Have you ever been irritated by the thought of having to go through all the stages of developing each new project from scratch again, feeling like the weight of monotony is pulling you down? It’s a common frustration among developers – the feeling that every project follows the same tedious process, leaving little room for creativity.
But what if I told you that there is a way to break out of this cycle and turn your Webflow development experience into a source of pleasure and satisfaction? The secret is to use best practices and innovations that will allow you to take your Webflow development workflow to the next level.
In this in-depth guide, we’ll look at techniques you can use to streamline routine development steps, overcome common things, and unlock the platform’s full potential. So, fasten your belts and get ready to ride into a world where efficiency reigns.
When you start your new Webflow project, it needs to have a strong and efficient foundation to scale from there. Although this is a preparatory phase, development has already begun and there are important points to consider that will set you up for success.
Relume styleguide page
If you think of a styleguide as a blueprint for your project, its primacy becomes clear. Creating a styleguide marks the beginning of your project, ensuring that classes and styles behave predictably throughout. So before you dive into developing specific pages, take the time to work on styles. There are 2 approaches to creating a styleguide:
Frequently used variable groups
Thanks to a recent update to Webflow, using variables has become even more intuitive and efficient. By organizing variables into well-designed groups, you can simplify development and increase efficiency. I recommend considering creating groups such as:
Once these groups are created and associated with the corresponding classes, you can move on to developing web pages with ease and confidence.
Working on variable creation has always been a best practice, and Webflow continues this tradition in the realm of low-code development. These predefined groups provide a solid foundation for any project, allowing for a smoother and more structured development process. And if a client comes back to you with a request to change the color scheme from dark to light, you will be grateful to yourself that you used variables.
1.3 Prioritizing Accessibility
Accessibility are often left to the final stages of a project, but their importance cannot be overstated. From the very beginning of your project, accessibility feature integration should be at the forefront of your mind, influencing every decision and element you add.
Webflow has made a checklist publicly available, after carefully studying it you will have an idea of the main points in this matter.
One of Webflow’s standout benefits is its built-in accessibility dashboard, which provides visual information about how your project is perceived by people with visual impairments. This feature allows you to view your project through multiple accessibility filters, simulating different viewing conditions and highlighting potential areas for improvement.
An example of what your page will look like for people with visual impairments
It’s about creating a more equitable and inclusive digital environment. By prioritizing accessibility from the start, you not only improve the usability of your project, but you also demonstrate a commitment to equalizing access to your project for all members of your audience, regardless of their abilities.
Now you are entering the stage of directly developing all the pages in accordance with the design. Here are some recommendations to help you get through this stage successfully:
Colorful code
“Stop. Why? For what? But how can this be?! After all, the future has already arrived and why do we need the code now?” – you may say. But let’s be honest: without knowledge of code, you can start understanding web development and make a quick start to your career. But staying competitive and creating extraordinary things on the simple drag-and-drop functionality of no-/ low-code platforms doesn’t seem like the truth. Therefore, welcome to the endless development and learning that I talked about in my previous article.
Webflow in-built HTML tags
When working on low-code platforms like Webflow, it’s tempting to rely solely on divs and text elements to create structure. But this is where we differ from ourselves yesterday, that, at a minimum, having read my article, we take responsibility for the quality of the finished product. Make sure your markup follows semantic conventions by using elements such as <header>, <nav>, <main>, <aside>, <footer> and others and correct headings level to improve clarity and accessibility.
2.1.2 CSS:
<style>
@media screen and (hover:hover) {
//Insert your code here...
}
</style>
<style>
/* About page Start */
//Insert your code here...
/* About page End */?
</style>
2.1.3 JavaScript:
These are best practices that have long been taken for granted:
2.2 Webflow components
How often when studying the design of your project do you ask yourself the question: What repeating elements in the project can I use as templates in different pages? Components in Webflow allow you to maintain a consistent, efficient, and scalable design workflow by creating customizable blocks from elements and child elements. You can reuse those blocks across your site, and modify them in a single place to avoid individually revising each recurring layout (source – https://university.webflow.com/lesson/components?topics=layout-design).
Often this can be:
Webflow component “Section”
Using code you can expand the capabilities of Webflow components and provide the client with an incredibly flexible project management system without access to the HTML page structure. This is a completely new approach to web development that allows the client to control many design aspects of the project after the developer has completed the project. In the future, the client will be able to easily create new pages independently based on already created components. And only if there is a need to develop fundamentally new elements will it be necessary to hire a developer. When working with components, clients have virtually no chance of destroying your perfectly prepared HTML structure (however, our clients are often very capable).
Media assets folder view
Use grouping of assets where this makes them easier to find and manage. For example, you have a massive navbar and there are many links with icons in it. The designer has already prepared some of them, promised to finish the other part in 3 days, and the last part is still under consideration by the client. While the designer draws new options, then the client reviews half of them, makes edits and approves the other half, and finally sends them to you for development, most likely you will already have many other images in the asset panel. Icon images will be broken and finding/replacing them in the future will be inconvenient. In this case, grouping assets will make life easier. Grouping allows you to keep all the media in your project clean and organized.
2.4 Stock up on an Archive folder to save the:
Example of Archive folder pages
What is important to do at the end of the project before transferring it to the client, so that you do not leave the feeling that your project has really leveled up now:
3.1 Cleaning the project:
3.2 Create a Project user manual for the client.
In addition to the style guide page, there should be a page describing how to use the finished project. A good developer is one who thinks about how the client will manage the project in the future. How easy it will be to make changes and what degree of freedom the client will have in managing them. Thanks to webflow, this can be as close to perfection as possible. Having CSS knowledge and an understanding of the operating principles of webflow components, you can put together a project in which it will be easy to change current pages or create new ones.
3.3 Give backups unique names.
The principle of descriptiveness applies to everything that you, as a developer, give a name to. Any part of the project should be intuitive for you and your colleagues in the future.
In conclusion, let’s briefly summarize the main points that you should focus on in improving your everyday life as a developer.
Stage 1 – Preparation
Stage 2 – Direct Development
Stage 3 – Home straight
The adoption of best practices is essential for maximizing efficiency and productivity in Webflow development. By following this approach, you’ll not only save time on repetitive tasks but also free up valuable resources for relaxation, self-development, and the creation of innovative projects. Let’s transform our workflows and unleash our creativity to build even cooler things.
This article was originally published by Darya Shuhlia on HackerNoon.
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