Config ‘25 - Are developers still needed?

This article isn’t to spark any problematic discourse. As always, I’m simply putting my thoughts to paper (or keystrokes, since I’m typing on my system).

The wise ones often say, Don’t get too attached to any tool - any tool can do the job. And while I completely agree with that sentiment, I still love Figma, for its simplicity, for its growth, and most importantly, for how user-centric it’s remained over the years. Complain about a feature today, and chances are it gets resolved and improved in the next update. Beyond being a powerful design tool, Figma is a brand that listens. A brand that designs for designers.

From yesterday, Figma has evolved from being just a UI design tool to positioning itself as a front-runner in no-code web development, content design (especially for marketing), and now even visual expression. It’s truly exciting.

For some background: I started using Figma sometime in 2021. Before that, I used Adobe CC Suite and WordPress for most of my work. Since then, I’ve led growth initiatives across continents on the product, communication, and marketing fronts, using Figma as my core design tool. But this isn’t about me.

The creative community went berserk yesterday when Dylan Field announced Figma’s latest product - Figma Sites. It was a joyful moment: now, you can literally see your exact design come to life as an interactive website, published to the web.

Personally, I’ve struggled for over 36 hours in the past just to prototype a scroll parallax effect on Figma. So yes, this was a breakthrough.

But while we were still basking in the joy of Figma Sites, I started hearing side conversations from some UX designers saying, “We don’t need developers anymore.” I laughed in astonishment.

Are developers still needed?

That shouldn’t even be a question.

As someone who’s had the privilege to write HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React, I can tell you, AI is not replacing developers or engineers anytime soon. Neither is Figma Sites phasing them out. I can repeat that if you’d like - just kidding, I promise I’m not angry.

Even during the live demo for Figma Sites, there was a point where the host had to tweak a line of code just to make a currency calculator timer work faster. Now, that’s a simple line of code for a simple feature. Imagine you're building a full-scale product with thousands of lines of logic. You still think developers won’t be needed?

Yes, Figma Make can generate lines of code from prompts. But let’s be real—we all know how AI can be: sometimes brilliant, other times just... off.

All that said, here’s my take: we should stop viewing these innovations as a threat and start embracing collaboration. Designers, developers, marketers and every creative, let’s work together to push great products, create meaningful experiences for users, and ultimately, drive success for our teams and companies.

If you’re wondering which products Figma just released, here they are:

Figma Make — Start with a design and prompt your way to a functional prototype, fast.

Figma Buzz — Create and share on-brand assets at scale.

Figma Sites — An all-in-one tool for designing, prototyping, and publishing websites.

Figma Draw — A new set of tools for more visual expression.

I have to get back to work now.

Till next time I write.

P.S: If you missed the launch announcement yesterday, below is a video summary of the key products yesterday.