Webflow Conf 2023

At Webflow Conf 2023 in San Francisco yesterday, new product features and capabilities were announced that make Webflow even stronger.

Here's a preview of the new Webflow:

Spline Localization and Integration
Design with unparalleled control thanks to modern and scalable design systems.
Expanding the ecosystem to unlock new features using Webflow apps and provide a platform for developers.
Improve collaboration to help teams of all sizes work better together, with dedicated workflows for commenting, editing, and publishing.
A new look and feel for Webflow, both inside and outside the product.

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3D experiences with Spline

3D elements add a fantastic touch to any web project. They make every website unique, are extremely flexible and can now be edited directly in Webflow. With just a few clicks, you can integrate your 3D objects with Webflow and control every level of your 3D object. This allows you to create impressive animations that will stand out clearly from traditional websites.

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Conquer new international markets with localization

Webflow is finally releasing localizations. The long-awaited feature is already available to enterprise customers and will be available to everyone next month. This allows you to optimally serve your customers and tailor your company to international target markets. Existing solutions either rely entirely on developers or involve significant compromises in design control, organic findability and high operating costs. Although the feature is chargeable, it offers many benefits.

Localization can do that:

You can customize everything on your site for a specific location, from design to content, without the need for any code.
Take advantage of native, machine-driven translations by using a Webflow partner app like Lokalise.
Maximize global traffic with top-notch SEO, from customizable subdirectories and metadata to localized sitemaps.

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Develop faster with variables

Design systems ensure efficiency and scalability. By introducing variables to Webflow, it's even easier to build consistently impressive websites.

Variables are now available in the designer.

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Components have received an upgrade

The Webflow components have been further developed and are now more user-friendly and powerful than ever. The feature is particularly interesting: slots. Slots are modifiable placeholders within a component that enable the component creator to incorporate flexibility right from the start. They also allow users of the component to change the structure of a component by placing any element or component in that slot. With the introduction of slots, components in Webflow are even closer to the power of real React components.

Slots will be available to all customers over the next few months.

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Webflow apps

Just a few weeks ago, Webflow apps were introduced that bring the full power of apps directly to the designer. This enables developers to develop exciting extensions and make Webflow even more powerful. I'm really excited to see what new apps we'll see in the Webflow marketplace soon.

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APIs

In August, designer extensions were introduced — a new app building block concept that is powered by the Webflow Designer APIs and allows developers to build apps that interact directly with the canvas of a website. Significant updates have also been made to the Webflow REST APIs so developers can better integrate their products with Webflow's core features, such as forms, assets, pages, and custom code.

Three new APIs are now available that allow developers to take advantage of some of Webflow's new features. First, there's a new suite of Component Designer APIs that enable developers to add, connect, and manage components on a Webflow website. Second, a new Variables Designer API was also created, which allows developers to define and manage variables such as colors, fonts, and sizes.

In addition, the new Localization API will be released next month, which enables the integration of third-party translation management systems with Webflow.

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Figma to Webflow

At the beginning of the year, Webflow presented the “Figma to Webflow” plugin. With this plugin, it is possible to transfer Figma designs directly to Webflow. Now the process from design to implementation has been made easier thanks to a new feature that automatically imports your Figma components and associated variables into Webflow. As your design changes and evolves in Figma, you can sync those changes to Webflow with just one click. The designs are automatically updated.

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Importing React components with dev link

DevLink gives developers the ability to import Webflow components into their React environments. Webflow has added a new feature to Dev-Link that allows customers to equip their Webflow sites with React built components. In the future, we'll be able to build everything from live data-connected components such as location finders to full-stack applications.

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‍Improving teamwork

Collaboration is critical to improving time to market and efficiency, regardless of team size. Over the past year, Webflow has invested significantly in improving teamwork.

The recent introduction of comment features makes it possible to get quick feedback in the context of your project in order to move projects forward faster and more efficiently. The free commentator role also makes it possible to restrict specific team members to the “comment only” role in Webflow. There's also now a new content editing environment in Webflow to enable marketers, copywriters, customers, or any other team member to quickly edit and publish content in a simplified and secure environment.

Another recent improvement was the introduction of new publishing workflows that provide greater visibility of suggested updates.

More useful features will be introduced in the coming months. Webflow is also working on a new way for less tech-savvy team members to create new pages on their own using components approved by designers.

Minor updates at a glance: