What Is Framer? All About The Web Design Tool For Creatives

Get an in-depth look of what is Framer, the web design tool for creatives seeking interactive and visually stunning websites.

What Is Framer? All About The Web Design Tool For Creatives

Creating websites can be frustrating. This is especially true if you are looking to build a site that is both interactive and visually appealing. If you have tried traditional website builders before, you know that they often need more features or design flexibility to achieve your vision. Framer Design is different. This powerful Framer design tool lets you create fully customizable, responsive websites. Whether you start from scratch or use one of the many templates available, you can achieve your unique goals without compromise. In this article, we will explore the features, pricing, and benefits of using Framer to help you determine if it’s the right web design solution for your next project.  

Numis’s Framer web design is a solution that can help you achieve your objectives by making it easy to create interactive, eye-catching websites with little to no coding.

What is Framer?

woman on a laptop - What is Framer

Framer is a no-code design and prototyping platform that allows users to create interactive interfaces for:

  • Websites
  • Mobile apps
  • Digital products 

All without writing code. Known for its intuitive interface and robust features, Framer is favored by UX and UI designers who want to produce high-fidelity prototypes that closely mimic the final product quickly.

One of Framer’s standout features is its ability to create highly interactive prototypes, allowing users to simulate user interactions and behaviors. This helps designers and stakeholders get a more realistic preview of how the final product will function. The platform supports:

  • Animations
  • Transitions
  • User flows

This allows designers to craft rich, dynamic experiences.

Beyond prototyping, Framer also excels in team collaboration. Designers can:

  • Share prototypes with clients and team members
  • Incorporate feedback
  • Track different versions of a project

This makes Framer an ideal tool for remote design teams or those working with multiple stakeholders. 

A Revolutionary Tool for Non-Designers

Recently, Framer introduced Framer AI, which further simplifies web design. Using AI, users can design, build, and host websites without coding skills. This makes Framer a versatile platform for designers, entrepreneurs, small businesses, or anyone looking to launch a professional website quickly and efficiently. It combines ease of use with powerful design capabilities, allowing for faster turnarounds in website creation.

Framer has positioned itself as one of the go-to tools for modern web and app design with its:

  • Clean interface
  • Team-friendly features
  • The ability to design and ship websites quickly using AI

It’s praised by users for its speed, flexibility, and interactive design capabilities, making it a favorite among designers looking to create professional, functional prototypes and websites without coding.

Why Consider Using Framer for Your Design Projects

employees on a desktop - What is Framer

Regarding web design, Framer is a tool that can help alleviate the stress of designing for the web. It gives you the freedom to design the way you want without being blind to the fact that, at some point, you’ll have to think about responsiveness, interactivity, and other such issues.

An Intuitive Interface Designed for Creatives

Framer maintains a delicate balance between powerful and simple in their approach to user interface. The UI works the same way most design tools do but gives you more power under the hood. When you’re creating, Framer gives you what you need when you need it, allowing you to focus more on your vision and less on the tool you’re using to get there. 

Empowering Creative Freedom 

Framer doesn’t confine you to simple, static design. With its advanced animation capabilities and interactive components, the tool helps craft engaging, dynamic user experiences that stand out. Instead of limiting your creativity, Framer opens doors to help you realize your most ambitious design ideas. 

Seamless Collaboration

Though Framer offers you all the tools to create outstanding websites independently, everything is better together. The platform helps shorten feedback loops, make instantaneous comments, and help you and your team align products to your vision.

Flexibility and Control 

Every designer works differently. That’s why Framer always gives you options. The choice is yours, from working with Frames or Stacks to starting from a blank canvas or with a template to boost your workflow. With Framer’s code injection, they still allow you to have granular control of your product when you need it.

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Framer's Features and Functionalities

woman on a laptop - What is Framer

Intuitive and Easy-to-Use Interface

Framer's interface prioritizes user experience, resulting in a simple navigation design so users can find the tools they need without difficulty. It has a quick learning curve, especially for designers who are accustomed to working with similar platforms like:

Transitioning from mockups to building functional websites with Framer feels seamless. Overall, the organized interface streamlines the workflow, enabling users to start building within a few hours of use.

Robust CMS

Framer’s Content Management System supports scalable content management, making it perfect for websites that have consistent structure but varying content, such as:

The CMS also offers advanced features like conditionals, filters, and transforms, allowing users to easily build highly dynamic and customized sites.

Speed Performance

Framer is built with optimized, modern technologies that ensure high-speed performance out of the box. The platform’s infrastructure is engineered for fast load times, even on large websites. While mobile devices might introduce some challenges, Framer’s strong optimization can still deliver excellent Core Web Vitals scores, making it a strong choice for performance-conscious developers.

