Importing a component designed in Framer into a Framer code component

Jul 9, 2024 • 5 min read

Framer is a powerful tool for designers and developers, based on the DOM and rendered with React, which lets you create your own React components while allowing the seamless integration of design and code and enabling you and your team to collaborate in a single environment.

One common task is importing a design component into a code component, especially when working with dynamic or interactive elements. If you're looking to incorporate a Framer-designed component into a code component, follow this step-by-step guide.

Create your design component

First, design your component in Framer. Let's say you've created a button component called 'MyButton'.

Create a code component and access the code editor

In the Framer interface, switch to the code editor view by creating a code component. To create a code component, go to the menu then select 'code', under code select 'create component from code'. Alternatively, if you toggle to the assets panel in the left sidebar at the bottom you'll see a code section with a '+' icon to start a new file. Click on 'Create Code File' to start a new code component, which we'll call 'CustomCodeComponent'.

Import the component

In the code editor for 'CustomCodeComponent', use the 'import' button to bring in your component. You'll see 'MyButton' listed among your available components. The approach is very similar to other IDE imports. Here's an example of how you might structure your import statement:

import { MyButton } from "framer";

Integrate the component into your code snippet

Now you can use 'MyButton' within your code snippet component. Here's a basic example of how to incorporate it:

export default function CustomCodeComponent(props) {
  return (
    <div>
      <MyButton />
      <div>Additional content or logic here</div>
    </div>
  );
}

Customize and extend

You can extend 'CustomCodeComponent' with additional properties, styles, or interactions. For instance, adding property controls to make the component configurable from the Framer interface.

import { addPropertyControls, ControlType } from "framer";

export default function CustomCodeComponent(props) {
  return (
    <div>
      <div style={{ padding: props.padding }}>
        <MyButton />
      </div>
      <div>{props.additionalText}</div>
    </div>
  );
}

CustomCodeComponent.defaultProps = {
  padding: 16,
  additionalText: "Hello World!",
};

addPropertyControls(CustomCodeComponent, {
  padding: { type: ControlType.Number, title: "Padding" },
  additionalText: { type: ControlType.String, title: "Add text" },
});

Preview and test

After integrating and customizing your code component, use Framer's preview feature to test and ensure everything works as expected. Make any necessary adjustments to the design or code to fine-tune your component.

Benefits of using Framer code components

By combining design and code, you can create more interactive components that respond to user actions in real-time.

Code components in Framer can be reused across different projects, saving time and effort.

With property controls, you can make components configurable from the Framer interface, allowing for easy adjustments without modifying the underlying code.

Framer allows you to preview your components as you build them, ensuring a smooth and error-free development process.

Framer uses the Framer Motion animation library, a production-ready motion library for React, as its core animation engine. This allows you to easily create complex animations and transitions within your code components, matching the capabilities of the design tool.

Framer comes with many popular React packages pre-installed, such as Three.js for 3D graphics. This eliminates the need for manual npm installations, streamlining your workflow and allowing you to quickly implement advanced features in your projects.

Conclusion

Importing a design component into a code component in Framer is a straightforward process that greatly enhances your project's capabilities.

By following these steps, you can seamlessly integrate design elements with code, creating powerful and flexible components that elevate your Framer projects.

Framer uniquely bridges the gap between design and development tools, offering a seamless experience that feels natural whether you're in design mode or coding. It empowers users to create powerful websites by effortlessly blending visual design with advanced functionality, all within a single, intuitive platform.

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