The power of community, a vast topic that could be discussed for hours. During the Webflow Conf' 2022, we had the privilege of listening to a conversation between Claudia Cafeo (founder of the Floxies community), Melissa Mendes (founder of the Flow Party community and Eurecah) and Emily Lonetto (Director of Community at Webflow).
Here is a brief summary of the points discussed during this conference.
Webflow Communities by Claudia Cafeo & Melissa Mendes
First, the two speakers talked about their community:
Floxies by Claudia Cafeo: A Community for Women
Floxies is a community created for women in the fields of UX/UI Design and Webflow development. The goal of this community is to bring together women from all over the world and to support them in their projects in a still very male-dominated web world.
Originally, Claudia was a primary school teacher in the UK. The Covid pandemic distanced people, and during this difficult time, she began to teach herself about UX and UI design, and subsequently Webflow.
During her learning journey, she sought mentors to help her develop her skills and to share knowledge. She posted a message on Facebook to find people to learn together. A message that probably changed her life, as she received numerous responses and subsequently created Floxies, a community of women aimed at bridging the gender gap in web design.
Flow Party by Melissa Mendes: Developing Skills in Webflow
Melissa Mendes also founded a community (Flow Party) starting with seeking help to progress through a message on Instagram.
Today, she has successfully united a community of thousands of people worldwide to teach them how to use Webflow. The aim is to enable individuals to develop all the projects they imagine, from design to development, marketing, and more.
She describes this community as Developers and Designers who enjoy discovering and learning to use new tools.
Tips for Creating a Community (Webflow)
First and foremost, Melissa and Claudia emphasize that it is not easy to start building and mobilizing a community.
But here are some tips they offer for successfully creating a group of enthusiasts:
- Be a good person
- Be friendly
- Support the community
- Have the desire to help others
- Allow people to feel included in the group
- Maintain consistency and dedication
- Understand the needs of individuals
- Create content for those needs
- Be 100% committed when creating a community
- Be willing to share
- Know and be able to give, as people will come to you
Through these tips, we find the notion of the need for belonging among individuals to develop their full potential and create increasingly ambitious projects. This is the most important need that must be managed within a community. Everyone should be able to find their role and not remain isolated, but be able to interact and share with other members (to help or be helped).
What are the feelings shared by the community? The Impact?
Both Claudia and Melissa agree that creating a community is an incredible experience. Helping others brings immense satisfaction. Being able to assist individuals who have faced similar problems during their early learning journey is a wonderful feeling.
Moreover, the fact that everyone has a role in the community, with each member bringing their expertise, fosters extraordinary sharing of knowledge and skills.
What is even more magical for them is when some community members meet in real life to share good moments (even if they are not invited). Receiving selfies of people meeting is a truly magical feeling. It is gratifying to see people connect and work together. It is motivating to witness individuals creating projects together, contributing to the well-being of the group.
The Notion of Collective Growth
Being a part of a community is not just about receiving. Indeed, in a group, there is as much to give as to receive, which is the spirit behind these communities.
When creating a community, one must be able to give without expecting anything in return. When we learn and understand something, we should be capable of giving back.
The communities founded by Claudia and Melissa emerged because they recognized that individuals needed guidance in their learning journeys.
If I can help someone, I do. I may not be an expert, but if I can help, I will.
By sharing our experiences and skills freely, we are often surprised by all we can receive in return. This is truly the spirit behind Webflow communities.
Plans for Growing the Community?
The goal in the coming years is to continue to grow these communities and perpetuate the sharing of knowledge. Here are some plans that will be implemented by Floxies and Flow Party:
- Development of a mentoring system
- Continuing education
- Ongoing support for members
- Creation of certifications
- Maintain organization
- Continue creating and sharing content
- Organize real-life events (IRL)
So those are some of the important points discussed during this very engaging conversation. If we had to summarize the power of community in just three words, it might be:
Education, Collaboration, Support
To help grow this community of Webflowers, Webflow has recently established the Community Grants. A total funding of $10 million that will be partitioned among community members who help introduce Webflow and support the community.
Our Webflow agency, Digidop, also aims to assist the French-speaking community in progressing with Webflow and Figma by sharing accessible content for free. If you want to learn more about Digidop's vision for content sharing, I invite you to watch the above video of the live "Community Day" by Finsweet, where Joe Krug (founder of Finsweet) interviews Florian (co-founder of Digidop):
Discover more news about Webflow Conf' 2022!
