Your website is the face of your business. It’s how you make an impression on your audience and set yourself apart from the competition.
Designing a website that’s easy to use and lets your customers find what they’re looking for in just a few clicks is critical to creating an experience that keeps your customers coming back. But it’s also tricky to design something beautiful and functional… especially if you’re not a web designer!
If you want to get started with web design but don’t know where to start, this guide will walk you through some of the easiest-to-use web design software available today. We’ll cover everything from free tools like WordPress to paid ones like Squarespace, so no matter what kind of site you want to build, there’s something here for you.
Easiest To Use Web Design Software
Are you looking for the best web design software to make beautiful websites? Most experienced web designers have their own preferred software for different design tasks.
However, if you’re just starting out, then it can take some time to find that perfect combination.
In this article, we will show you the best web design software for different use-cases, so you can make the right decision for your need.
Best Web Design Software Compared
Why You Need The Best Web Design Software?
Due to common misconceptions about web design, many beginners feel that it would take them years to make decent and professional website designs.
While it’s true that you get better overtime, the right web design software can help you easily create beautiful designs with minimal skills.
That’s because some web design software automate the entire process which allows even absolute beginners to create beautiful websites.
Let’s take a look at some of the best web design software that will help you design like an expert web designer.
Different Types of Web Design Software
There isn’t a single web design tool that would do all the tasks related to web development and design. As a designer, you will need to choose a combination of different software to make your own toolkit.
We have divided our selection into different categories, so you can evaluate the best available options for each task.
Best web design software for building websites
Best web design software for eCommerce
Best web design software for graphic designers
Best web design software for marketers
Best web design software for HTML sites
Let’s start with the basics first.,
Best Web Design Software for Building Websites
Many beginners ask us if they need to learn coding to make a real website.
While knowing how to code gives you an extra advantage in creating websites, many website builders like WordPress has made it easy for anyone to create custom websites without learning how to code.
This is the reason why WordPress now powers over 43% of all websites on the internet.
In the old days, web pros would code websites from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but now all smart website professionals use WordPress to create websites due to it’s ease of use and advanced functionality that comes with the content management system.
- SeedProd
SeedProd Logo
SeedProd is the best web design software and layout builder for WordPress. It offers a user-friendly drag & drop page builder that allows you to create completely custom website designs (no coding required).
You can start with one of their 150+ professionally design templates to save time or create a completely custom responsive design using their drag & drop theme builder.
SeedProd workflows are built to save you time. It comes with dozens of design blocks, pre-built section templates, interactive animations, site-wide design controls, brand color schemes, over 2 million stock photos, and more.
It also has dynamic real-time personalization tools, SEO integration, complete subscriber management, and full access control. This is why over 1 million web design professionals use SeedProd to build websites and speed up their design process.
They also have built-in layouts for common website pages like sales page, coming soon page, maintenance mode page, custom login pages, webinar registration page, and more.
SeedProd Custom Theme Builder
There’s also a free version of SeedProd plugin available as well.
To get started with SeedProd, you’ll need a WordPress website.
We recommend using Bluehost. They are an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider and one of the biggest hosting companies in the world.
The best part is that they are offering WPBeginner users discount on hosting and a free domain name. Basically, you’ll be able to get started for $2.75 per month.
→ Click Here to Start with Bluehost ←
For details, see our guide on how to make a website with step by step instructions.
Update: SeedProd has also built a code editor for advanced front-end designers and site builders.
- Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is a user friendly page builder for WordPress. It with comes a drag-and-drop editor that allows you to build responsive websites without writing any code.
To get started with Beaver Builder, you’ll need a WordPress website.
We recommend using Bluehost. They are an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider and one of the biggest hosting companies in the world.
The best part is that they are offering WPBeginner users discount on hosting and a free domain name. Basically, you’ll be able to get started for $2.75 per month.
→ Click Here to Start with Bluehost ←
For details, see our guide on how to make a website with step by step instructions.
