I provide curated resources for Designers and Webflow users including useful apps, tools, and events, as well as inspiring content to read, listen to, and watch, so you get ahead as a Web Designer Freelancer and Webflow Pro.
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FlowBiz Newsletter #1 | February 20, 2024
Published 7 months ago • 7 min read
FlowBiz Newsletter
Issue #1 | February 20, 2024
Welcome to the first issue of FlowBiz.
FlowBiz is a digital publication centred on the no/low-code movement, creativity and running a freelance design business. Every Tuesday I deliver inspirational content, a hand-picked selection of no-code tools and a variety of useful recommendations of items to read, watch, and listen. The content is there to help you build better digital experiences, and run a successful design business especially with no-code tools like Webflow.
If you’ve got any suggestions for content I should include in future issues, or have any feedback, feel free to reach out.
Thanks for giving issue #1 a read, and once again, welcome to FlowBiz! – Laura www.lauraniebel.co
The Noun Project provides icons for almost all use cases and can be used for websites, (web)apps and print publications. You can search for specific single icons, as well as entire icon sets. As a subscriber you get unlimited icon downloads and all icons can be downloaded as png and svg files.
This accounting tool is fantastic for Aussie freelancers (and could also be useful if you’re based elsewhere). Rounded is made for business owners without large teams, who don’t need payroll and other extensive features. Instead it has everything you might need as a solopreneur. Invoicing, quoting, income/expenses and time tracking are included. You can connect your bank accounts and for Australian freelancers support for GST, BAS and the Australian financial year are super handy.
Finsweet’s class system “Client First” for Webflow is now used by many Webflow agencies and freelancers. Want to see how it works? There is now a quick guide available for download with lots of helpful visuals. This document allows you to get a first overview of the system and how you can utilise it for your own projects. You can further explore the Client First website and dive deeper into the system’s inner workings.
To reduce page load times, it can be useful to convert your existing images to WebP. While you could use Webflow’s native conversion feature inside the asset panel, it’s recommended to use an external tool to do this instead. To WebP allows you to bulk upload and download your images and adjust the output quality and size. The advantage here is that your original images won’t be altered and you can experiment with different quality settings.
Webflow recently rolled out their Localisation feature for all customers (previously it was only available for enterprise customers). In December Webflow now enabled bulk translation for CMS fields. This means with the click of a button you can translate ALL fields within a CMS item. This definitely saves some time when you have collection items with lots of fields.
One of Webflow’s December updates includes the new code block element. With this element (which can be found in the “advanced” section of the element panel), you are now able to add a code snippet to your site. Note that the code block element is very different to the HTML embed element: the code block element just visually displays code on a page, while the HTML embed element actually helps execute code on your site. The code block element is especially useful for sites that deliver help documentation, or teach code-related content.
Hunt Gather is a creative agency from Austin, Texas and a Webflow Enterprise Partner. The Hunt, Gather team has worked with companies such as Dell and Chipotle. Their own website displays nice, subtle animations, which make the site more dynamic without becoming too overwhelming. Check out their work/folio section in particular. Here the team gives the user a super quick overview of the project and by scrolling downwards, users are automatically presented with additional visuals and details about the project. Nicely done!
Grace Walker is a skilled designer and Webflow expert, who works as a solopreneur and freelancer. In her concise, 15 minute talk at the Webflow Conference 2022, she highlights why she has chosen to run a company of one and has decided against growing her design business to several team members. In a time when growth seems to be synonyms with big teams it’s refreshing to see a different perspective from a successful business owner. She also shares her top five tips on thriving as a Webflow solopreneur.
Following on from the topic of small teams is the book “Company of One” by Paul Jarvis. Paul makes the case for running a nimble and flexible business, and that running a better business does not automatically mean running a bigger business.
In this podcast the host shares a meal with a variety of successful Aussie business people such as Susan Wheeldon (CEO of AirBnB Australia), and Frank Greef (Founder of Real Estate firm Realbase). The discussions shine a light on the guest’s journey, the challenges and how they got to where they are today.
