Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the existing research on digital platforms by adopting an ecosystem perspective, considering an established framework. Our work synthesizes previous findings on digital platforms and offers insights into their ecosystem design.

Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was conducted to identify and synthesize the relevant findings. Considering the framework, and by conducting a qualitative content analysis, design recommendations and related aggregated design topics were derived from the publications.

Findings
The findings of our study show a detailed framework including various design topics for different stakeholders within the ecosystem of a platform.

Research limitations/implications
Our review depends on the quality of the databases selected, as well as the search string, to identify clear design topics for platform ecosystems and not the ecosystem logic itself.

Practical implications
Our results provide guidance for practitioners as they help to focus development and resource decisions in complex transformation projects. The topics synthesize activities for developing the ecosystem of a platform that can be regarded as a design framework. This framework might constitute a playbook for supporting practitioners in the examination of a digital transformation toward a platform.

Originality
Given the importance of designing platforms in both academia and practice, the purpose of this study is to synthesize the current research findings on platforms and to provide a framework with possible design topics under consideration from a business ecosystem perspective.