How to Use Figma for Website Mockups

Did you plan a website but didn’t know how to bring it to life? Then let’s meet with Figma. Without doing a single line of code, design our website. But as a beginner, you might find it a little difficult.  However, once you know how to work with it, your work will be easy. And then you can easily drag, drop, design, and turn your ideas into something real, all on your screen.

Whether you're working on a school project, designing for a client, or just practising to sharpen your skills, Figma makes it simple. So, as a beginner, you can start with a basic wireframe and end up with a beautiful, high-quality mockup that looks like a real website.

And you know what’s the most relieving part? You don’t need to be a design expert. In Figma, you will find tools that are beginner-friendly, and you can experiment, explore, and express your creativity with those tools, even if it’s your very first try.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through how to create your very own website mockup in Figma, step by step.  So, are you ready to turn your ideas into something awesome? Let’s get started.

What is a Website Mockup?

Firstly, let’s note that a website mockup is a picture of what your website will look like. Or in simple words, you can say that it’s like a sample or preview before you build the real thing. You can use it to see where things like buttons, pictures, and text will go. It will also help you check if you have chosen the right colours and text size, as well as whether the design sizes look nice together or not. Mockups allow you to try out your design and make any necessary adjustments. Plus, besides checking your design, a mockup also helps you understand your website better. If you want to see things like how big the homepage is and how many pages your site will have, you can see them there. Most importantly, you can also see how your website will look on a phone, tablet, or computer. Making a mockup is an important first step. It helps you plan everything before you start building your website.

Why Use Figma for Website Mockups?

As we already know, Figma is a great tool for making website mockups. It’s easy to use, works fast. Here’s why people love using it:

• Easy to Use: In Figma, you may find the buttons and tools easily, so whether you are just a beginner or an expert, you can use them without making a mess.
• Great for Teamwork: Have a team? Want to work together? No worries, you and your team can work on the same design at the same time. You can leave comments, share ideas, and see changes live, no need to send files back and forth.
• All-in-One Tool: Figma lets you make wireframes, full designs, and style guides, all in one place. Plus, you don’t need to switch between apps.
• See Before You Build: With Preview Mode, you can click through your design like it’s a real website. It helps you see how your site will look and feel before building it.
• Easy to Export: When your design is ready, you can send it to tools like Webflow, or you can give it to a developer. This will make building the real website even faster.

Getting Started with Figma

To work in Figma, you will have to install it, so before you start designing, you need to set up Figma. Here’s how to do it:

1. Sign Up for Figma:

• Go to figma.com and click “Sign Up” to create a free account.

After successfully signing up, you will see a page like this:

2. Understand the Figma Interface:

• Top Left Menu Bar: Here, you will see options like File, Edit, and View for managing your project.

• Bottom Toolbar: Contains tools like the Rectangle tool, Text tool, and Vector tool for creating shapes and designs.

• Right Properties Panel: Lets you adjust colours, sizes, and other details of your design elements.

• Layers Panel: Shows all the parts of your design, like a list of layers you can organise.

Creating a Website Mockup in Figma

Now that you’re set up, let’s create your website mockup. Follow these steps:

1. Install Figma Plugins

Before you start designing, you have to install plugins. So, to install them, click the top left menu and find plugins.

• Click Plugins > Manage Plugins

And then you will see a window pop up like this:

Here you can search for plugins that you need, and after that, by installing them, you can use them from the Plugins section. For now, we will look for Artboard Mockups and then install them to get the Figma mockup plugin.

2. Select your Figma frame from Artboard

An artboard is like a blank page for your website design. You can have multiple artboards for different pages, like a homepage or an about page. So now that you have installed it, it’s time to select a frame that you like

• Select the Artboard Mockups from the toolbar, and you can choose the ready-made Mockups

• Or you can also build layouts. To do that, you can use the Rectangle tool to draw shapes for the header, footer, and main content.
• And you can adjust their size and position by dragging the corners or using the properties panel. Plus, you can drag and drop images from your computer into Figma. And then, Resize and move images by dragging their handles.

Step 3: Use Frames

Frames can help keep your design organised and reusable:

• Frames: These are like containers for grouping elements. Select the Frame tool and draw a frame around related elements, like a navigation bar.

Designing Responsively

You have to keep in mind that your websites need to look good on all devices, from big desktop screens to small phones. This is called responsive design. Here’s how to do it in Figma:

1.  Use Auto-Layout:

• Select an element, like a button or text box.
• In the properties panel, go to the Layout section and enable auto-layout.
• Set elements to adjust automatically (e.g., stay centred or stretch to fit the screen).

2. Create Artboards for Different Devices:

• Make separate artboards for desktop, tablet, and mobile.
• Adjust the layout for each artboard to ensure it looks great on every device.

Exporting and Sharing

When your mockup is ready, you can share it with others or send it to developers. Here’s how:

Export Designs:

• Go to File > Export.

Share a Live Link:

• Click Share and copy the link.
• Anyone with the link can view or interact with your prototype online.

Final Thoughts

Figma is a great tool for making website mockups. It’s easy to use, and you can explore a lot, and the best part? It’s perfect for working with others. Whether you're making a simple homepage or a big app, Figma will help you turn your ideas into real designs. So why wait? Start using Figma today and create your own website mockup with confidence.

Need ideas? Take a look at free templates from other designers.