Considering to take on a p/t role to supplement your freelance income? US Fintech Novo is looking for a Senior Webflow Developer who is able to “design, create, and help direct compelling, visually appealing and user-friendly website layouts, landing pages, and templates that are on brand”. This is a part-time role and the applicant must apparently be able to attend one of Novo’s offices a few times a week. You can apply through the following link: https://boards.greenhouse.io/novo/jobs/5085339004 and learn more about Novo here: https://www.novo.co/
Please note that this role is advertised online when this newsletter is being published, but might be filled by the time you read this.
This fireside chat organised by Emmett Armstrong, talks about how to best integrate retainer in your web design business. You can join the event through Meetup.com.
Hey London, Webflow peeps – the next Webflow meetup is just around the corner! This in-person event will feature two presentations about Relume components and a branding agency’s journey with Webflow. Of course there’s time to mingle and meet other UK-based Webflow users.
Tutorials, Tips & Opinions
Best workflow for converting image assets to WebP for use in your Webflow marketing website
As I am doing ongoing maintenance work and site improvements for a larger Webflow site (Webflow Enterprise client), which includes speed optimisation, I want to share my experience with the WebP image format and its implementation. This article will not only give you a brief rundown of the WebP format and what to look out for – but also my preferred workflow for creating new WebP images and converting existing ones.
What is WebP and why is it beneficial for your marketing website?
WebP is an image format developed by Google, which reduces the size of the image without loosing quality. Some older browsers don’t support WebP, therefore it’s useful to check which browsers (and browser versions) the majority of your target audience uses, so you can determine if you need a fallback option for those images. A good overview of supported browsers can be accessed via the Can I Use…. Webflow does not have a way natively to offer alternative image replacement, so you’d have to implement a custom code solution for this. I recommend taking a look through the official Webflow forum, if this is something you’d like to explore further. You can read Webflow’s own article about WebP in their blog post.
Creating new images in WebP format
I frequently use Figma for resizing and exporting images, When creating new images in WebP format I utilise Figma as well. Unfortunately the software can’t export images in WebP natively, but there is a handy plugin called WebP Exporter. This plugin can be downloaded for free from the Figma Community. Once installed and activated, you select your desired Frame within Figma and WebP will allow you to set your preferences for the export such as scale and image optimisation. The exported image can then be uploaded into Webflow’s asset panel or used within a CMS item.
Converting existing images to WebP
Your site might already have images – most likely in jpg or png format – and you might want to convert these to WebP for better site performance. While Webflow allows you to convert images to WebP within the asset panel (just select an image and then press convert), I would not recommend this approach. One issue is that Webflow replaces your original image with the new WebP image and there is no way of getting your original one back other than reverting to a previous site backup. Keep in mind that Webflow only enables automatic WebP image conversion within the asset panel, not within CMS collections. You are also not able to save the converted WebP images elsewhere without first downloading them from your asset panel.
What I do instead is export/download the original images from Webflow, and use a batch conversion tool like To WebP for converting them to WebP format. Once conversion is completed I upload the WebP images back into Webflow (this often also gives you a chance to better organise the site’s folder structure if this wasn’t done by whoever built the site originally). The on-page images are then re-connected to the new WebP versions with the old jpgs/pngs being deleted from the asset panel and the site republished. This process (image download, conversion, image replacement, image deletion) is then repeated page by page. It helps to keep track which pages have already been completed, especially if there are lots of other tasks you are also working on in the same project. Both the original images, as well as the WebP images are saved elsewhere for future reference if needed.
The conversion process can take while – in particular if you are working on a large site – but the benefits can be worth it when it comes to page speed and page load times.
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I provide curated resources for Designers and Webflow users including useful apps, tools, and events, as well as inspiring content to read, listen to, and watch, so you get ahead as a Web Designer Freelancer and Webflow Pro.
FlowBiz Newsletter Issue #1 | February 20, 2024 Welcome to the second issue of FlowBiz. The second issue is once again full of useful, inspiring content about Webflow, no/low-code, digital design and freelancing. If you’ve got any suggestions for content I should include in future issues, or have any feedback, feel free to reach out. Happy reading! – Laurawww.lauraniebel.co Apps & Resources Storyset Ready-made illustrations Storyset (developed by Freepik) is a site that lets you download...