SEO Capabilities

Framer takes care of most technical SEO aspects, such as:

This frees you from worrying about these manual tasks. For additional SEO needs, Framer provides tools to tweak and optimize elements for better search engine ranking, making it a solid platform for SEO-driven websites.

AI-Powered Tools

Framer leverages AI to simplify the web-building process, offering:

  • AI Website Builder: You can generate a complete website from a simple prompt, allowing you to start quickly, and make adjustments as needed. 
  • AI Text Rewrite: If the AI-generated website copy isn’t quite right, the AI can rephrase text until it matches your desired tone and style. 
  • AI Translation: This tool enables easy content translation into multiple languages, expanding your reach to international audiences without hassle.

Effects & Animations

Framer Motion, the platform's proprietary animation library, provides a simple interface for building complex animations. It stands out as one of the most influential animation tools in the market, allowing users to create dynamic, visually stunning effects without deep coding knowledge.

Localization

Framer’s localization tools allow you to tailor your site's design based on the user’s region beyond translating text. This feature ensures that websites are visually and contextually relevant to a global audience.

Community Support

Framer boasts a highly engaged and active community where users can quickly seek help, share projects, and get feedback. This community-driven support adds an extra assistance layer, with multiple channels to connect with other users and the Framer team.

Additional Features

  • Pre-built Elements and Components: Framer offers pre-built design elements and components that speed up development.
  • Privacy-First Analytics: On the Pro plan, Framer provides built-in analytics that focus on user privacy, giving you insights into traffic without sacrificing data protection.
  • Integrations Library: The platform supports integrations with popular services like YouTube, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Calendly, and more.
  • Templates: With over 1,000 free and paid templates, Framer’s growing library offers high-quality options to jumpstart your website design.
  • Real-Time Collaboration: Framer supports multiple designers working on a project simultaneously, making it ideal for team-based workflows.
  • Accessibility: The platform provides the tools to ensure your website is accessible to all users.
  • Staging and Versioning: Mistakes happen, but Framer’s versioning feature effortlessly allows you to revert to previous versions.
  • Code Overrides: For those needing more customization, Framer allows custom code overrides to expand its capabilities beyond the built-in features. 

Framer offers a comprehensive toolset for building modern, high-performance websites with minimal friction. Whether you're a designer looking for ease of use or a developer seeking customization options, Framer balances simplicity and power. 

NUMI: Your One-Stop Shop for Framer Web Design

NUMI is a framer web design agency that world-class framer developers and product designers power. Backed by Y Combinator, NUMI handles all of your startup's sourcing/vetting/hiring needs for design. Our fabuolous design team ensures all your design work is done well. 

NUMI helps with:

  • Product design
  • Web design
  • Framer development
  • Webflow development
  • Mobile design
  • Prototyping
  • UX design
  • All of your startup's design needs!

Subscribe to a guild of world-class Framer web design experts ready to embed themselves on your team. Schedule a call with us today to learn more!

Exploring the Framer AI Website Builder & How It Works

man on a laptop - What is Framer

Framer's AI website builder is redefining how websites are created and published. Users can generate responsive web pages in seconds by simply providing a text prompt. AI creates unique layout combinations, copy, and styling for each website page, which can be customized to suit individual preferences. 

Framer also offers a wide range of theme options, allowing users to mix and match display, text, and color palettes to create a cohesive look.

Let AI Build Your Website

Framer's AI web page generator lets you create professional websites in seconds. You can create tailored web pages with copy, images, and styling by providing a text prompt with your desired specifications.

Customize Your Website

Framer offers various customization options, enabling users to fine-tune their AI-generated designs. Framer provides the flexibility to ensure your website aligns with your brand identity, from adjusting fonts and color palettes to modifying individual sections.

Manage Your Content Like a Pro

Framer's built-in Content Management System (CMS) simplifies content creation and organization. AI-powered localization allows users to effortlessly create multilingual websites, adapting content to suit different audiences and regions.

Create Advanced Designs

Framer automatically generates responsive designs that adapt to various screen sizes and devices. It also offers a range of animation and effects options, allowing users to create engaging, interactive experiences without writing complex code.

Collaborate and Manage Your Site

Framer supports team collaboration, offering features like live collaboration, comments, and version control. Its comprehensive site management tools, including staging environments, password protection, and custom domains, ensure a smooth workflow from design to deployment.

How Framer Works

When using Framer for the first time, you can start from scratch or select from a wide range of pre-designed templates. Templates serve as a foundation for the website, which can be further customized to suit their specific needs and preferences. Afterward, you can select a theme, color palette, and font combination to fine-tune your brand identity.

