Webflow and Friends with Janne Parri

POD 57 - On Webflow nostalgia, vibe coding, and starting over - with Nelson Abalos Jr

In this episode I sit down with Nelson Abalos Jr, also known as Pixel Geek, who many of us remember from the old Webflow tutorial days. We talk about what the Webflow community used to feel like, why that tight knit feeling probably isn't coming back, and what small pockets of community can still do. Nelson opens up about leaving Webflow, starting That One Couple with his wife, and the rough stretch where he almost walked away from tech entirely. We get into vibe coding with Replit, what AI is actually good at, and where it still falls short, including his honest take on the Webflow MCP. Nelson also shares the story behind NovaUp, the micro journaling app he built to climb out of a personal low point, and why he wants it to be the app you only open once a week. Check out Nelson: @pixelgeek on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@pixelgeek] https://x.com/thepixelgeek [https://x.com/thepixelgeek] https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonabalosjr/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonabalosjr/] https://www.thatonecouple.com/ [https://www.thatonecouple.com/] https://novaup.app/ [https://novaup.app/] Also mentioned: That One Couple - https://www.thatonecouple.com/ [https://www.thatonecouple.com/] NovaUp app - https://novaup.app/ [https://novaup.app/] Sabrina Jeffries site - https://www.sabrinajeffries.com/ [https://www.sabrinajeffries.com/] Replit - @replit on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@replit] - https://replit.com/ [https://replit.com/] Raymmar Tirado - @Raymmar on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Raymmar] MagicPath - https://www.magicpath.ai/ [https://www.magicpath.ai/] Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) - @mkbhd on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd] Timestamps 00:00 teaser 00:24 Nostalgia for the Webflow Community 06:32 Nelson's Transition from Webflow to New Ventures 12:08 Building a Business with a Spouse 16:40 Crafting Unique Client Stories 19:30 Focusing on Women and Minority-Owned Businesses 22:57 Introducing NovaUp: A Micro-Journaling App 29:17 Learning from Vibe Coding and AI Tools 33:27 Webflow MCP 39:56 Simple and Editable Webflow Builds 46:10 Design Control in Replit 48:52 Coping with Industry Changes 54:34 Future of Nova Up App 59:45 Vibecoding Mobile Apps and Storing Data 01:05:32 Should Everyone Try Vibecoding? 01:09:02 Final Thoughts on AI and Development 01:11:00 The Weird Finnish Thing

POD 56 - Making sense of AEO - with Yar Al Roshidi

In this episode I sit down with Yar Al Roshidi to make sense of AEO, or answer engine optimization. Yar is a Webflow partner based in Barcelona who has been focusing on AEO and is moving back to freelancing full-time to work on it. We get into what AEO actually is, how it relates to traditional SEO, and why your website is only about 20% of the game while the other 80% happens off-site. We talk about content structure, schema markups, why Webflow has approx. 2% CMS market share but shows up in 64% of CMS-related AI searches, and how to measure something that is still mostly a black box. We also cover the difference between Webflow and tools like Lovable when it comes to AEO, the role of YouTube and Reddit in building authority, the latest Webflow MCP updates, and what Yar is planning with his own freelance services. Honest conversation about a topic where nobody is really an expert yet. Check out Yar: https://yar.website/ [https://yar.website/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaroshidi/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaroshidi/] Also mentioned: Webflow AEO Playbook - https://webflow.com/resources/ebooks/aeo-playbook [https://webflow.com/resources/ebooks/aeo-playbook] Webflow AEO Maturity Model - https://webflow.com/solutions/aeo [https://webflow.com/solutions/aeo] Schema Markup Validator - https://validator.schema.org/ [https://validator.schema.org/] Noco (Agency) - https://noco.agency/ [https://noco.agency/] Lovable - https://lovable.dev [https://lovable.dev] Lovable HTML - https://lovablehtml.com/ [https://lovablehtml.com/] Firecrawl - https://www.firecrawl.dev/ [https://www.firecrawl.dev/] Webflow MCP - https://developers.webflow.com/mcp/reference/overview [https://developers.webflow.com/mcp/reference/overview] Claude - https://claude.com [https://claude.com] Timestamps 00:00 teaser 00:44 Webflow's AEO Strategy and Market Positioning 05:23 Why AEO matters? 09:30 How do you know if AEO is working? 15:52 Why Schema Markup is important? 22:14 How to Build Authority? 24:02 Measuring AEO success 28:18 How to Make Lovable AEO Friendly? 32:21 Future Trends in AEO and Local Search Optimization 38:08 Enhancing Local Digital Presence 40:20 How Does Language Affect AEO? 45:25 How Does Yar Use the Webflow MCP? 49:22 Yar's Announcement and Future Endeavours 51:29 YouTube Videos for AEO? 53:54 Reddit for AEO 56:22 Yar's Future Plans and Service Offerings 01:01:12 The Role of Content in AEO 01:06:12 Final Thoughts on AEO and Digital Presence 01:07:47 The Weird Finnish Thing

