Alex Mckelvey
Creative Lead
Fewer have heard of Framer, which is what we use for most of the sites we design. Here's why, in plain terms, and when we'd recommend something else instead.
What Framer is
Framer is a website builder made for designers. It sits somewhere between a design tool and a web platform. We design the site and build it in the same place, then publish it to Framer's own hosting. There's no separate developer rebuilding the design from a set of static mock-ups.
What you see is what you get
On a traditional website project, a designer creates the look and a developer then rebuilds it in code. Something is almost always lost in between: spacing shifts, animations get simplified, the mobile version ends up as an afterthought.
With Framer, the site we design is the site that goes live. For a brand-led business, that matters. The care that went into your identity carries through to the website, instead of getting watered down in translation.
Fast to build, fast to load
Because design and build happen together, projects move faster. Changes that would once have meant a developer ticket can often be made the same day.
The finished sites are fast too. Framer handles hosting, security and image optimisation, so there are no plugins to update or servers to look after. Speed matters for visitors who won't wait for a slow page, and it matters to Google.
You can edit it yourself
A website that needs a designer every time you change a sentence quickly goes out of date. Framer's CMS lets your team update text, add blog posts, swap images and publish new case studies without touching the layout.
We set up the CMS around the content you actually publish, whether that's articles, projects, team members or job roles, so adding something new is a matter of filling in a form.
SEO you can control
Framer gives full control over the things search engines read: page titles, meta descriptions, clean URLs, redirects, social sharing images and structured data. Each blog post or case study can have its own search title and description, set once in the CMS template and filled in per item.
That control is only useful if someone uses it, so it's part of every build we do, rather than an extra left for later.
What that looks like in practice
A brand launch is rarely one website. For SolSup, we built connected websites for two sister companies on one shared design system, so they feel related while each keeps its own identity. For AIC, the job was a responsive site with a modern interface for an advanced defence and cyber business. For Qualifye, a startup recruitment brand, the website launched alongside a brand built from scratch.
More recently we've launched sites for D3 IoT and TB Padel, both following the same approach: brand first, then a site that carries it properly.
When Framer isn't the right choice
Framer isn't right for every project, and we'll say so when it isn't. We'd usually recommend something else if you need:
A large online shop with complex stock, variants and fulfilment. A dedicated e-commerce platform such as Shopify will serve you better.
Complex custom functionality, like customer logins, bookings tied to other systems, or a web app. That calls for a custom build.
A very large content site with thousands of pages and many editors working in a complicated publishing workflow.
For most service businesses, studios, startups and professional firms, though, the site's job is to explain what you do, show your work and turn visitors into enquiries. That's exactly what Framer does well.
The short version
We build in Framer because it lets us deliver websites that look exactly as designed, load quickly, rank well and can be updated by the people who run the business. If you're planning a new site and want to know whether it's the right fit, we're happy to talk it through.
