Framer Review 2025

Over two years ago, I was doom-scrolling on Twitter and kept seeing more and more designers posting about this tool called Framer.

They were all raving about how easy it was to build stunning websites without code - the hype was real!

Here's the thing - I had completely slept on the Webflow bandwagon a few years earlier and regretted it. I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

So I had to see what all the fuss was about.

As designers, we've all been there. You spend hours crafting the perfect website design, with smooth animations and clever interactions mapped out in your head. But it's just a pretty mockup until someone who knows code brings it to life.

Most website builders feel like they were made by developers, for developers. They expect you to think like a programmer, learn some CSS, JavaScript or even PHP(!).

I just want to build beautiful, interactive websites that actually work.

And that's exactly what Framer does.

I know Framer might not be the perfect fit for everyone. But after using it for over two years, I've got some thoughts I'd love to share. Maybe they'll help you figure out if it's worth your time.

What is Framer?

Framer is an all-in-one platform for designing and publishing websites.

It's a designer-friendly website builder that makes it easy to design, prototype, animate, publish, and update your sites without writing a single line of code.

The cool thing about Framer is that it was created by designers who actually understand what we need. They built it to solve the problem of creating interactive websites without needing a developer.

In this article, I'll share my honest experience with Framer - what I love about it, what annoys me, and why I think it might be perfect for you (or maybe not).

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My journey with Framer

After seeing all the hype on Twitter, I decided to give Framer a try.

I've tried plenty of website builders before - WordPress, Carrd, even tried using Super (a Notion website builder). Nothing felt right for a designer like me.

So I decided to do a Framer crash course on YouTube to see what all the fuss was about. Within a few hours of playing around with Framer, I was totally hooked.

The interface felt intuitive, the animations were smooth, and I could finally create the kind of interactive websites I'd always admired.

What really caught my attention was how other Framer designers were talking about making money by selling templates.

I figured I’d give it a shot and started working on my first Framer template. It got accepted into the official Framer Marketplace, and I made my first sale on day one—I still remember that feeling.

That’s when things got interesting. I wanted to promote my template elsewhere, but there just weren’t many dedicated directories or resources for Framer templates at the time.

So, I challenged myself to build one over a weekend in March 2023. That turned into Frameplate — the very website you’re reading this review on.

Fast forward over two years, and this website has become my main focus. I've been building, curating, and promoting Framer templates and resources ever since.

This review is based on my hands-on experience not just as a Framer user, but as someone who's been deeply embedded in the Framer community, running Frameplate and building templates.

Who is Framer for?

Framer is perfect for designers who want to build custom websites with sophisticated interactions without needing to code

If you're a freelance designer, work at an agency, or just want to showcase your work online, Framer is worth checking out.

Also, if you’re already using Figma, trying out Framer is a no-brainer. The interface feels super familiar - and while Figma recently launched Figma Sites, trust me, Framer’s been doing this for way longer and just gets it on a whole other level.

Best of all - it's completely free to get started. You only pay when you want to publish multiple sites or need advanced features.

If you end up paying for Framer, it probably means you're creating some pretty awesome stuff.

Framer vs Webflow

You're probably thinking, "What about Webflow? Isn't that the designer tool everyone uses?"

Totally fair. Webflow’s used by thousands of independent designers, and I’m sure it’s a great platform - but the truth is, I’ve never actually opened it.

There are plenty of articles comparing the two platforms out there, so I’ll let you explore those on your own time.

My understanding is that Webflow has a pretty steep learning curve. It's powerful, but it can feel overwhelming.

Framer is different. It's way more intuitive and feels like a design tool first.

The animation tools are easier to use, and you don't need to wrap your head around complex concepts just to make something move on your website.

Both platforms give you hosting and let you publish websites. But if you want to focus on creating portfolio sites or landing pages with smooth interactions, Framer is much more straightforward.

I like to think of it this way - Webflow is like Photoshop (powerful but complex), while Framer is more like Figma (intuitive and designer-friendly).

How to start using Framer

Here's how to get started with Framer:

Sign up for a free plan

Go to Framer's website and hit "Start for free." No credit card needed.

The free plan lets you create and publish websites, gives you hosting, design components, animations, responsive design tools - pretty much everything you need to get started.

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Quick setup

After signing up, Framer will ask you a few questions like "What kind of site are you building?" and "Have you used other website builders before?" Just to get to know you better.

You'll pick a name and URL for your site. On the free plan, you get a Framer subdomain (like "yoursite.framer.website"). If you want your own domain, you'll need to upgrade later.

Framer also gives you a quick tour of the editor so you don't feel lost.

Navigating your dashboard

Once you reach your main dashboard, you'll see all of your projects and settings.

You will have detailed information on all your websites, their publishing status and plan, and a button to start a new project.

In the sidebar, you'll see options for “Account”, “Settings”, “Updates and “Contacts”. Then below, there’s a "Projects," when you can organise your projects into folders.

Designing your website

Framer makes it easy to start designing, with little to no friction. If you're just starting out, and have an idea you want to build, I recommend just clicking on "New project."

You can start from scratch or kick things off with a template from the marketplace.