POD 55 - Building a Lean Studio in a Bloated Industry - with Ben Hammond

In this episode, I sit down with Ben Hammond, founder of Shrink Studio, a Webflow premium partner based in London. Ben works with venture-backed B2B teams at seed, Series A, and Series B. We talk about why so much of the agency world has become bloated, what a lean studio actually looks like in practice, and how Ben structures Shrink around discovery, development, and optimization. We get into senior-only teams, sprint-based development, why frameworks are starting points and not religion, his take on MAST and component-first builds, and how he thinks about handover. We also cover his outbound process for finding venture-backed clients, how AI is changing the agency model, and where AEO fits into the work going forward. Check out Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bybenhammond/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bybenhammond/] https://www.shrink.studio/ [https://www.shrink.studio/] Also mentioned: Corey Moen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreymoen/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreymoen/] Alessia Sannazzaro - @ale_sannazzaro [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCjNCrinLrA755SAV2tNZZdg] Dan Foster - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfoster29/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danfoster29/] Uroš Mikić - @UrosMikicFlowNinja [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCSjNKGtXjd6FEgc4oj4zn2g] Episode with Nathan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4SjwOYYps8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4SjwOYYps8] Episode with Mason - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0XxH4ZsXH0 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0XxH4ZsXH0] MAST Framework - https://www.nocodesupply.co/mast/docs [https://www.nocodesupply.co/mast/docs] Finsweet Attributes - https://finsweet.com/attributes [https://finsweet.com/attributes] PostHog - https://posthog.com/ [https://posthog.com/]

POD 54 - AEO is going to change a lot - with Mason Poe

I sat down with Mason Poe, founder of Edgar Allan, the Webflow agency that has won Enterprise Partner of the Year twice and has delivered over 800 projects. We got into AEO and what's actually changing now that the aperture of the web is opening, why brochureware is dead, and how owned media is becoming a real channel instead of a set-it-and-forget-it brand exercise. Mason shared why he thinks anything repeatable will be replaceable, how Edgar Allan has built a story-first approach to agency work, and what it really means to move upmarket with Webflow. We also talked about the Webflow partner directory, the dirty secret of digital agencies, and the gap between exponential technology change and incremental human change being the real opportunity for builders right now. Check out Mason https://www.linkedin.com/in/masonpoe/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/masonpoe/] https://x.com/masonpoe [https://x.com/masonpoe] https://www.edgarallan.com/ [https://www.edgarallan.com/] Also MentionedEpisode with Nathan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4SjwOYYps8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4SjwOYYps8]Profound: https://www.tryprofound.com/ [https://www.tryprofound.com/]Ethan Smith (CEO @ Graphite.io): https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanls/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanls/]Josh Grant: https://substack.com/@joshgrantstackedgtm [https://substack.com/@joshgrantstackedgtm] Timestamps00:00 teaser00:28 The Future of Websites and Media09:41 Building Edgar Allan15:18 First Enterprise Client Experience18:37 Story Driven Approach23:58 Integrating Brand and Stories32:04 Webflow's Brand Evolution and Community Engagement38:32 Understanding AEO: Answer Engine Optimization45:05 Understanding Metrics in the New Landscape48:12 Tools For AEO52:49 The Future of AEO and Web Development56:37 Ephemeral Software01:01:04 Webflow Community01:05:27 Improving the Webflow Partner Directory01:09:06 Security & Enterprise Projects01:11:48 The Future of Work01:15:10 The Weird Finnish Thing

POD 53 - We're Harsh Because We Care - with Matt Evans

Matt Evans is an award-winning Webflow developer from Dublin. He runs Fido and Patch, a studio that builds everything from marketing sites to AI-enabled products. He won the Webflow Technical Builder Award in 2022 and has been pushing beyond Webflow with AI tools over the past couple of years. In this episode we talk about what Matt sees as Webflow's biggest problem right now, and it is not technical. We get into the communication gap between Webflow and its community, what the golden days felt like and why they are hard to repeat, and whether Webflow is at risk of losing the freelancers and small agencies that helped build it. We also talk about the client editing experience, the developer tools like Webflow Cloud and AppGen, and how Matt thinks about the split between Webflow core and a dedicated client interface. And we spend time on where Matt is taking his own business, using AI to build products beyond traditional Webflow work, and what that shift actually looks like day to day. Check out Matt: https://www.fidoandpatch.com/ [https://www.fidoandpatch.com/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattyevs/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattyevs/] Also mentioned: Episode with Nathan Huening - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4SjwOYYps8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4SjwOYYps8] Shop Talk Show Episode - https://shoptalkshow.com/710/ [https://shoptalkshow.com/710/] Matthew P Munger - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpmunger/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpmunger/] Hal Zeitlin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/halzeitlin/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/halzeitlin/] Alessia Sannazzaro - https://www.youtube.com/@ale_sannazzaro [https://www.youtube.com/@ale_sannazzaro] Julian Galluzzo - https://www.youtube.com/@Memberstack [https://www.youtube.com/@Memberstack] Ship Studio - https://www.youtube.com/@shipstudio_app [https://www.youtube.com/@shipstudio_app] Michael Wells - https://www.sygnal.com/ [https://www.sygnal.com/] Ailin Tobin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ail%C3%ADn-j-tobin-web-design/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ail%C3%ADn-j-tobin-web-design/] Timestamps 00:00 Teaser 00:16 Biggest Beef 08:57 Matt's Journey 17:26 AI and Problems to Solve 25:04 Where to Store the Context? 33:12 Webflow CMS Idea 34:59 Tool vs. Service 40:13 Client Experience vs. Developer Needs 44:54 Webflow's Position in the Market 48:22 The Risk of Losing New Users 53:25 State of the Webflow Community 57:13 Webflow's Developer Features 01:02:16 Communicating About Those Developer Features 01:09:42 Preparing for the Future in Web Design 01:15:19 About Uncertainty and Pressure That AI Brings 01:23:42 The Weird Finnish Thing