“The tools are converging. The workflows aren’t. That’s where the chaos begins.”
This issue of Redeployed is brought to you by Tecla: Design and development are merging. Webflow is no longer just a builder, it’s a front-end platform. Tecla helps you hire Webflow developers who thrive in that in-between space, where design instincts, dev skills, and AI fluency come together.
Figma used to stop at the mockup. Webflow used to stop at the marketing page. Now, neither is stopping.
Figma Sites launched this year with a bold promise: ship real websites from the same tool where you design them. No more handoffs. No more dev tickets. Webflow, meanwhile, is evolving past its visual builder roots into a generative platform that builds entire sections, suggests layouts, and connects to CMSes without writing a line of code.
They are not playing nice anymore. They are playing to win.
And engineering leaders? They’re stuck in the middle.
The Boundary is Blurring. Fast.
For years, the line between design and development was sacred. Designers used Figma. Developers implemented. Webflow filled the gap for landing pages. The triangle held.
But 2025 is shattering that model.
Figma Sites means designers can publish a microsite directly from the design canvas. With animations. With CMS data. With production-grade performance. No dev involvement required.
Webflow’s latest AI features do the inverse: turn vague prompts into polished pages, generate reusable components, and suggest visual changes based on behavioral data. Designers are now editing in dev-like environments. Devs are debugging AI-generated design.
The line isn’t blurry anymore. It’s evaporating.
This Isn’t Just About Tools. It’s About Roles.
If you lead a team that touches the front-end, this is not an abstract debate.
It is a restructuring of who builds what, with what, and when.
Already, we’re seeing design teams bypass engineering to ship time-sensitive web updates. One startup in the fintech space told us they no longer file front-end tickets for non-product surfaces. Their brand team builds directly in Figma Sites. Engineers review for security, not implementation.
That same shift is happening in reverse. Engineers are using Webflow’s new logic layer to build internal tools with real data bindings, skipping both Figma and PM review. The end result? More autonomy. Less predictability.
Which raises the question: do you lean in to this new convergence? Or do you redraw the lines?
The convergence isn’t just happening at the tool level. It’s reshaping hiring itself. Teams that once separated design and development are now looking for hybrid builders, Webflow developers who speak design fluently, understand modern front-end workflows, and can move as fast as AI tooling demands. Some of the most adaptive orgs are hiring nearshore Webflow talent who already know how to work in this new middle layer: no handoffs, no lag, just iteration at the speed of marketing. Here’s how they’re doing it.
The Strategic Choice Ahead
There is no right answer yet. But there are two clear paths.
Option one: unify your design and dev workflows. Let designers publish directly. Let developers use visual tools. Embrace the AI assistance on both sides and invest in new forms of governance.
Option two: protect the division of labor. Use these tools for faster prototyping, but keep a formal handoff in place. Guard your production environments. Maintain version control and role clarity.
Both are valid. Both have risks.
The real danger is pretending the status quo still works.
Because here’s what’s coming: marketing teams that build entire campaigns without devs. Designers who don’t just mock up but deploy. Developers who use LLMs to edit layout logic inside visual builders. And all of it happening outside your current deployment pipeline.
Are your systems ready for that?
Are your teams?
More to come…
Recommended Reads
✔️ 2025 Comparison: Figma Sites vs Webflow (Made by Underscore)
✔️ Design Collaborates with Development: Effortlessly Integrating Figma and Webflow (The Editor Suite)
– Gino Ferrand, Founder @ Tecla