Figma to Code: Automation That Won’t Bite Later

Designers love Figma. Developers love clean code. But sometimes, moving from a beautiful Figma design to working code can feel like falling into a trap. Auto-magical tools promise instant conversion — *Figma to Code* in a single click! Sounds amazing, right?

Contents

Why Even Automate?Let’s Talk About What Can Go Wrong Rule #1: Use the Right Tools Rule #2: Design With Code in Mind Rule #3: Don’t Automate Everything Rule #4: Embrace Components Rule #5: Keep Humans in the Loop A Sample Workflow Avoid These Common Pitfalls Let’s Wrap It Up

Until… it isn’t. What you get is often bloated, messy code that crashes your dreams (and maybe your website).

The good news: you can automate the Figma-to-code process without regretting it later. You just need the right strategy, tools, and a pinch of planning.

Why Even Automate?

Design-to-code automation can:

Speed up development
Reduce errors from manual copying
Keep design and code in sync
Free up developers to focus on logic

But automation should not replace thinking. It should save time — not create tech debt.

Let’s Talk About What Can Go Wrong

Imagine you export code from Figma. It all looks fine at first glance. But then:

You get ten duplicate divs for one button.
Styles are inline… everywhere.
No classes. No reusability. Just chaos.

The site is heavy, slow, and hard to maintain. The devs are sad. The designers are confused. The product manager is looking at you weirdly.

So how do we fix this?

Rule #1: Use the Right Tools

There are several tools that help convert Figma designs into code. Some are all-in-one platforms. Others are plugins. A few popular ones include:

Anima: Great for React or HTML/CSS. Keeps your layout pretty clean.
Locofy: A startup favorite. Converts designs into React, Next.js, or Flutter.
Figma’s Dev mode: Gives structured layers and styles. Good for hand-off clarity.

Whatever tool you pick, make sure it:

Supports code frameworks your team uses
Allows customization (not locked-in code)
Creates semantic and accessible HTML
Doesn’t generate spaghetti

Rule #2: Design With Code in Mind

This is where the magic really starts. Designers and developers must be friends.

*Designing with code in mind* means:

Using components and auto-layouts in Figma
Naming layers clearly (not “Rectangle 43”)
Following design systems — buttons, colors, grids
Being consistent! A 12px padding here and an 11.5px padding there = trouble

If your Figma file looks like a rainbow exploded in five different fonts, the code will too.

Tip: Designers should think like developers, and developers should understand design basics. You don’t need to swap jobs — just speak a shared language.

Rule #3: Don’t Automate Everything

It’s tempting to hit “Export to Code” and walk away. Don’t.

Automate the boring parts, not the critical thinking. For example:

Auto-generate layout code: headers, grids, buttons
Skip logic-heavy features: forms, animations, dynamic components
Review and refactor the generated code every time

Think of automation as your assistant, not your boss. Let it help, but make the decisions yourself.

Rule #4: Embrace Components

Components are life. They keep your code and your design consistent.

So when designing in Figma, use reusable components. When generating code, look out for duplicated layout blocks — these should be turned into components too.

This makes your app easier to update later. Change once, reflect everywhere.

Rule #5: Keep Humans in the Loop

AI and automation are cool. But creativity is still human.

Your design decisions matter. Your judgment matters. So always:

Have developers review the code — not just rely on the tool
Test the UI on real devices — not just Figma preview
Talk to your team — building in isolation invites bugs

Figma to code should mean better collaboration, not less.

A Sample Workflow

Let’s say your team is building a new landing page. Here’s how a smooth Figma-to-code workflow could look:

Designer creates the layout using components, auto-layout, and design tokens.
Engineer reviews the layout in Figma, checking for structure and naming.
Use a plugin like Locofy to generate base React code.
Refactor the output — turn layout blocks into components, clean unused styles.
Connect to backend data or add real content.
Test, tweak, launch!

See? Magic. But not instant magic. Human-powered, automation-assisted magic.

Avoid These Common Pitfalls

Even with great tools, there are traps to avoid. Here are some “don’ts” to remember:

Don’t ignore accessibility: Automation often misses alt tags, landmarks, ARIA roles.
Don’t let styles explode: Too many inline/custom styles = messy codebase.
Don’t skip naming rules: Classes like frame12 are hard to maintain.

If you avoid these early, you’ll save days (or weeks) later.