Once you are up and running, you need to install and activate the Beaver Builder plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
After that, you can edit WordPress posts or pages using the Beaver Builder.
Beaver Builder Page Builder Demo
Simply point and click on any item to edit it or load from dozens of ready-made templates to use as a starting point. For instructions, see our guide on how to create custom layouts using Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder also comes with a Theme Customizer which allows you to create custom WordPress themes using the same drag and drop interface. Unlike editing pages, you can create a complete theme with your own design.
For more information, see our tutorial on how to create custom WordPress themes without writing any code.
- Divi
Divi Page Builder by Elegant Themes
Divi is another excellent website design software built for WordPress.org website builder. It is one of the best WordPress page builders and comes with dozens of ready-to-use templates to choose from.
After you have setup your WordPress site, simply install and activate Divi on your website and start editing. It works with almost any WordPress theme, and you can also use the Divi theme which comes with enhanced features for the builder.
It is a drag and drop tool which means you can simply point and click on any item and change its appearance. You can add images, videos, sliders, contact forms, widgets, and more.
Divi Page Builder
Most importantly your design changes are fully responsive and would automatically adjust for mobile devices.
Divi comes with 800+ design layout packs which covers all industries including business websites, designer portfolios, real-estate websites, and more.
- Web.com
Web.com Website Builder
If you are looking for a fully-hosted website builder, then Web.com is a good WordPress alternative for beginners. This smart website builder comes with beautiful website designs that you can edit using a simple user interface.
Simply start by choosing from one of their thousands of pre-designed templates, and then you can easily point and click to replace it with your own images, text, videos, and more.
They also provide thousands of stock images and tons of other features, all starting at just $1.95 per month.
We have Web.com listed as one of the best website builders in our expert pick.
- Gator by HostGator
HostGator
Gator is another website builder that allows you to design complete websites without any coding. Gator is made by HostGator, one of the best web hosting companies in the world.
It is a fully hosted platform, which means you don’t need to worry about updates, security, or backup. It not only includes the builder and website hosting, but you also get a free domain name for your website.
The builder software itself features an intuitive drag and drop interface with more than 200+ professional web design templates. Each template is fully customizable using a simple point and click tool.
You can edit any item on a page or drag and drop commonly used items like images, videos, photo gallery, text, columns, maps, and contact forms.
Gator also comes with a built-in stock photo library, so you can find and add beautiful photos on your website.
Best Web Design Software for Ecommerce
The eCommerce industry is expected to reach $4.9 trillion by the year 2022. There is an enormous demand for eCommerce web design in the market.
Following are our top picks for the best web design software for eCommerce that will allow you to break into this market without any coding skills.
- WooCommerce
WooCommerce – best eCommerce platform
WooCommerce is the best eCommerce platform in the world. It runs on top of WordPress, which means you’ll need a WordPress website to design an eCommerce website using WooCommerce.
You can sign up with SiteGround or Bluehost to get started. Both of them offer customized WooCommerce plans which comes pre-configured with the right settings for you to get started.
For detailed instructions, see our complete guide on how to start an online store.
The best part is that you can use SeedProd alongside with WooCommerce to create completely custom online stores.
SeedProd WooCommerce Design Builder
All you need to do is install SeedProd alongside WooCommerce, and then use the drag & drop web design builder to create your product page, customize your checkout design, and more.
- BigCommerce
BigCommerce Logo
BigCommerce is a popular eCommerce platform. It is available as a fully-hosted solution and the best part is that it can be easily integrated into a WordPress website.
Creating an online store with BigCommerce is quite simple. It comes with beautiful storefront designs and fully customizable themes for your online store. It automatically handles product images, crops them, and displays them in beautiful gallery layouts.
Wondering how it stacks up against WooCommerce? See our article on BigCommerce vs WooCommerce for side by side comparison of the two platforms.
- Shopify
Shopify Ecommerce Website Builder Software
If you are looking for a fully hosted eCommerce solution, then Shopify can be a good fit for you. It comes with professionally designed templates to create almost any kind of online store.
