For the last few years, Figma has been the default tool for product design. It solved the collaboration problem, brought design into the browser, and made handoff easier than ever. But design tools don’t stay at the top forever. Just as Figma once replaced Sketch, a new contender is beginning to capture attention-Framer.

At first, I thought of Framer as just another prototyping tool. But its recent evolution has been hard to ignore. It’s no longer just about interactions or mockups-it’s a full-fledged platform for building and publishing websites. That changes the equation. Instead of designing a static layout and passing it along to engineers, Framer allows you to go from idea to live site in one place.

What makes Framer stand out is how seamlessly it bridges design and production. What you create in the tool is exactly what you can publish, removing endless handoff cycles and translation errors. It combines the freedom of a design tool with the power of a development environment, while also integrating CMS, SEO, and analytics. That means teams can move faster and scale without cobbling together extra systems. Most importantly, it puts ownership directly into the hands of designers, giving them the ability to ship real, production-ready websites.

I recently tried Framer on a small project that normally would have taken weeks to design and hand off. Instead, in just a few days, I was able to design, publish, and tweak the site live. The surprising part wasn’t just the speed-it was how natural the process felt. I wasn’t worrying about file versions, handoff details, or waiting on development bandwidth. I was focused on clarity, flow, and content, and Framer handled the rest.

Of course, Figma isn’t going anywhere. It has become deeply ingrained in design teams and will likely remain the core product design tool for years. But for web design specifically, Framer is starting to look like the obvious choice. It’s carving out a space that Figma hasn’t touched: bridging the gap between design and live publishing. If its momentum continues, Framer may be the tool everyone is talking about next.