What’s the Bet: Framer

Does design disappear in the age of AI?

Author’s note: This is a new format I’m experimenting with to partner directly with companies. I’ll get pitches from firms that want to sponsor a post to talk directly to you. However, I only want to do it in a way that is genuinely beneficial, not just a generic pitch. My solution is this article series, which I call “What’s the bet?” Right now our entire technology paradigm is evolving and founders are having to place very large bets on a very murky future. This is brave (and terrifying). In these emails, founders will share data with me about how they are betting, what features or products they are launching, and why they think this will help them win their markets. Let me know if you have any feedback! Today’s post is from design darling Framer.

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The short version: Framer is betting that large language models collapse the historic divide between design and code, turning website creation into one continuous, conversational workflow—from the seed of an idea to a live, instrumented site. Its strategy is to own that whole path: canvas to CMS to hosting to analytics to iteration. If that future arrives, the winning tool will be a consolidated environment where you think, draft, ship, and optimize—without ever leaving the platform.

Why that bet makes sense now
LLMs are already smushing design and development together. Natural‑language prompts can scaffold layouts, produce components, and suggest micro‑interactions; they can also rewrite copy, generate alt text, and help localize content. The hard part used to be translating intent across multiple tools and teams. Everyone would be chatting in Slack, designing in Figma, creating in Webflow, analyzing the results of the design in one of a dozen solutions. Pure chaos. Framer’s current product direction leans into this: AI to get from idea to structure, AI to create or refine components, and tightly integrated publishing and analytics to close the loop.

They’ve been building toward this since 2018
Part of the reason this bet is so prescient is that Framer’s “design + code” DNA goes back to 2018 when the company launched Framer X, which explicitly blended React‑style components with design tooling. That release signaled a long‑running belief that the best design surface is the one that’s close to real code and real behavior—not static pictures. In 2022, it made the decisive move to Framer Sites, taking the prototyping ethos straight to production websites.

What’s new (and why it matters)
Framer’s spring 2025 launch bundled four cornerstone features that map cleanly to the smushed future:

• Wireframer (AI layouts): Text‑prompt your way to structured, responsive sections so you start from a smart skeleton, not a blank page.

• Workshop (AI coding assistant): A code‑first helper that generates on‑brand components—basically vibe coding—picking up colors, typography, layout conventions, and optimizing performance under the hood.

• Vector (reimagined drawing): Updated graphics tooling more of your visual system can be authored directly in Framer.

• Advanced Analytics: Built‑in click tracking, funnels, and A/B testing to evaluate changes without extra scripts, flicker, or layout shifts.

This market demands positioning excellence
This category is being re‑written in real time: Figma has moved into “design‑to‑publish,” while Webflow is leaning into AI assistance, and Squarespace is pushing an AI builder for the masses. That creates confusion, and the brand that crisply owns the “design→ship→optimize in one place” message can win meaningful mindshare.

Who they’re talking to
Framer’s go‑to‑market energy is squarely around founders, product teams, and agencies that need production‑quality marketing sites.

Competitive landscape (tl;dr)

• Webflow remains the most mature visual‑dev platform with a deep CMS and a growing set of AI helpers. Its strength is complex, bespoke webs of content and enterprise‑grade governance; the tradeoff is a steeper learning curve and more hand‑offs between “design” and “build.”

• Figma Sites (launched at Config 2025) keeps designers in the tool they already live in, design → publish without switching apps. That’s a powerful gravitational pull inside design‑led teams. The open question is depth: Production workflows (CMS, analytics, experiments, localization, performance) must be first‑class for sites to displace specialized builders at scale.

• Squarespace (Blueprint AI) aims at speed and approachability for non‑designers. Great for simple sites and small businesses; less compelling if you care about custom motion, component systems, or in‑product experiments.

Framer’s big bet
Framer’s differentiation is how it flows from AI layout to AI components to first‑party analytics to on‑page editing to hosting to performance fixes (like the new default overflow) inside one product. You can also extend it with AI plugins that connect to OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini—useful for content rewriting, image generation, and accessibility workflows—without tearing a hole in your toolchain. That kind of vertical integration is what turns “LLMs smush design + code” from a demo into an actual operating model.

What would prove the bet right (or wrong)
Right: More teams ship net‑new sites without engineers, and they keep them in Framer because A/B wins and funnels justify the choice in dollars.

Wrong: If most real‑world work still depends on complex CMS relationships, custom back‑end logic, or deep app‑level integrations, Webflow, custom code, or an emerging player may remain the default. Framer’s own moves (e.g., adding CMS API depth and better code‑component management) suggest they know this and are working down the checklist.

My read
If LLMs continue to compress work from idea to implementation, the home field shifts toward tools that keep you in flow. Framer’s releases in 2025—especially Wireframer, Workshop (vibe‑coding), Advanced Analytics, and On‑Page Editing—look like a coherent march toward that future. If you lead a team, want your site to feel product‑grade, and care about testing your way to better outcomes, Framer is making a credible case that you can do it all in one place and do it fast.

If you want to give Framer a try, they’re giving The Leverage readers a free month of Framer Pro with code EVAN2025.