Framer’s editor feels familiar if you’ve used design tools before — clean, intuitive, and easy to pick up as you go.

If you're completely new to web design, don’t worry — check out our Ultimate Roadmap to Learn Framer in 2025 to get started.

The team at Framer is also constantly releasing product features and updates so keep an eye on their X account, YouTube channel or the Updates page on their website.

Publishing your site

When you're happy with your design, hit the "Publish" button. Framer handles all the technical stuff - hosting, speed optimisation, mobile responsiveness.

On the Settings tab you can update the SEO settings of your website, give it meta descriptions, add your favicon, turn on or off analytics tracking, and more.

You can also edit domain settings, password protection, and more. I'm not going to go through every single thing you can optimise with your website settings because it's a lot. Just try out the platform for free and see it for yourself!

Essential Framer features

Framer has tons of amazing features that make it a great website building platform for any designer. Here are some of the essential features you can find with Framer:

Website builder

At its core, Framer is a website publishing platform. It makes it super easy to design and publish websites. I mentioned above some of the things you can do with your settings and website design so I'll spare you some extra reading.

The thing to note with Framer's website builder is that it has a really modern and intuitive feel. It's definitely one of the better design editors I've ever used.

Interactive prototyping

One of Framer's standout features is its ability to create interactive prototypes. You can create complex animations and interactions without writing code.

The Components feature allows you to create interactive elements that respond to clicks, hovers, and other user actions. This makes it possible to create highly interactive websites that were previously only possible with custom development.

Responsive design

Framer makes it easy to create fully responsive websites that look great on any device. The platform includes tools for building and previewing your design at different screen sizes and setting responsive breakpoints.

This ensures that your websites will look good on mobile, tablet, and desktop devices without requiring separate designs for each.

Components

Getting your design system right is important. After all, consistency is key to professional-looking websites, right?

With Framer, you can create and reuse components across your projects. This not only speeds up your workflow but also ensures consistency in your designs.

Framer also includes a growing library of pre-built components and templates that you can customise to suit your needs. This is especially helpful if you're starting a new project and need inspiration or want to save time.

Collaboration tools

Framer includes robust collaboration features that make it easy to work with clients or team members. Friendly advice - check the prices to add more collaborators to your projects first.

You can share your designs for feedback, work together in real-time, and even hand off your projects to developers with detailed specs and assets.

Publishing and hosting

When you're ready to share your website with the world, Framer makes it simple to publish it with just a few clicks.

Your website will be hosted on Framer's servers, and you can even connect a custom domain if you're on a paid plan.

The platform also includes analytics tools to help you track how your website is performing and make improvements based on user behaviour.

Framer pricing plans

Framer offers several different pricing plans.

I’ve already posted about how to choose the right pricing plan but here's a brief overview:

The Free plan gives you everything you need to get started and publish your first website.

The Mini plan is the cheapest one and is great for a landing page or a simple portfolio that fits on one page.

The Basic plan will suit most small to medium websites that require 1 or 2 CMS collections.

Then there’s the Pro plan which gives you everything in the Basic plan but with more pages & CMS collections. This is the plan I am on for Frameplate.

They also have a series of plans for Businesses that require more pages, CMS collections and bandwidth. If you’re a designer building websites for big companies you may want to take a look at these first before suggesting using Framer to a new client.

There has been some complaints from the community about some of the features included in each plan but it seems that the Framer team is listening and is tweaking the offering every now and then.

Framer pros and cons

Of course, with every platform, it has its pros and cons.

Here are some of the pros and cons I've personally experienced while using Framer:

Pros of using Framer

Here are some of the pros of using Framer as your website builder of choice:

• Easy to set up and start designing websites for free

• Clean and modern interface

• Lots of flexibility with designs and interactions

• Interactive components without coding

• Website hosting included

• Great for portfolios, landing pages, agencies

• A very active community creating resources for designers

• The Framer teams keeps shipping news features and updates every month

To be honest, I haven't seen another website builder that has been able to package all of these features together so well for designers.

But of course, I don't want to be biased so I'm going to mention some cons.

Cons of using Framer

Here are some of the cons I've found while using Framer:

• Limited CMS capabilities compared to platforms like Webflow or Wordpress

• The price of the subscriptions can increase quite drastically once you want to add collaborators or use locales

• No options to export your code so you’re locked to the platform (although it’s to be expected with a platform like this)

I use Framer for most of my design projects these days, but the CMS is where it falls short. It’s missing some basic features (like post scheduling and a full-page editor) that would make running a blog on Framer a whole lot smoother.

Besides that, I still believe the pros far outweigh the cons here. I'm also confident that Framer will continue to expand its capabilities in these areas as the platform evolves.

Conclusion

Overall, Framer is a great solution for anyone looking to dive into the world of interactive website design.

The functionality of this website building platform far outweighs many that are currently on the market. And with a generous free plan, you really have nothing to lose for trying it.

Anyway, I don't write review posts often. I only do when I actually use the tool myself and would recommend it to a friend.

I hope you found some clarity on whether or not Framer is a good platform for you.

If you're looking for templates to jumpstart your Framer projects, or just want to get better at design, consider browsing our collection of Framer templates, resources, plugins and deals.