A Step-by-Step Guide to Exporting Figma Designs into HTML

The technical side of web design can get quite complicated, especially when back-end software needs to be developed. Traditionally, coding skills were necessary to correctly execute all the intended functions and create a working prototype that looks just like it was imagined.

Modern software development tools shorten the part from a simple blueprint to a live multimedia web presentation. Today, even designers with no programming knowledge can perform this task well if they know how to use the available tools. A combination of Figma for designing the interface and HTML for translating the look and feel to the internet can work wonders, so it makes sense to use these technologies together.

To help you adopt the knowledge of how to export Figma to HTML, we tried to cover every angle and consider both the positive and negative aspects of this procedure.

Why Would You Want to Export a Figma Design into HTML?

Figma is a collaborative interface design software platform that allows design teams to test different ideas and develop a visual identity for a website. However, this platform doesn’t deal with back end development at all, and any blueprints or prototypes created with it won’t be functional. For that, you need to use a programming language suitable for the web, such as HTML.

How to Export Figma Designs into HTML – A Comprehensive Guide

Figma designs are compatible with other software suites that are frequently used to design websites, but if you are looking for a way how to export Figma to HTML you will need to install some plugins. The basic Figma package doesn’t support exports to HTML, but fortunately there are quite a few reliable plugins that serve this purpose and work very well in almost all cases.

Anima is one of the best-known plugins for Figma that facilitates seamless transfer to HTML, but it’s not the only one you can use. Some of the alternatives include Figmotion, Code2Figma, and Figmagic, to name just a few. In addition to choosing the most suitable conversion plugin, you will also need to decide whether you want to export the entire design or just one of its parts. After you make these strategic choices, you can execute one of the following methods and get your Figma design instantly exported into HTML programming language.

Method 1. Exporting entire HTML package from Figma

This approach lets you quickly transfer the code package for selected webpages that includes all key elements including text fonts, images, and CSS feeds. This approach is sensible when you have a well-rounded project and want to quickly get your pages online without having to manually write the code for it. Here is how you can export a full HTML package from Figma with a few simple operations.

Step 2. Run the plugin within Figma, open your project and select the frames you would like to export

Step 5. After Anima web application opens, set Pure HTML as code framework and Auto Flex as layout

Step 6. Click on the Export button to finalize the process and generate the code

Method 2. Exporting individual HTML components

The alternative to exporting the whole code package is to isolate the code for certain components of your Figma design. This approach makes sense if you are looking to update certain elements of the page or test various possibilities before choosing the final look. In a technical sense, the process is not too complex and involves just a few simple steps.

Step 1. Synchronize your Figma project with the Anima web app similarly to the previous method

Step 3. Find the page you need and select any component on it to view and copy code

Common Challenges when Exporting from Figma to HTML

While exporting your design to HTML is usually completed successfully, in some instances there are issues that must be resolved before you have properly working code. Those issues typically arise from the fact that Figma is primarily a design tool and isn’t intended for coding. The following aspects of the process deserve special attention and could go awry if they are not closely monitored:

FAQs about Exporting Figma Designs to HTML

The primary function of Figma is to support collaborative design work, not to prepare working code. There are two ways to bridge this gap – either by manually coding each element of the design or by using a specialized plugin for Figma that automatically generates code.

The code package includes all information needed to properly render the visual look of a webpage. This typically includes fonts, images, CSS, and other elements. All the files in the package can be accessed with an editor after unzipping the package.

If you are using a plugin to generate HTML code, you don’t have to know to code in this programming language to do it correctly. On the other hand, understanding what code should look like is an advantage since it allows you to detect any issues early and find good solutions for them.

Conclusion

Figma is a powerful web design tool and prototypes developed with it can look great when executed in HTML. This software can’t export designs into HTML on its own, but with the right plugin this is possible. By converting a design directly from Figma, it may be possible to streamline the project, eliminate mistakes, and ensure that all functions on the site work as planned. This is why design teams working in Figma should know how to perform this conversion and how to follow up whether all design elements are interpreted the right way.