TL;DR
- Framer shaped my career. I was an early Framer expert, released templates and landed many projects through it after going solo in 2023.
- My own site now runs on Astro and Cloudflare, built with Claude, to cut costs and see what I could build with AI.
- It wasn't generated. AI makes the work faster, but Figma and years of experience keep every detail the way I pictured it.
- I still recommend Framer, especially for marketing teams and people who aren't technical.
- Next, I'll keep building Framer sites where they fit, and offer custom development with AI for founders who want to own their site.
I’ve been around Framer for a long time. I was one of the first Framer experts featured on their official page. I was using their framer-motion React library back when Framer was still a prototyping tool, before the website builder everyone knows today even existed. I always admired the team’s work, so when the site builder launched, I jumped in and loved it at first sight. It had plenty of limitations in those early days, but it was friendly, and the React stack underneath gave me the freedom to push past most of them with custom code.
In 2022 I still had a 9 to 5. I convinced my team to move the company website and landing pages to Framer, and everyone loved it. When I went solo as a freelancer in 2023, I published my own website on Framer, released templates, went deep into the community and landed many, many projects through the platform.
So you might be thinking: okay, Tiago, you were there from the beginning and it’s been a great ride. Why on earth move away from Framer?
What changed
A lot happened between 2023 and now. AI is here to stay, and the market is shifting with it.
And then there’s the elephant in the room. I don’t want to complain, but early on Framer did a great job with its community, and over time that shine has faded, especially with the latest marketplace updates and new features that haven’t done much to help creators succeed. I’m still grateful for everything they’ve done for the community, and I’ll own that some of the opportunities I missed came down to how I managed my own time. But the real reasons are simpler:
- Cost. Framer is expensive for a business like mine. I’m a solo entrepreneur, and even though I still work on plenty of Framer projects and earn through their affiliate program, I still pay a premium to use the features that matter most.
- AI. It’s here to stay, and I wanted to see what I could build with it: something more solid, that costs me close to nothing each month.
So I decided to build my website from scratch, with Claude as my development partner, on the Astro framework, deployed to Cloudflare.
I think of it as opening a door, not closing one. I wanted to try new waters, and so far it’s been an amazing experience.
No, this site wasn’t “generated”
If you think this website was generated, you’re wrong.
I use AI in my design process to explore ideas. But I’m tough on details, and I still rely 100% on tools like Figma to make sure everything is pixel-perfect and exactly the way I pictured it.
That said, it’s no secret that AI makes the whole process much faster, and the development side is a whole new experience on its own. I still leaned on years of experience and plenty of nerd knowledge to get everything working the way it should. But I cut hours, days and probably a few weeks compared to building it all by hand.
I don’t think a “humans vs. AI” battle is worth fighting. I’d rather embrace it, use it to make my work better and faster, and keep moving.
I still recommend Framer (a lot)
Please don’t get me wrong. I still recommend Framer, a lot, especially to teams and to people who aren’t technical.
Building custom code with AI still asks you to understand at least some of what’s happening under the hood, or to invest real time in learning it. When something breaks, a prompt alone won’t always save you.
For marketing teams that treat their website and landing pages as a real marketing tool, as they should, Framer is a huge advantage. It’s friendly, and it handles collaboration better than anything else out there, AI tools included. Being able to change a headline, publish a landing page or test a new section without waiting on a developer is worth a lot.
So the choice isn’t Framer or code. It’s about what fits the team, the budget and how much control you need.
What’s next
That’s it for now. I’m not leaving Framer behind: I’ll keep designing and building Framer sites for the clients it suits best. What changes is that I now have a second path to offer.
For founders who want a site they fully own, that runs on code instead of a monthly platform plan, and that can grow in any direction the product needs, I’m opening up custom development with AI, the same way I built this website. Same design standards, same attention to detail, just a different engine underneath.
This site is the first chapter of that. I can’t wait to see what the next ones look like.