After a decade in design, including work at startups and an agency, Danny now spends his time making products for other Framer creators. In our conversation with him in New York City, he explained how those products grew out of the things he wanted to build himself.
His path started with a digital download, moved into a library of code overrides, and then opened up a larger problem: how to give customers access to content on a Framer website.
A digital product and the first $800 in sales
Danny discovered Framer in 2018 and began experimenting with it. One of his early product ideas was “the internet in your pocket,” a collection of useful knowledge that someone could keep on a USB stick.
He built a Framer landing page to sell it as a digital download. Within about a month, he says, it had brought in $800 in sales.
The experience made an impression because he could turn an idea into a website himself. Publishing felt intuitive, and the page gave people a way to buy what he had made. A small product had given him a reason to keep building.
Framer Overrides revealed another problem
As Danny spent more time building in Framer, he collected code overrides for the interactions he wanted to create. At the time, some motion effects that he needed were not available natively. He gives the example of making a button float on hover.
Those reusable pieces became Framer Overrides, a library that other designers could use in their own projects. Work he was already doing for himself had become useful to other creators.
Selling access to that library raised a new question. Danny wanted to limit access to his overrides, rather than leave them available for anyone to share. He needed a way for customers to sign in and reach the content they were entitled to use.
Building that access system became the starting point for a second business. The same need extended beyond his own library: other creators also wanted accounts and members-only content on their Framer sites.
Building Framer membership sites with FrameAuth
FrameAuth, originally called FramerAuth, adds authentication and membership features to Framer. It is a third-party plugin, with components for sign-up, sign-in, and member accounts. Creators can use it to restrict pages or sections to people with the right access.
In the interview, Danny describes uses such as courses, videos, images, graphics, and code. A creator can present a digital product on a public site while keeping selected content behind a login or purchase.
For someone building a Framer membership site, that separates two jobs: designing the experience in Framer and managing access through FrameAuth. The forms, buttons, and messages can be customized to fit the site. FrameAuth also supports one-time purchases and subscriptions through Stripe or Lemon Squeezy.
Danny began with the need to protect his own library. As the product developed, he saw a broader use for the same features among people selling their own digital content.
Running the business as a designer and founder
Danny also uses Framer to move quickly on the marketing side of his businesses. He says he can launch a campaign in an afternoon, build different experiences, and test ideas while staying hands-on with the design.
“I can test things rapidly,” he says.
That flexibility matters when the person designing the site is also deciding what the business should try next. Danny can make a change, put it in front of customers, and continue developing the product from what he learns.
He points to Framer plugins, external tools, Workshop, and the design agent as ways creators can extend what they build. His own businesses show two examples: a library of reusable code and a tool for adding membership features to sites.
His advice for other founders starts with a concrete first step: build a landing page, find customers, and then build the product. Framer Overrides gave him a product to sell and an access problem to solve. FrameAuth grew from doing that work.
Explore Framer for startups to build your own site, or watch the full conversation with Danny Sapio.
