Here at Best Buy we know that you need software to make your web design dreams a reality. We have a variety of options available for purchase online, and if you’re in the area, you can even see some of our offerings in person. This blog is here to give you some insights into how to use the software we offer, as well as what’s new and exciting in the world of web design.
Table of Contents
Best Buy Web Design Software
The best web design software makes it simple and easy to build a website, either by offering a coding platform, or a drag-and-drop interface.
It used to be the case that the only option was to code a website directing, using HTML & CSS and even JavaScript. However, these days drag-and-drop editors have become much more commonplace, making it a breeze for anyone to customize or even build their own website.
Whichever option you prefer, all of them make it easier to build in the elements you require on your website, and can work with additional tools such as form builders, image hosting, and even content delivery networks.
In this guide we have focused on the best web design tools currently available. When weighing up which to include, we have focused on ease of use, supported web languages, cost, and how easy the tools make it to upload the finished project once you are done.
1. Wix
The best web design software for beginnersTODAY’S BEST DEALSWix ProUS$23/mthWix Connect DomainUS$3.54/mthVISIT SITEat Wix
REASONS TO BUY
+Very easy to use+No coding required+Huge range of powerful features+Yet still highly user-friendly
Wix is more of a website builder than a coding platform, but it is one of the most popular online website creators, offering a range of plans and products. The free version has Wix branding, limited storage space and bandwidth, but move up to the most popular plan (unlimited) and there’s no Wix ads.
An excellent collection of 500 plus templates gets the design process off to a quick start. The drag-and-drop editor gives you all kinds of tools and features to explore – an image editor, video backgrounds, animations, social buttons, an integrated site blog – and just about everything can be tweaked, tuned and restyled. Furthermore, as of recently, Wix introduced Wix Turbo, which increases the speed and performance of websites substantially.
All the core editing functions are really smartly designed, and operate more like a native app than your average website builder. Wix does have some weaknesses, with tech support seeming a little sluggish and limited in some respects. But there’s no denying that the superb editor and range of top-notch templates make it easy for web building novices to create something impressive.
2. Adobe Dreamweaver
The best web design software for professionalsTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Customize your design+Build a responsive design+HTML5 support
REASONS TO AVOID
-Not cheap
Adobe Dreamweaver is a long-established app that allows you to code your website design directly, without having to know too much about programming. The software works through a mix of visual editing and HTML editing, which means it shouldn’t have too steep a learning curve for most users.
Additionally, while coding your own website design requires you to put in more effort than simply using an existing ready made template, at least you have the chance to ensure you get the look you actually want, rather than trying to work around someone else’s design specifications.
A particularly good feature of Dreamweaver is that it allows you to produce a responsive design, which means your website can be optimized to display on desktops as well as mobile devices, without limiting the user experience.
However, if you are a more advanced user you may be pleased to note that Dreamweaver provides multi-monitor support for Windows. It also supports the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) to work with HTML5 elements and CSS grids. Additionally, there’s also support for Git to allow you to edit source code directly from within Dreamweaver.
Dreamweaver is available as part of Adobe’s mid-range packaged app subscription service, Creative Cloud, which also includes Photoshop.
3. WordPress
The best custom option for beginnersTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Easy to install and use+Many available features+Pre-built website templates
REASONS TO AVOID
-Watch out for spam
WordPress is an alternative way to set up and design your website, being rather different to the other offerings we’ve highlighted here because it’s actually a content management system (CMS). The power here is that it is a simple matter to set up a website in minutes. Indeed, many web hosting packages include a one-click install of WordPress from their Control Panel, but even without that, WordPress is relatively easy to install.
Once installed, the backend for administration and management is very user-friendly. You can use the existing WordPress design templates for your website, but more likely you will want to download and install an existing free or premium WordPress template – all of which can be done with just a few clicks.
Even if you would prefer to work with your own design, you can often do so using drag-and-drop functions, usually from a downloaded design with an in-built framework. This can allow you to create a professional-looking website without having to learn programming or coding at all.
Better still, there are so many free add-ons available to download and install, often requiring nothing more than a few clicks. This makes the whole process of customizing your website very simple, and it does not require any professional skills.
Overall, WordPress is a very easy CMS to use, and can provide a very quick way to get any form of website online fast. The huge variety of template designs and additional community supported features mean that getting something which is near the mark of what you want isn’t hard at all. Just ensure that in the settings you select to turn off comments so as to avoid spam.
4. Weebly
The DIY e-commerce websiteTODAY’S BEST DEALSWeebly StarterUS$5/mthWeebly ProUS$12/mthWeebly BusinessUS$25/mthVISIT SITEat Weebly
REASONS TO BUY
+Professional look+Mobile-friendly+Easy to personalize
Weebly is another online CMS, this time targeted at people with little or no coding experience, by providing easy to use drag and drop tools for creating a website. Weebly also provides the ability for users to create online stores using existing templates to work with their simply website-building framework.