A Granular Approach to Website Generation

Unlike most AI website builders, Framer does not let you generate entire websites with a single prompt. Instead, you have to direct the AI to create each page of your Framer website separately, using prompts to describe exactly how you want the page to turn out. Once the AI has done its part, you can easily add, remove, or rearrange elements for the best results.

Advanced Design Features and Version Control

Framer also offers advanced design features like animations, transitions, and interactive elements, allowing users to create engaging and dynamic websites without any coding knowledge. All your progress is saved automatically as you edit, with full version control, ensuring your changes are never lost.

Publishing and Maintenance Options

Before publishing your website, you can create separate staging environments, enable password protection, and integrate a custom domain. With regular updates and improvements, Framer ensures that your website remains secure, up-to-date, and aligned with the latest web design trends and best practices.

User-Friendly Onboarding and Resources

Framer’s onboarding flow is one of the most intuitive we’ve seen. It uses a combination of tooltips and interactive video tutorials to get you up to speed on the latest features as you design your website. There are ample resources, including a library full of video guides, in case you ever feel lost.

Using Framer for Prototyping

woman on a laptop - What is Framer

Creating a prototype in Framer is a smooth and dynamic process, especially with its new Design Mode, which operates similarly to tools like Sketch and Figma. You can:

  • Design vector layers
  • Import images
  • Style text all within the app

No third-party tools are required.

Start by Designing an App Layout

To begin, use the Design Mode tab to create an artboard. For instance:

  • Choose an iPhone 7 preset
  • Add a background color
  • Create a button using the rectangle tool

Framer's flexibility lets you quickly design UI elements like buttons, images, and text without leaving the app. 

Adding Layers

You can drag and drop images directly onto the artboard and style them with Framer’s sidebar tools. Want to add text? Framer allows text layers to be styled like any graphic design software—think font, alignment, and letter spacing. Once your layers are set, it’s time to tell Framer which of these layers will be interactive. You do this by selecting the layer’s name and enabling interaction with a click. 

Making the Prototype Interactive

The magic of prototyping in Framer comes with interaction design. Say you want to create feedback when someone taps a button. It’s simple: Framer writes the code for you once you specify the event, like a tap. You can even animate layers with:

  • Scaling
  • Rotating
  • Other effects using the Animation Editor

Creating Engaging Interactions with Framer

For example, when tapped, you can make a button animate its border radius or color and then reset these properties once the animation ends. This way, the interaction feels complete and smooth. Framer takes care of these details while giving you control over timing and curves with ease. 

Advanced Interactions: Layer States

If your prototype has multiple states, such as a card that changes size or position, Framer allows you to seamlessly design and switch between states. Just define each state’s parameters (position, size, opacity) and set up an event, like a button tap, to cycle through these states.

Speeding Up Work with Components

Framer offers built-in components to save time, such as:

  • Scrolling
  • Page Swiping

To implement a scrollable section, for example, you create a taller layer than your screen, name it, and set up Framer’s ScrollComponent. Similarly, for page swiping, you can create a layout with multiple layers and use the PageComponent to allow horizontal swiping between them. 

All-in-One Prototyping with Framer

Framer’s balance of design, interaction, and animation features lets you quickly prototype interactive, responsive app designs without ever touching third-party tools. Once you grasp the basics, you can dive deeper into states, components, and animations to create prototypes that feel like real apps.

How Do I Start Using Framer?

employees on a laptop - What is Framer

Before starting with Framer, ensure you meet some simple requirements. Framer is an online tool, so you’ll need a stable internet connection. Framer works best on modern browsers like:

Getting Started with Framer Installation

In reality, there is no installation per se with Framer. All you need to do is create an account at the Framer website. Once your account is created, you can use Framer directly in your browser.

Initial Setup for Framer

After connecting to Framer for the first time, you can go through a quick introduction process that will help you get familiar with the tool's interface. You will also be able to configure some settings, such as:

  • The size of the work grid
  • The default background color
  • Other design options

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Framer Vs. Other Design Tools

man working on a tablet - What is Framer

Both Framer and Webflow let users build responsive websites without coding. Though the two platforms have different strengths. Webflow primarily focuses on creating fully functional websites, while Framer is more of a design tool that excels at prototyping interactions. 

A Comparison of User Experience

Webflow has this feel of Adobe’s user interface, while Framer is more like Figma with its super-friendly UX/UI design. On the navigation, one can see Framer’s significant impact on user experience, which is considerably smoother than Webflow. It’s easier to craft and develop a responsive layout in Framer. The learning curve of Framer is relatively short compared to Webflow. 

Enhanced Collaboration with Framer

Framer also offers a better collaboration feature than Webflow. In Webflow, only one person can be the designer at a time. Additional collaborators can only use the editor role but cannot access full design capabilities. In Framer, you can always have as many collaborators as you like, with no limit to doing whatever they want. 

