Building on Editor X
So, I recently transitioned into Product Design and Development as a career choice. Having taken on a few projects, and solved some problems, it was the right time to build a design portfolio. An important part of being a Product Designer is having a platform to show what you have done, and can do. I mean, it makes sense as artists, innovators and inventors build for people, things they love and need.
There are a few platforms that could double as portfolio webpages, like Behance and Dribbble, where designers are allowed to create portfolios and share to an existing community of designers. These options may suffice as platforms to build your portfolio on, and I really recommend having a presence on either or both of the platforms mentioned above. I however wanted to create a personal experience for people interested in my work that could mirror my personality beyond what I do; putting soul into art to breathe life into work.
So it only felt right to build it myself…
These days, with new no-code development platforms rolling out yearly, making development easy, it was a very achievable short term goal. So I began research on the existing platforms. I settled on Webflow and Editor X as my two final primary options(cue in suspense sound), and chose to develop on Editor X first for 2 reasons, amongst others;
- My knowledge and experience building on Wix
- Free URL and hosting (wear the X with pride? Yes please.)
In a nutshell, Editor X is a new No-Code Development Platform (about a year old at the time of this publication) developed by Wix that allows developers build more advanced and responsive websites. In terms of development environment, it is similar to Wix and leverages a number of its resources. But in capability and function, it is a lot different than the primary product of its parent company. With my knowledge of Wix and other design tools, it took me a few days and a number of Youtube videos to get the hang of this platform. Like all things web development, the learning process is facilitated if you have a Website project to commit to. Doesn’t have to be anything too elaborate, but just enough to commit to understanding the complex bit of the platform.
If I was to define Editor X, I’d say that it is a simple tool that allows for complexities. However, it does require a fair amount of learning to really understand the simplicities. In my experience so far, it’s been quite the learning curve beyond “Drag & Drop”. The platform allows for flexible in-depth development really nicely once you know what to do and there are multiple ways to achieve similar results. In terms of technical support, having none to compare to though, it’s been excellent. Getting stuck on a development problem is easily resolved by sending a direct message on Twitter; haven’t had to dwell on any past 3 hours honestly. This, and a few cool folks within the community willing to help, also eases, and perhaps makes enjoyable, the learning curve.
In about 3 weeks, from researching on no-code development platforms, I have so far built 2 fully responsive websites (3 pages total), and 4 website pages of my Design Portfolio. If you are interested in more details about building on Editor X, or other no-code development platforms, you can checkout Socialectric for resources. Also, Editor X’s Youtube channel has pretty much every content you’d need to get going. Best part, being new, they are constantly releasing content as there’s new features being developed constantly to improve the development experience on the platform. If you love the flexibility Figma provides for designing, chances are you would enjoy bringing your designs and concepts to life, beyond prototyping. Editor X makes it all possible.