The number of themes available for Weebly is somewhat limited, but the designs are clean and professional-looking, plus there are options to personalize accordingly. Additionally, the themes are responsive, which means they are optimized to work with mobile devices, plus they have in built SEO, analytics, and even a feature for posting ads directly to Facebook.
There’s a free tier available for basic use, and allows you to get used to the service. However, to use your own domain and get rid of ads, you’ll need the Professional plan.
5. Webflow
Cloud-based offering that needs no coding knowledgeTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Drag and drop GUI+Truly cross-platform
REASONS TO AVOID
-Interface takes time to masterAdvertisement
Webflow is a cloud-based service which has been created specifically to allow people with no coding knowledge to get started with web design.
Aside from being truly cross-platform, as it’s web-based, Webflow emphasizes the concept of ‘smart codelessness’. In the first instance this means a crisp drag and drop interface allowing you to drop elements such as text and images seamlessly onto a page using one of the freely available templates.
Unlike many WYSIWYG editors, the code produced is very clean and well-written even if you choose the ‘I have no coding experience’ option during setup. Webflow’s automation tool will create the necessary HTML/CSS code for you. You can make granular changes to individual elements using the panels on the right.
Webflow offers a free demonstration of its features via the website, and you can also subscribe for a free Starter package which allows you to create up to two projects.
best web design software for beginners
Below, you’ll find our pick of the best web platforms and tools in the market that will help you create either a full-fledged website, landing pages, or website templates.
1. WordPress
WordPress is a free and open-source software that lets you build any kind of website with ease. Over 40% of the web uses WordPress, making it the most popular Content Management System in the world.
WordPress comes with built-in themes and if that’s not enough, you can always choose from the thousands of third-party WordPress themes that are available for just about every niche.
Each theme has a basic structure, and you can change anything in a theme like its colors, text, background, and images. There are also WordPress page builders like SeedProd that let you customize the theme from the frontend, so there’s no coding required at all.
Added to that, you can also use WordPress plugins for endless customization options.
We must mention that we’re talking about WordPress.org, which is very different from the fully-hosted platform WordPress.com. You can find out the difference here: WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.
WordPress.org is the best platform for site owners and developers who want access to cPanel and phpMyAdmin to control website files and databases. If you are serious about growing and expanding your website, then WordPress is an obvious choice.
Now installing WordPress is easy and free! But first, you need a domain name and web hosting plan, which costs around $14.99 per year and $7.99 per month, respectively. It can be quite a lot when you’re just starting with a new website.
Fortunately, we’ve worked out a special deal for IsItWP users. You can start a website for only $2.75 per month with Bluehost. They’re the best web hosting provider and are even officially recommended by WordPress.org.
With our special deal, you’ll get a free domain name + 60% off on web hosting.
Click here to Claim this Exclusive Bluehost Offer »
2. Web.com
Web.com is one of the original and most popular do-it-yourself website builders on the market. Using the intuitive drag and drop builder and readymade website templates, anyone can quickly build a website, no technical skills are needed.
You can easily add features like contact forms, photo galleries, videos, social media buttons, map locations, and more. Plus, you get access to thousands of stock images you can use on your site.
All Web.com plans come with a free domain name, business email address, autosave & backup features, website analytics, SEO features, and other essential website tools.
The Starter website plan starts at only $1.95 per month. You can also get additional SEO features with the Marketing plan, which starts at $2.95 per month. And the eCommerce plan starts at $3.95 per month.
3. Gator Builder
Gator Builder is a web design and development software by HostGator. It’s packed with dozens of web templates for every business niche. The templates are beautiful and fully dynamic to work with third-party services. You can use the user-friendly drag and drop interface to add images, videos, Google Map, and more in a few clicks.
Since it’s built by HostGator, one of the best web hosting companies on the planet, each plan comes with a hosting option as well. Gator Builder integrates with social channels to display feeds from your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
4. SiteBuilder
SiteBuilder is a web design software that comes with hundreds of ready-made templates that let you build a website with ease. You can either customize the web templates or design your layouts from scratch with the drag and drop builder. It offers a free domain name and web hosting with each plan to help you get started quickly.
It also offers great customization options to design a complete website, start a blog, or run an eCommerce store. It has several design tools to add images, content, and other media files to your web template.
5. Divi
Divi is a popular WordPress theme and web design software. It comes with a drag and drop editor that lets you create custom web templates easily. Divi’s template portfolios have hundreds of premade designs for restaurants, cafes, medical, fitness, the list is endless. It gives you an advanced visual editor to customize your templates with effects, shape dividers, transformations, and more.
Its point and click tool allows you to add text anywhere on your web template. It’s a modern software with options to edit, undo, redo, and revise your customizations. Divi Builder is packed with dozens of global elements, style options, and content blocks to ease your website designing process.
For more details, check out this complete Divi review.
Conclusion
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Check out other publications to gain access to more digital resources if you are just starting out with Flux Resource.
Also contact us today to optimize your business(s)/Brand(s) for Search Engines