separate software. It’s a must to go away Figma. Rebuild layouts. Re-learn a UI. Re-upload belongings. It’s not a exhausting bounce, however it’s a bounce. And most of the people gained’t bounce in the event that they don’t must.
Which brings us to Figma Websites.
Figma Websites: Workflow Drug or False Messiah?
Figma Websites looks like a dopamine hit. You’re designing. You’re flowing. And now you possibly can simply… publish. No friction. No swap. No dev. You’re already there.
And that’s the place it will get harmful. As a result of despite the fact that it’s not almost as highly effective as Framer, and nowhere close to as mature as WordPress, it’s already the best choice.
And as anybody in UX is aware of: the best choice all the time wins.
However let’s not confuse “straightforward” with “prepared.”
As a result of as of now, Figma Websites is tough. Like, why-is-this-out-already tough.
The UX Is Paradoxically Half-Baked
Figma Websites, for all its imaginative and prescient, in some way stumbles on the one factor Figma normally nails: interface readability.
The Websites panel looks like a rushed plugin masquerading as a local characteristic. You need deep management over structure? Not occurring. You need auto-layout to behave the best way it does in Figma correct? Not but. You need reusable elements with logic? Good luck.
As an alternative of feeling like a design-to-web revolution, it looks like somebody duct-taped a minimal website builder into your design software and known as it a platform.
The Code Output Is a Black Field (and a Mess)
Look underneath the hood and also you’ll see what seems to be suspiciously just like the ghost of Dreamweaver previous. The HTML? Cluttered. The CSS? Bloated. The search engine marketing? Barely there. You possibly can’t optimize it. You possibly can’t export it cleanly. You possibly can’t examine it with confidence.
This isn’t internet publishing. That is HTML purgatory.
Figma Websites isn’t simply providing you with a one-click option to launch. It’s locking you right into a system that’s not able to scale — or go away. Attempt migrating off of it and also you’ll be begging for demise or paying somebody on Fiverr that can assist you replatform to Webflow.
And that’s the deeper concern: vendor lock-in disguised as simplicity.
This Isn’t a Framer Killer. It’s Framer Lite for the Figma Trustworthy.
Let’s be actual. Figma Websites and Framer usually are not focusing on the identical consumer — not but.
Framer offers you CMS assist, animations, types, variables, responsive overrides, search engine marketing management, and precise efficiency instruments. It’s for designers who additionally need to ship stunning, advanced, scalable websites. Figma Websites is, at finest, a portfolio toy with good typography.
And that’s fantastic. There’s a spot for that. However when folks begin performing like Figma Websites is the brand new commonplace, we have to pump the brakes. Proper now, it’s nearer to Carrd with Figma fonts than something revolutionary.
However Right here’s the Twist: It Nonetheless Would possibly Win
All that mentioned… Figma Websites would possibly nonetheless win. Not as a result of it’s higher. However as a result of it’s already inside Figma. You don’t must go wherever. You don’t must be taught something new. You simply design and click on “Publish.”
That’s the form of frictionless workflow that kills higher instruments.
So whereas WordPress will stick round — as a result of inertia — and Framer will proceed to develop with severe designers and businesses, Figma Websites might quietly eat the underside of the market with out ever needing to be “good.” It simply must be there.
The Actual Downside: Figma Would possibly Be Turning Into Adobe
That is the place it will get a little bit darker.
Figma Websites is the primary huge post-acquisition “platform transfer.” And it exhibits. It’s overmarketed, undercooked, and feels prefer it was constructed for the investor slide deck greater than the design group.
Figma used to construct considerate instruments. This looks like a money seize. A walled backyard. A step towards changing into the very bloated, legacy artistic suite it as soon as changed.
If we don’t push again now — if we let hype override actuality — we’re simply watching the sluggish Adobe-fication of Figma in actual time.
What Designers Ought to Really Do
Use Figma Websites… however with open eyes. It’s fantastic for a private website, a fast launch web page, or a one-off prototype. However should you care about search engine marketing, efficiency, dynamic content material, accessibility, or long-term maintainability? Go Framer. Go Webflow. Go code. Go wherever else.
Don’t let “handy” develop into the identical entice that bought us all caught in WordPress hell within the first place.
Last Thought: Don’t Decrease the Bar
Figma Websites might finally be wonderful. It actually might. Nevertheless it’s not there now. And pretending in any other case doesn’t assist the software — or the trade.
We deserve higher than half-baked options wrapped in stunning UI. And we positively deserve higher than one other walled backyard that locks away actual internet requirements.
So sure — be excited. However be skeptical. Be crucial. Figma Websites is likely to be the long run sometime.
However immediately? It’s only a very shiny warning signal.
Leave a Reply