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To sell a Framer-to-code migration, pitch it to clients who have a concrete reason to leave Framer, such as a developer team, a growing CMS, hosting control or performance targets, and sell a scoped project with a fixed price for conversion, review, forms, redirects and handover, not "a new website." Offer it as a service with a clear deliverable: a private TypeScript repository the client owns, deployed and documented. Many clients should not migrate, and saying so builds the trust that wins the ones who should.
This post is for agencies and studios. It covers which clients fit and which do not, how to scope and price the work, the objections you will hear, and a sample email. It uses Deframer as the conversion tool, with the permission rule that comes with it. Deframer is independent and not affiliated with Framer.
Which clients to approach
A migration is easy to sell when the client already feels a specific pain. Look for:
- A client with developers. Their team works in Git, TypeScript and a CI pipeline, and a visual editor is a side door for them.
- A site outgrowing its CMS. See Framer CMS limits and what to do when you outgrow them.
- A site that needs to live inside a larger codebase, with shared components, authentication or a product behind it.
- A client who wants to control hosting and cost. Framer hosting vs self-hosting costs has the worksheet.
- A client with performance or compliance requirements that need control of headers, caching or where data goes.
- A client whose designers have left and whose site now needs a developer to change.
Clients who should stay
Be as clear about this list as the first one:
- The marketing team edits the site every week in Framer and is happy with it.
- There is no developer on the client side and no budget for one. After the move, someone has to deploy and edit code.
- The site is a short-lived campaign page.
- The only reason is "we heard code is better."
For these, the honest answer is "stay." Compare options in Framer vs Webflow vs Next.js and Framer vs Next.js for growing sites before you promise anything.
Permission, before anything else
Deframer is for your own site or one whose owner has given permission. For a client site, the client gives it by publishing your account's verification tag on their live site. That lets you do a verified download for 1 credit, and removing the tag withdraws permission for future verified downloads. Put this in the proposal as a client responsibility with a date next to it. The workflow, including credit budgets and one repository per client, is in the agency workflow, and the tag steps are in verifying Framer site ownership.
Scope the work
Convert first, then price. Converting is free, so you can see the real output before you quote.
- Ask for the live URL and what the client wants changed (nothing, or small edits).
- Convert the site into a private project, in the framework your team maintains: Next.js, Astro, TanStack Start, React Router or Vite.
- Review the result against the live site at phone, tablet and desktop widths.
- List what needs work: forms, CMS content, custom code, analytics, third-party embeds, redirects.
- Price from that list.
The migration checklist and the audit checklist give you the line items.
What goes in the package
Line | Included | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Conversion and download | Yes | Client-published tag; credits are a pass-through or yours, say which |
Page-by-page review | Yes | Three widths, hover states, animations |
Forms | Yes | Where submissions go: forms after leaving Framer |
CMS data | Yes | JSON, or a headless CMS as an add-on |
Redirects and metadata | Yes | |
Deployment | Yes | Client's own hosting account |
Handover | Yes | Repository, notes, a walkthrough |
Redesign | No | A separate project |
Ongoing maintenance | Optional | Monthly or hourly |
Price it
Don't copy anyone's number, including ours. The numbers depend on your rate and the site, so build the quote from a formula you can defend:
Fee = review and fix hours × your rate + fixed items (forms, CMS, redirects, deploy, handover) + contingency.
The tool cost is small beside your hours. Credits for a verified download are $10 for 1, $25 for 5 or $100 for 30, or $397 once for free verified downloads for life, as listed on pricing. Decide up front whether credits are a pass-through line (the client buys them) or part of your fee (you buy them). Either way, tell the client.
Two pricing choices that help:
- A fixed fee after a free conversion preview, because a client who has seen the converted site is easier to quote.
- A separate, optional retainer for edits and updates after launch, because the question "who changes the text?" comes up in every migration.
Objections and answers
"Is it legal to take our site?" It is your site, and the client publishes a tag to authorise the download. Deframer is for sites the buyer owns or has permission to convert.
"Will it look the same?" It aims to match the live site, and you review it page by page at three widths before it ships. See the conversion tests for what has been checked. Don't promise pixel-for-pixel.
"What about our CMS?" CMS content is brought across as JSON your pages read. If editors need a UI, add a headless CMS: adding a headless CMS.
"Who edits the site afterwards?" Be honest: code changes, or a CMS you set up. If the answer is "the marketing team, visually," consider recommending they stay.
"Will we lose our SEO?" Not if URLs, metadata and redirects are handled and checked after launch. Don't guarantee rankings.
"Why not rebuild it?" A rebuild is right if they want a redesign. For a faithful move, conversion plus review is less work: see what a migration costs.
"What if you disappear?" They own a standard TypeScript repository, with no dependency on you or on Deframer to run it.
A sample email
Adapt this; don't paste it blind.
Subject: Moving [site] off Framer: is it worth it? >Hi [name], >You mentioned that [specific reason: the CMS is getting tight / your developers want the site in the main repo / hosting cost]. I think it's worth looking at moving [site] to a code project you own. >Here's how I'd do it. I convert the live site into a private TypeScript project (no change to the design), check every page at phone, tablet and desktop widths, set up forms, redirects and metadata, deploy it to your own hosting account, and hand over the repository with notes. >What I need from you: a one-line tag added to the site's custom code and published, which gives me permission to download the code, and which you can remove at any time. >If it's not worth it for you, I'll say so. Some sites are better left where they are. Could we do 20 minutes this week, and I'll send a fixed quote after? >[name]
Don't oversell
The strongest pitch includes the downsides. After the move there is no visual editor on the live site, someone has to deploy, and the content workflow changes. Tell clients in advance, and you won't have an argument later.
If you refer instead of doing the work
Some agencies would rather not run migrations. If clients ask and you don't want the work, you can send them to Deframer through your affiliate link and earn 40% of a credit pack or 50% of a lifetime deal when they buy within 30 days. Disclose it. Anyone you refer is a separate customer, and your own purchases earn nothing. Details are in the affiliate program explainer.
Summary
- Sell to clients with a real reason; tell the others to stay.
- Convert first, then scope and price from the review list.
- Put permission and who buys credits in the proposal.
- Disclose any affiliate link and keep the promises small.
If you want the program details, they are on the affiliates page.