All eCommerce design tools are highly intuitive and allow you to just drag and drop items to create beautiful pages. You can easily upload custom logos, images, videos, and more.
Shopify takes care of hosting, software, and backups, so you can just focus on creating a beautiful online store.
For more details, see our detailed comparison of Shopify vs WooCommerce.
Best Web Design Software for Graphic Designers
A big part of web design consists of graphics to create custom logos, background images, featured images, and more. For all these, you will need graphic design tools.
These tools require some basic know-how of how to use them. Luckily, there are tons of online resources to quickly get you up to speed.
- Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop Logo
Adobe Photoshop is the industry leader in photo editing and graphic design software. It is available for Mac and Windows operating systems, so you can use it even when you’re offline.
It is one of the oldest and the easiest to use graphic design software on the market. Due to its massive popularity, there are plenty of online resources to learn Photoshop for free.
Adobe Photoshop is a bit more expensive than some other software. It is available on a subscription basis and each paid plan comes with different apps and addons.
You can also get a Creative Cloud subscription that combines other apps like Adobe XD, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and more.
- Sketch
Sketch Design Software
Sketch is a powerful vector design tool which allows you to create scalable high-quality designs. Sketch makes it super easy to create icons, illustrations, prototypes and mockups for apps, websites, and print.
It comes with an intuitive design that’s easy to learn for beginners. It also comes with tons of learning resources to help you quickly familiarize yourself with the software.
- Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer – Web Design Software
Affinity Designer is an incredibly easy to use and powerful graphic design tool. Suitable for beginners and advanced users alike, Affinity Designer is packed with all the tools you would want in a graphic design tool without any of the complicated stuff.
It also allows you to easily switch between raster and vector modes. This makes it easy to design illustrations with a powerful combination of tools.
Affinity Designer is available for simple pricing of $49.99 one-time payment.
Basically Affinity is a perfect combination of both Adobe photoshop and illustrator.
- Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator Logo
Adobe Illustrator is Adobe’s vector graphic design tool. Popular among graphic design professionals, Illustrator lets you create logos, icons, drawings, typography, and illustrations for print, web, video, and mobile.
It is easy to use but comes with a slight learning curve to take full advantage of the software. However, Adobe offers plenty of resources to help you get started. You’d also be able to find free tutorials online.
Adobe Illustrator is available on monthly subscription plans, which makes it a bit more expensive than other software.
- Gimp
Gimp – Free Web Design Software
If you are looking for a free web design software, then Gimp is an excellent free option. This open source design software is a good alternative to Adobe Photoshop and allows you to easily edit images and create graphics for your websites.
Gimp is available for MacOS, Windows, and Linux. It may not look as polished as some other paid software, but it is a full-featured and powerful design software with much to offer.
- Figma
Figma Logo
Figma is quickly becoming a popular website building and design software among professionals.
It’s a web-based design tool that makes collaboration easy. Their wysiwyg editor is great for even non-designers.
You can get started with their free plan which gives you access to all the features you need.
There are also dozens of Figma design kits that lets you create designs for all formats including websites, mobile apps, and more.
Over the last year, a lot of professional designers have started switching from Sketch and Adobe to Figma.
Best Web Design Software for Marketers
Web design doest not just end with the launch of a website. Marketers regularly need to design graphics, social media images, icons, infographics, banners, and more.
There are plenty of tools that allow you to design professional-grade marketing material with very little effort and skills. Here is our pick of the best web design software for marketers.
- Canva
Canva Design Software
Canva is a graphic design tool for marketers and bloggers. It is a web-based tool and doesn’t require installation of any additional software.
It comes with many ready-made design templates for different types of graphics. You can pick a template and then use Canva’s drag and drop tool to edit those images for your own website.
