POD 63 - Webflow's Code First Future, and What It Means for Us - with Dan Foster

In this episode I talk with Dan Foster, co-founder and technical director at MakeBuild, a Webflow Enterprise agency based in London. We get into Webflow's recent announcement about making code the source of truth for the platform, what that could mean for designers and developers, and why it might matter most for agencies working with bigger clients. Dan shares how MakeBuild has grown from two freelancers into a team of twenty, what their design, build, and grow model looks like in practice, and how they used Webflow Cloud to build a full production web app for Sky. We also cover AEO and why SEO specialists are suddenly getting more attention, how AI is changing the pace of experimentation and optimization, and what the design engineer role means for people who already wear multiple hats in this space.

Check out Dan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfoster29/
https://www.makebuild.studio/

Also mentioned:
Timothy Ricks - https://www.youtube.com/@timothyricks
Tim Janes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timrjanes/
Typeform project - https://www.makebuild.studio/work/typeform
Sky project - https://www.makebuild.studio/work/sky
Webflow MCP 2.0 - https://webflow.com/updates/introducing-mcp-2-0
Webflow Cloud - https://webflow.com/feature/cloud
Webflow Optimize - https://webflow.com/feature/optimize
Optibase (Webflow App) - https://webflow.com/apps/detail/optibase

Timestamps
00:00 Teaser
00:33 Webflow's Re-Architecture Announcement
06:46 Introduction to Dan Foster and MakeBuild
10:48 Services Offered by MakeBuild
14:06 Are People Using LLMs to Edit Webflow Sites?
20:03 Utilizing Webflow Cloud
29:40 The Evolution of Webflow Features
35:25 AI Integration and Code Manipulation
41:55 AEO and SEO: The New Frontier
50:55 Optimization Tools and Strategies
57:59 AI's Impact on Website Optimization
01:01:38 Future Directions for MakeBuild
01:03:26 The Role of AI in Design
01:06:57 The Evolution of Design Roles
01:12:00 The Future of Webflow and Its Value Proposition
01:15:09 The Weird Finnish Thing