How to handle absolute positioning from Figma when creating responsive layouts

Other Questions Figma
1

I’m working on converting a Figma design into HTML and CSS, but I noticed that every element in the design uses absolute positioning. This is making it really difficult to create a responsive layout.

Here’s an example of how the navigation elements are positioned:

.nav-link {
  position: absolute;
  width: 85px;
  height: 18px;
  right: 420px;
  top: 15px;
}

And here’s how the content sections are structured:

.content-section {
  position: absolute;
  height: 250px;
  left: 0px;
  right: 0px;
  top: 0px;
}

I’m pretty new to working with Figma designs and this absolute positioning approach seems to make responsive design nearly impossible. I can’t use modern layout methods like flexbox or CSS grid when everything is positioned absolutely. Is this normal for Figma exports, or should I be approaching this differently? What’s the best practice for handling this situation?

2

Yeah, that’s just how Figma exports work - they’re terrible. The plugin spits out absolute positioning to match the canvas exactly, but it breaks responsiveness completely. I stopped using the exported CSS ages ago. Now I just treat Figma like a reference sheet - grab the measurements, colors, and spacing from the design file, then build my own HTML structure with proper semantic elements and modern CSS. Here’s the thing: Figma thinks everything’s a fixed canvas, but web dev needs flexible layouts. Trust me, you’ll save tons of time treating those exports as design specs instead of actual code. Once you get used to this approach, you’ll work way faster than trying to hack absolute positioning into responsive designs.

3

for sure! figma’s absolutes can be tricky. i always use flexbox or grid to restructure things. it’s worth it for the responsive feel, trust me! just keep the main layout in mind rather than stressing about exact pixel matching.

4

Yeah, this happens all the time with Figma-to-code workflows. I’ve hit this same wall countless times. Here’s what works: treat Figma exports as visual reference only, not actual code you’d use. Figma spits out absolute positioning because that’s how it translates its canvas into CSS - but it’s garbage for real websites. Instead, I look at the visual hierarchy and spacing in the design, then rebuild everything with proper semantic HTML and flexbox/grid. For your nav example, I’d ditch those absolute positions and build a real nav container with flex items. The export gives you the visual specs, but you’ve got to translate that into responsive patterns that actually work. Takes longer upfront, but you’ll end up with maintainable code that doesn’t break on different screen sizes.