- Balsamiq
Balsamiq Website Mockup Maker Design Tool
Balsamiq is a powerful design tool to create mockups, wireframes, and websites. It comes with an easy to use interface that helps you learn UI design as a beginner. Advanced users would find it immensely helpful in quickly building mockups for products pages, marketing material, and more. - Moqups
Moqups – Website Mockup Maker
Moqups is another wireframe and mockup design tool. It allows easy sharing and team collaboration without downloading any files.
The intuitive user interface makes it easy to use for beginners and powerful enough for advanced users. It comes with a built-in library of thousands of icon sets, fonts, and style library.
- Piktochart
Piktochart – Web Design Software
Piktochart is an easy design tool to create presentations, infographics, flyers, and posters. It comes with dozens of templates to use as a starting point.
You can use it in your browser, so there is no need to install any software. Simply drag and drop to add icons, elements, photos, shapes, lines, and arrows. Rearrange items and add your own text to create professional designs for your marketing campaigns.
Best Web Design Software for HTML Sites
Need to quickly design static HTML sites? These web design software will help you easily design HTML sites without writing any HTML at all.
- Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Dreamweaver – Website Design Software
Adobe Dreamweaver is one of the most beginner friendly web design software. It allows you to easily create mobile-friendly static HTML websites, stand-alone landing pages, or quick HTML docs.
It is easy for beginners to simply drag and drop to create web pages. Advanced users would find it equally useful with smart coding, autocomplete, compilers, git support, and more.
- Google Web Designer
Google Website Designer
Google Web Designer is another intuitive and easy to use tool to create HTML-5 based designs, motion graphics, and animations. It can also be used to design banner ads, video ads, and other marketing materials.
You can start from scratch or choose from dozens of templates available in different layouts. Google Web Designer is available as a free download for Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems.
We hope this article helped you find the best web design software for your design toolkit. You may also want to see our list of the best CRM software and the best business phone services for small businesses.
best software for web design
The very best web design software is essential to make your work run smoothly and efficiently. As such it’s worth taking the time to review your design toolkit once in a while, to make sure you’re not missing a trick. After all, if a new web design tool can make even a small improvement to the speed you complete your work, it could save you serious time and money in the long term.
In this article, we highlight the best web design software available today that range from website builders to Adobe design apps. All are best-in-class, and should boost your productivity. To see more, also read our longer list of best web design tools, and why not check out our guides to the best web hosting and best website builders too?
Best web design softwarecb badge
(Image credit: Wix)
- Wix
The best web design software if you’re starting out
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2006Developers: Avishai Abrahami, Nadav Abrahami, and Giora KaplanCost: Free to $18/monthPlatform: Windows, Mac OS
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Wix Connect Domain
£3/mth
Wix Connect Domain
£3/mth
VISIT SITE
at Wix
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy to use
+User-friendly
+Loads of features
REASONS TO AVOID
-Empty List
This is our top pick of the web builders, and web design software in general – Wix is one of the most popular site makers in 2021, and for good reason. It offers a range of payment tiers (including ‘free’), with befitting features. With the entry level free version, you’ll have to negotiate Wix adverts and and a 500GB space cap, but pay as little as $6, and you’ll bypass the ads, have a free domain for a year, get 2GB bandwidth, and 3Gb storage space.
There’s up to 500 templates to choose from, and you can easily start personalising with animations, image editing, social media buttons and various backgrounds – with plenty of further options to change as well.
We love the intuitive design of this web builder, and with the abundance of customisations, and loads of beautiful straight-out-the-pack templates on offer, it’s a cracking website builder for all levels of ability.
Adobe XD screenshotscb badge
(Image credit: Adobe)
- Adobe XD
The best web design software for prototyping.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2016Developer: AdobeCost: Free to $9.99/monthPlatform: Windows, Mac OS
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Adobe XD – Single App Monthly
US$9.99/mth
VISIT SITE
at Adobe
REASONS TO BUY
+Feature-rich
+Creative Cloud integration
+Cross-platform
REASONS TO AVOID
-Full version requires subscription
The fight to become web design’s favourite UI design tool has been a close-fought one over the last decade, with Adobe XD, Sketch, Affinity Designer and others scrapping it out. But for our money, the amount of effort Adobe has put in to developing XD makes it essential web design software for creatives.
