Draftly's AI engine is designed to get you from a prompt to a published 3D website in minutes. But speed doesn't mean you're locked into our ecosystem. For developers, agencies, and businesses that require granular control, the ability to export your Draftly website as clean, production-ready code is a critical feature. This isn't about getting a tangled mess of machine-generated files; it's about receiving a professional, human-readable codebase that you can own, host, and extend anywhere.
While over 80% of our users are happy to publish directly with Draftly's one-click hosting, we built this feature for the 20% who need to integrate a Draftly-built frontend into a larger, custom infrastructure. This guide breaks down why you'd export, what you get, and exactly how to do it.
Why Export Your Draftly Website?
Moving beyond a no-code platform gives you ultimate power and flexibility. While Draftly handles the heavy lifting of design and 3D rendering, exporting the code unlocks a new level of customisation and control that is essential for many professional projects.
!how to export your draftly website as clean production code, tutorials
Full Hosting and Infrastructure Control
Once you export the code, you are free from any platform's hosting constraints. You can deploy your site on any provider you choose:* Static Hosts: Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare Pages offer world-class performance, global CDNs, and seamless Git-based workflows.
* Cloud Providers: Deploy on AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Azure for deep integration with your existing cloud services.
* On-Premise Servers: For organisations with strict data residency or security requirements (like those in finance or healthcare), you can host the site on your own servers.
Custom Backend and API Integration
This is where the real power lies. An exported Draftly site is a pure front-end project. This means you can connect it to any backend or data source you need.* Headless CMS: Integrate with Contentful, Strapi, or Sanity to manage dynamic content like blog posts or case studies.
* E-commerce APIs: Connect your stunning 3D product visuals to a Shopify or a custom e-commerce backend to handle inventory and checkout.
* Proprietary Systems: Plug the website into your company's internal APIs for user authentication, data dashboards, or custom business logic.
Advanced Version Control with Git
For development teams, working with code under version control is non-negotiable. Git, used by over 93% of developers, is the industry standard. Exporting your site allows you to:* Initialize a Git repository to track every change.
* Collaborate with other developers using pull requests and code reviews.
* Create different branches for staging and production environments, ensuring a stable, professional workflow.
A Look Inside the Exported Code Package
When you export your Draftly website, you get a single, well-organized `.zip` file. We’ve obsessed over the output to ensure it's not just functional, but genuinely pleasant for a developer to work with. Our exported code is up to 85% leaner than code from traditional drag-and-drop builders, thanks to modern tooling and a focus on performance.
Here’s what you'll find inside:
* `index.html`: A single, semantically structured HTML file. It's clean, properly indented, and includes all necessary meta tags for SEO.
* `/css` folder: Contains a single, minified CSS file. All styles, including responsive media queries, are bundled here. The class names are logical, not autogenerated gibberish.
* `/js` folder: All JavaScript is compiled into an optimized, single file. This includes the logic for interactions, animations, and 3D rendering (powered by Three.js and GSAP). The complex logic behind the page transitions and section animations is neatly packaged for performance.
* `/assets` folder: This is where all your media lives. We automatically optimize everything for the web. Images are converted to next-gen formats like WebP, and 3D models are compressed without losing visual quality. This aligns with the best practices for achieving a 90+ PageSpeed score.
How to Export Your Draftly Website: Step-by-Step
The entire process is designed to be straightforward, taking you from the editor to a downloadable codebase in under two minutes.
- Finalise Your Website Design
- Navigate to Site Settings
- Locate the Export Code Option
- Generate and Download Your Code
Post-Export: Best Practices for Deployment
Once you have the `.zip` file, you're in the developer's seat. Here are a few best practices for deploying and managing your exported site.
Unzip and Initialize Git
First, unzip the file into a new folder on your local machine. Open your terminal, navigate into that folder, and run `git init` to create a new repository. This is the first step to properly managing your site's code.Deploy to a Static Host
For the vast majority of use cases, a modern static hosting provider is the best choice. Platforms like Vercel and Netlify allow you to connect your GitHub repository directly. When you push a change to your `main` branch, the host will automatically build and deploy the update to their global CDN. This gives you incredible performance and a professional CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipeline with almost no setup.Managing Updates
The one trade-off for full control is manual updates. If you want to change a headline or swap an image, you have two options:* Code-First: Edit the HTML/CSS directly in your code editor.
* Draftly-First (Recommended): Make the changes visually in the Draftly editor and re-export the code. This is often faster and ensures you benefit from any new features or optimizations we release.
By providing a clean code export, Draftly bridges the gap between AI-powered design and professional development workflows. You get the speed of generation without sacrificing the freedom to build, integrate, and host without limits.
Ready to build a site you can truly own? Generate your cinematic 3D website with Draftly and export the code whenever you're ready.
