Why does the page design in Webflow look different from the exported production version?
TL;DR
- Ensure all exported Webflow CSS, JS, and asset files are uploaded and linked correctly.
- Verify custom fonts are properly hosted or linked after export.
- Check that your hosting environment doesn't alter or block essential resources.
- Confirm the viewport meta tag is present for responsive behavior.
- Make sure file paths are correct for your server setup.
- Clear browser and CDN caches to avoid loading outdated files.
When your Webflow page design looks different from the exported production version, it usually relates to missing assets, improper settings, or external hosting differences.
1. Check Missing CSS or JavaScript Files
- Exported files must include all Webflow-generated CSS and JS files.
- If you forgot to include the Webflow.css or Webflow.js files when exporting, layouts, animations, or responsive settings can break.
- Always export the full package (HTML, CSS, JS, assets) and upload everything to your server.
2. Verify Custom Fonts
- If you're using custom fonts (uploaded or Google Fonts) in Webflow, ensure they are correctly linked after export.
- Webflow sometimes references hosted assets; you may need to download and link fonts manually, or serve them through a service like Google Fonts, or update your server’s paths.
3. Compare Hosting Environments
- Different servers may unintentionally compress, cache, or block resources like CSS or JS files.
- Ensure your server doesn’t strip or modify Webflow’s code automatically (some CDNs or security layers might).
4. Review Responsive Settings and Viewport Meta Tag
- Confirm the viewport meta tag is present in your exported HTML (
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">). - Missing this tag can cause mobile views to render poorly or not honor Webflow’s responsive breakpoints.
5. Examine Relative vs Absolute Paths
- Webflow uses relative paths (
/images/myfile.jpg) unless otherwise specified. - If your hosting environment expects absolute URLs or different structure, paths to images, scripts, or stylesheets might break, leading to design inconsistencies.
6. Reset Browser Caches and CDN Caches
- Browsers and CDNs sometimes cache old versions of files.
- Clear cache or perform a hard reload (Shift + Reload) to pull fresh assets.
Summary
If your Webflow design looks different after exporting, it’s usually due to missing CSS/JS files, improperly imported fonts, server-specific issues, or wrong file paths. Always double-check the full export package, verify font loading, confirm responsive settings, and clear caches when deploying to production.