This vector-based tool is available for both Mac and (unlike Sketch) Windows. It plays nicely with other Adobe tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, and you can easily import assets like Adobe Fonts and Adobe Stock. So if you’re a Creative Cloud subscriber already, it’s kind of a slam dunk.
Even if you aren’t, though, we feel this is the best web design software for creating mockups, prototypes and wireframes. With a clean and intuitive interface, there are so many cool features including a ‘Repeat Grid’ for fast designing, auto-animation, voice triggers, good collaboration features, tons of storage for your design files, an array of plugins, and lots of integrations with other web services.
In short, XD is the complete package when it comes to prototyping, and there’s even a capable free version. The many different ways to get XD does get a bit complicated, though, so check out our guide on how to download Adobe XD to check out your options.
The best web design softwarecb badge
(Image credit: Weebly)
- Weebly
The best web design software for e-com
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched : 2006Developer: Square, Inc.Cost: Free to $18/monthPlatform: Windows, Mac OS
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Weebly Starter
£4/mth
Weebly Pro
£9/mth
Weebly Business
£18/mth
VISIT SITE
at Weebly
REASONS TO BUY
+Looks great
+Mobile-friendly
+Loads of customisation
REASONS TO AVOID
-Empty List
Having been around for 15 years, Weebly does what it does very effectively. And that is provide user-friendly templates and e-commerce options for everyone.
If you’ve got little to no coding experience (let’s see a raise of hands!), then Weebly is a great web design option. There’s super easy drag-and-drop tools for site creation, and with its build framework options, you can also build online stores, should selling your wares be essential to the site.
Less is definitely more with Weebly, and although you get a limited number of templates and themes to select from, what there is are a good range of clean and clear options that have enough room for personalisation to keep creatives happy.
As is the way, you can try out a free version of Weebly for restricted use of its features, which is perfect for seeing if this is the right choice for you. If you feel it is, there are further tiered options available, depending of what you want.
Best web design software
(Image credit: Webflow)
- Webflow
Another great website builder for starters
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched : 2013Developer: WebflowCost: Free to $36/monthPlatform: Browser
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
CHECK AMAZON
Visit Site
REASONS TO BUY
+Cross-platform
+Easy drag and drop
REASONS TO AVOID
-There are better interfaces
Yet another web-based option that is perfect for beginners wanting to create a quality website with minimal fuss. As is common with the best web design software, there’s a super-easy-to-use drag and drop approach to building a Webflow website, using many of their well-thought out templates.
You can start creating a website with Webflow with zero coding experience, but there’s room to move if you want to get to know a bit more about coding. There’s also a handy, free demonstration of all Webflow’s features at the click of a button, so you can head over to the site and see if what it has to offer is for you, without spending any money. From there you can create two sites for free to see the features in action, and then it’ll cost you to build more.
Icons explaining concept behind Pattern Lab
(Image credit: Dave OIsen and Brad Frost)
- Pattern Lab
The best web design software for building design systems.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2013Developer: Dave OIsen and Brad FrostCost: FreePlatform: Browser
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Free
+Clear focus
+Intuitive interface
REASONS TO AVOID
-Not a website builder
Building a design system for your web work? Pattern Lab is a frontend workshop environment that can serve as your hub, and it helps you build, view, test, and showcase your UI components. And it’s totally free.
It’s all based on the concept of Atomic Design, which involves breaking a website down into its basic components and then working up from there to create a site. That mental model is baked into its interface and feature set, making it remarkably intuitive and easy to get started with.
Understand, though, that this is not a production-ready framework. You don’t actually build websites with Pattern Lab; you build components and design systems, which will in turn allow you to create prototypes and finished websites much more quickly and consistently.