Framer vs Figma: A Detailed Comparison 

Figma makes creating meaningful products easy and allows collaboration on designs in real-time. Below is how Framer and Figma differ from each other:

Framer natively supports several tools that help you prototype behavior properly, which Figma doesn’t offer. An example of such is outlined below:

  • Scroll: This option lets you set a fixed frame so the user can scroll through long content within that frame.
  • Pages: This lets you easily create a carousel by linking multiple contents.
  • Tabs: Helps you auto-create tabs as you link content.
  • Prototype Viewer: They both have a fantastic prototype view, but Framer has some extra features. 

Apart from the browser page preview, Framer includes a preview panel in the designer interface for real-time validation as you update designs. Framer can also generate a quick QR code for you to share with stakeholders and testers, which Figma doesn’t have. 

Framer vs Adobe XD: How They Differ

Adobe XD is a vector-based design tool that allows you to create clickable presentations, mockups, and dynamic web design. Below is how Framer and Adobe XD differ from each other: 

  • Adobe XD has more advanced design characteristics, like a broader range of tools that can handle shapes and layers with greater ease. It also offers better text–typography options, etc. Framer’s design capabilities are mostly geared towards prototyping and wireframing.
  • Compared to Adobe XD, Framer has more powerful real-time collaboration features. Adobe XD does not offer a free version, whereas Framer has an individual and small team plan for zero cost.
  • Adobe XD’s UI is more complicated and has a steeper learning curve. Moreover, Framer’s interface is easier to use and has a shallow learning process.  

In What Specific Case Should Framer Be Used?

man on a laptop - What is Framer

Framer excels at quickly turning your ideas into functional prototypes. Whether brainstorming a new feature for an existing application or designing a new product, Framer lets you quickly go from idea to prototype. This makes decision-making more accessible and allows your team to understand your vision clearly.  

Framer Design and Prototyping for Teamwork  

Framer is a tool of choice for teamwork. Thanks to its collaboration features, such as real-time sharing and built-in feedback, your team can work together on a prototype no matter where everyone is located. This speeds up the design process and ensures everyone is on the same page.  

Testing the User Experience with Framer

Framer is not only a design tool but also a test platform. Thanks to its interactivity and animation features, you can create prototypes that closely mimic the final product. This allows you to test the user experience and gather valuable feedback before development.  

Framer Website Builder Pricing

man holding a dollar bill - What is Framer

Framer offers a free website builder plan and several tiers of paid plans to offer incremental features while keeping things accessible. Apart from the core plans priced per website, Framer also offers workspace plans enabling collaboration between design teams.

Framer's Free Forever Plan

The free plan, known as the "Free Forever" tier, is ideal for creating simple, hobby-oriented sites. This plan includes access to a Framer subdomain and banner, making it easy for users to get started with the platform. However, the free plan does have some limitations, such as a cap of 1,000 monthly visitors and 1,000 CMS items.

For those seeking advanced features and greater customization options, Framer offers several paid website plans:

Mini Plan ($5 per site per month, billed annually)

  • Ideal for simple sites with custom domains
  • Supports up to 1,000 monthly visitors
  • Includes home and 404 pages

Basic Plan ($15 per site/month)

  • Suitable for personal sites
  • Supports up to 150 pages and 10,000 monthly visitors
  • Features password protection, one CMS collection, custom code embedding, and e-commerce integration.

The Pro plan offers even more features at $25 per site per month for larger sites. Users can create up to 300 pages, access analytics, and cookies, utilize a staging environment, and manage up to 10 CMS collections. The Pro plan supports 200,000 monthly visitors and includes 300-page search functionality.

Framer also provides Enterprise plans with custom pricing for organizations with specific requirements. These plans offer:

  • Enterprise-level security
  • Custom hosting
  • Uptime guarantees
  • Dedicated infrastructure
  • Launch support
  • SSO for sites

Workspace plans range from the free plan for tiny teams to the Pro plan at $37 per editor per month, which includes:

  • Advanced permissions
  • Comments
  • Increased storage

While it may be more expensive than most other website builders, Framer’s advanced customization features and AI-powered design system make it well worth the investment.

NUMI: Your One-Stop Shop for Framer Web Design

NUMI is a Framer web design agency powered by world-class developers and product designers. Backed by Y Combinator, NUMI manages your startup's design sourcing, vetting, and hiring needs.

Our talented design team ensures top-quality work across various design areas, including: 

  • Product design
  • Web design
  • Framer development
  • Webflow development
  • Mobile design
  • Prototyping
  • UX design

NUMI covers all of your startup's design needs! 

Subscribe to a guild of world-class Framer web design experts ready to embed themselves on your team. Schedule a call with us today to learn more!

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