Why Figma is a Game Changer

At Social Star, we rely on Squarespace, a user-friendly and powerful website builder, for our clients. Squarespace is fantastic because it requires no coding and allows us to hand over control to our clients easily. This way, they can continue updating their websites without needing our constant intervention.

However, the design process can sometimes be tedious. The back-and-forth with clients, setting up meetings to discuss minor changes, and the difficulty of articulating small amendments over text can slow things down. That's where Figma steps in and revolutionises our workflow.

Figma allows us to design entirely on their platform, share designs with clients, make comments, and ultimately become more efficient. Its real-time collaboration features let multiple team members and clients work on a design simultaneously, reducing miscommunication and speeding up the approval process. Once the client approves the designs, recreating the pages on Squarespace is a breeze.

From experience, I've found this method works great with personal brand clients. Unlike established companies, personal brands often haven't tested their branding elements as thoroughly, so they tend to request more design changes, especially in the initial stages. But after outlining the design for the homepage and about page, I usually have a solid grasp of what the client wants and can move on to building the rest of the website directly on Squarespace. Figma is best used as an added asset to your existing methodology.

Figma is not only helpful during the inception phase of website design but is also groundbreaking for redesigning websites. There is a plugin that allows you to download an entire live site into Figma, so you can make design changes there instead of editing live sites, which could cause issues for users.

This feature has been incredibly useful, especially since one of our clients is currently changing hosting platforms. It allows us to keep a backup of everything in case the live site goes down during the transition. It also ensures all content is transferred correctly.

Figma offers easy-to-follow tutorials, making it simple for both designers and non-designers to pick up quickly. Its capabilities extend beyond just website design—you can also use Figma to create brainstorming documents, meeting agendas, diagrams, and much more.

So, if you're a website designer, builder, or developer, I highly recommend giving Figma a try. And if you're a small business owner looking to create a website, it's incredibly helpful to play around with before investing in a website subscription. Figma is a game changer in the design world, and once you start using it, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it