Bootstrap logo
(Image credit: Bootstrap)
- Bootstrap
The best framework for web designers.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2010Developer: Open sourceCost: FreePlatform: Browser
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Excellent documentation
+Responsive-first
+Promotes best practice
REASONS TO AVOID
-Sites can look samey
The time when web designers were expected to write every piece of code, time after time, are now long behind us. There are countless frameworks out there helping you to avoid continuing reinventing the wheel, and instead build sites quickly and consistency. And one of the oldest and best is Bootstrap.
Originally created by designers at Twitter to create consistency among their internal tools, Bootstrap is a free and open-source framework directed at responsive, mobile-first front-end web development.
Now maintained by a small team of developers on GitHub, Bootstrap allows you use HTML and CSS templates for web-based content such as forms, buttons, navigation and more. You can also use JavaScript plugins.
Bootstrap comes with excellent documentation, which is not all that surprising. Because ultimately, Bootstrap is not so much a framework as a methodology, and so is a great way to stay on course with best practices and accessibility. Check out our selection of the best Bootstrap themes.
Sublime Text screengrab
(Image credit: Sublime HQ)
- Sublime Text 3
A super-strong web design software choice.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2008Developer: Sublime HQCost: $80Platform: Windows, Mac OS, Linux
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Fast
+Lightweight
+Extendable
REASONS TO AVOID
-Not free
To write code, you need a decent code editor, and our pick of the bunch is Sublime Text 3. With a streamlined and easy to use interface, it’s fast, lightweight and responsive. And the lack of even tiny, fraction-of-a-second delays in its operation makes a difference when it comes to getting into the flow of programming.
Developed by a former Google engineer, Sublime Text 3 is very flexible too, with a huge range of plugins available. Which basically means it’s suitable for any kind of web design project and any level of web designer, from novice to veteran.
There’s a free trial, but beyond that you’ll have to pay an $80 licence. You may balk at that when there are so many free code editors available. But let’s be real: time is money, and if it makes you more productive, the best code editor will pay for itself many times over.
WordPress templates
(Image credit: Automattic)
- WordPress.org
The best content management system for web designers.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2003Developer: AutomatticCost: FreePlatform: Windows, Mac, Linux
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Free
+Scalable
+Extensible
REASONS TO AVOID
-Learning curve
Once you’ve built a website for a client, you don’t want them ringing you up every time they want to update the information on it. So you want it to be built on a flexible and customisable CMS (content management system), and WordPress is far and away the most popular of these, for good reason.
One of the best web builders around, WordPress.org is free, open source, well documented, and supported by an enthusiastic worldwide community. (Note that WordPress.org is separate and distinct from WordPress.com, which is a paid-for web builder service.)
WordPress sites are SEO friendly, and well protected against security vulnerabilities. You can speed up website creation by using either free or paid-for themes. And there are thousands of plugins to help you add virtually anything to your sites that you want. No wonder WordPress powers almost 40 per cent of the internet in 2021.
Google PageSpeed logo
(Image credit: Google)
- PageSpeed Insights
The best web design software for testing performance.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2013Developer: GoogleCost: FreePlatform: Chrome browser
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Detailed reports
+Easy to understand
+Useful suggestions
REASONS TO AVOID
-Sometimes a little vague
It doesn’t matter how fancy your website is: if it doesn’t load quickly, visitors will go elsewhere, particularly if they’re on smartphones running on slow or dodgy connections. So every web designer in 2021 needs to have website speed test tool in their armory, and our favourite has to be PageSpeed Insights.
PageSpeed Insights was created by Google, which has a direct interest in making sites run faster, so they’ve put a lot of effort into making this useful and efficent. Built into the Chrome browser’s developer tools, It basically analyses your web page for you, provides a detailed report on how it performs on different platforms, and makes suggestions about how to make it run faster.
You just type in the appropriate URL and the software does the rest. These suggestions can occasionally be a little vague, but even then they at least send you in the right direction.
Related articles:
The best responsive web design tutorials
Web design trends that will dominate the internet
The very best web design podcasts
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