Not every Webflow project starts from scratch. A significant part of our work comes from rescuing Webflow builds that went wrong after being handed off from Adobe XD.
Clients come to us frustrated: “The site doesn’t look like the design,” “It’s not responsive,” or worse—“We’ve spent so much time and money, and it’s still not working.”
If that rings a bell, read on. Below are 5 real-world problems we faced (and solved) in XD to Webflow projects—and how you can prevent them.
1. No Structure or Style System in the XD File
The problem:
XD was pretty to look at but lacked a consistent name, grid system, or reusable design. Developers had to “guess” how things were supposed to work, which meant it had unbalanced spacing, misaligned elements, and chaos in the Webflow style panel.
How we solved it:
We reverse-engineered a style system, made global classes, and rearranged the layout using correct Webflow grids and containers so that it is maintainable and consistent.
Lesson:
Design should be systematic—use parts, reusable styles, and definite structure in XD to cut down on translation mistakes.
2. Looks Great on Desktop… But Mobile? A Disaster.
The issue:
The client signed off on a stunning desktop design, but there were no mobile views developed in XD. The old developer attempted to “guess” responsive behavior and was left with clunky stacking, overlapping items, and destroyed layouts.
How we fixed it:
We re-created missing mobile breakpoints by hand in Webflow, applying design logic to maintain UX consistency. We also established clean responsive rules throughout all sections.
Lesson:
Always design for every breakpoint in XD—or have a team that knows how to translate desktop designs responsively.
3. Animations Were Either Missing or Way Too Much
The issue:
The XD prototype employed clean micro interactions, but on Webflow, animations were skipped altogether—or abused with clunky transitions that bogged down the site.
How we solved it:
We broke down each interaction’s design intent and rebuilt only the intentional ones. We leveraged Webflow’s native animation feature in a lightweight, user-centered manner.
Lesson:
Subtlety is important. Animations must enhance, not detract. And they must match the original design’s intention—not a developer’s improvisation.
4. Non-Semantic Code & Bad SEO Configuration
The issue:
The website was okay to look at, but the Webflow layout utilized divs for everything—no headers, no sections, no image alt attributes. Consequently, the website failed in SEO audits and was inaccessible.
How we corrected it:
We rewired the layout with proper semantic HTML5 tags and made sure all images had alt text, meta titles were uniform, and header tags obeyed hierarchy.
Lesson:
A “complete” site visually doesn’t equal completeness. It takes structure and SEO cleanliness to count for performance and findability.
5. No CMS Strategy for Dynamic Content
The issue:
The client required a blog, case studies, and portfolio. Yet the initial construct utilized static pages for all of them. Changes to content meant copying pages and manually modifying each component—resulting in disorganization and unnecessary time.
How we solved it:
We established CMS collections in Webflow, established custom fields, and remade templates that dynamically auto-populated content. The client was able to edit pages from the editor in minutes now.
Lesson:
CMS from the beginning. Time is saved, and scaling becomes simpler.
Final Thoughts
Prevention Is Cheaper Than Repair
If you’re planning to convert your Adobe XD design to Webflow, make sure you partner with a team that understands both platforms deeply.
At Pixel Perfect HTML, we specialize in clean, maintainable, and truly pixel-perfect XD to Webflow builds. Whether you need a fresh build or a project rescue—we’re here to help.
