Webflow vs Adobe XD

You’re either a business owner or a designer looking into web design tools or website builders.

You want to know which option is best to create your new website or your clients’ websites.

In this article, we will break down, compare and provide our opinion on which tool is better.

First, let’s start the conversation by explaining what each tool is and its capabilities.

What is Webflow?

Webflow is a website development tool that gives developing power to designers. The platform is essentially a code-based platform that allows designers to build a website in HTML and CSS.

The platform has an interface that allows full customization in the design. It does have a learning curve for designers to use even if they have used Adobe products before. 

Who we recommend Webflow for!

The time you will have to invest may scare business owners away. This is why we don’t consider this platform for a business owner to learn. The time you will spend learning all about it will already make creating your own website, not time-efficient.

We recommend business owners hire a web design company, agency, or freelancer to create the website.

We do recommend that designers or developers who know either Html, CSS, other coding languages, or design principles invest their time in this tool.

When used right, this platform has immense power to create fully customized websites that create amazing experiences.

What is Adobe XD?

Adobe XD is a website design tool included in Adobe Creative Cloud that allows you to create custom design concepts ready to be developed. It creates static, not developed designs that are the visuals themselves.

You use this type of tool to create wireframes, concepts, layouts that will then be full designs that can, later on, be developed. Adobe XD gives you the ability to design website aesthetics that aren’t limited to templates.

Other tools like Adobe XD 

Other tools similar to Adobe XD are Figma, Invision, Sketch among others. These tools are very similar in the final product it produces. They all do have different interfaces, integrations and are targeted to different audiences. 

Among this tool, Adobe XD is used for its ease of use, similarity to other Adobe products, and compatibility with other Adobe tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and even After Effects.

I would think of Adobe XD as an extension or upgrade of Adobe Illustrator but focused on Web Design. The tool itself was created to replace Photoshop in web design capabilities.

Functions of Adobe XD

Not only does Adobe XD offer a great interface and ease of use, but it also offers other tools and features that make the tool stand out.

Components

Components let you create reusable assets such as buttons that you can use later throughout your design.

Repeat Grid

You can create a design and duplicate it into grids to accommodate how many you need. This makes it easy to designs repeated designs such as profiles, testimonials, etc.

States

States help you build interactivity by using states such as hover to showcase your work. You can use this to showcase how the page will interact with the user when built.

Import and export from Photoshop, After Effects

The best thing about using XD is that it’s part of the Adobe Suite so it seamlessly integrates with other Adobe products in the way that you can import or export from and to Photoshop or After Effects to improve work speed.

Webflow or Adobe XD?

The reality is that one tool isn’t better than the other especially because they are meant for different functions within the website creation process. Adobe XD is meant to design and prototype a website while Webflow is meant to build the website.

The best way to use both of these tools is to use them together. You can design a website with all the colors, layouts, and assets in Adobe XD and then build it in Webflow. With this process, you save time in Webflow since you’ll already know exactly what you need to build.

The tricky part is designing with the mindset that you will build this in Webflow. By this, I mean that even though Adobe XD builds static pages you should be thinking of how the page will be fully interactive and animated in Webflow.

You want to use all of Webflow’s key features that make it great such as Animations, Lottie animations, interactive scrolling, etc. So you can have designs that were once static, come to life.

We, at Bee Hexa Branding, actually use both Adobe XD and Webflow in our website creation process. We start off by defining the brand, then outlining the pages it’ll need based on the businesses’ goals and industry. Then, we design it with all its assets and build it in Webflow.

It’s a super-effective workflow that we really love. If you want to see the websites we’ve made with this process, go to our website development service.
Also, we’ll be showcasing our process from design to development in our upcoming Youtube.