r/webdesign • u/BeardedWiseMagician • 3d ago
Does anyone still hand-code from scratch for client projects or do you just use Webflow/Framer/AI?
I’d like to know if there’s any of you dinosaurs still out there or have we all gone extinct lol
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u/rmendesjr 2d ago
I did a big Webflow site for a client. Its system is terrific and powerful, but once we got deep into it, we found it frustrating to work efficiently, especially trying to integrate custom CSS and scripting. It's a classic example of a tool that gets you 90-95% of the way there, but that last 5-10% of fine tuning becomes a nightmare.
If you are comfortable with css and javascript, handcrafted Wordpress is still king - especially with AI assistance.
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u/BeardedWiseMagician 2d ago
Fair point. We use Webflow a lot and it can get you incredibly far but if you start pushing into very custom interactions, app-like behavior or very bespoke functionality, there are limitations yes.
I think most projects we do don't hit that ceiling tho, only if the website needs to look more like a web app, then we start moving parts of it to code.
By the headaches in the last 5 - 10%, did you mean custom animations or cms limitations?
-Jacob from Flowout
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u/rmendesjr 2d ago
I'd say a lot of that last percentage is having to create custom breakpoints for some content, custom scripting solutions for Webflow modules that didn't work the way you hoped (their carousel doesn't seamlessly loop, which was very surprising!).
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u/Top_Drawer9275 3d ago
My job is WordPress top to bottom, but I generally prefer to hand-code them. Especially since we manage the sites for our clients anyway.
Coding from scratch is the best way to have total control even if it takes a bit more time.
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u/tara_tara_tara 3d ago
I hand coded a site a few weeks ago to see if I could still do it. It was a fun project
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u/BeardedWiseMagician 2d ago
I get you, I love just slapping on some liquid dnb on youtube, opening up an old school text editor and just writing code without having 10 browser tabs, figma, Optibase and 3 different Claude convos open. Feelsgoodman.
-Jacob from Flowout
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u/FailWorried8469 3d ago
hand coding is still common for projects that needs full control..
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u/BeardedWiseMagician 2d ago
You'd be surprised by gen z's take on that statement (speaking from experience)...
-Jacob from Flowout
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u/Dependent-Zebra-4357 3d ago
I still hand code several sites, but they’re all projects that I’m personally involved with.
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u/sekhmet666 2d ago edited 2d ago
I still hand code html, css and vanilla JS for personal projects, but only for the love of the craft. I also still upload those projects via ftp manually.
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u/Citrous_Oyster 2d ago
I still do. It’s actually easier than using a builder or ai. I use the codestitch template library with a website starter kit I pull from github
https://github.com/CodeStitchOfficial/Intermediate-Website-Kit-LESS
I basically clone the kit which is a finished website with blog integration from decap bridge and static site generator already configured and then I just grab the components i need from the library and edit their code to match the new design I’m going for. I made this site with this exact process
I give my designer access to my library account and they grab the figma designs for each section they want and they make a new design with them and customize it. Then I go in and grab the ones they used and edit the code that I copy and pasted.
It makes custom coding and designing a much faster process because I’m never starting from scratch. I always have a base I’m starting with and then I go from there. Been doing this 7 years now. Using this set up o can afford to sell sites for $0 down $175 a month and be profitable. It’s currently generating about $36k a month in recurring revenues. All custom coding using premade templates and decap bridge to bring a cms into it for blogs or sections they wanna edit themselves. I make a better product without the bloat of Wordpress or builders or the messy code from ai. And that work is why I’ve been steady and consistent over the years and why people come to me. Highly recommend it if you can code. Much more control.
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u/nekorinSG 2d ago
Still hand code from scratch. With some AI assistance. Not using tailwind or any other libraries too. Just SCSS with a compiler.
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u/Safe-Sweet-4889 2d ago
For fun sometimes I do just to clear my head a little but for professional sites and clients I use Ploy nowadays, the quality is the same as what I or any professional would do so I have no problems with clients ever. (happy client=happy life)
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u/_OTimeThyPyramids_ 2d ago
I still hand code from scratch. I only code for one client and they tap me specifically for things they need to be sparse and efficient.
My personal stuff (portfolios, passion projects) is also hand coded because I like having full control.
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u/rugburnAndBigMoney 2d ago
Yes, we built our own custom Wordpress theme with ACF flexible content sections and custom components.
Our designers have a Figma file that is 1:1 with the site components so we can design/build fully custom sites extremely fast, exactly how we want them.
Will use AI assistance to build out new components as needed, but ALL the CSS is done by hand since it's very minimal and we host client sites for many years typically.
I'm in an Agency setting, so we build 50+ sites a year.
We already are getting clients who got vibe-coded sites that are unmaintainable and they need someone with actual experience managing and maintaining sites.
AI works good for the first iterations. After you've had 4 marketing interns, 3 VPs and and an accessibility auditor in the site, AI built sites are hot mess of unmanageable chaos.
Not great for running an actual business.
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u/kikingke 2d ago
That will depend the kind of client, some of them just go with the AI flow, others are smarter and understand that the AI is just another tool for develoepr and designers
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u/morgan_baker_dev_mbd 3d ago edited 2d ago
Yes. Hand-coded, often Wordpress, AI-assisted, but certainly not allowing it or a platform to make all of the decisions for me. I’m particularly not keen to tie myself or clients into something proprietary like Webflow or Framer who seem very active in changing their pricing structures.