Free web design software online is a great way to get started in the world of web design. It’s easy to use, and it can be used on any device—no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
Free web design software online is a great way to start learning how to build your own website, or even create an entire business. This type of software is usually very easy to use, and it can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. You don’t need a lot of technical knowledge to start using this type of program, which makes it perfect for beginners or people who aren’t very familiar with computers in general.
The best part about free web design software online is that it will allow you to build your own site without having to pay anything at all! You’ll never have to worry about paying for hosting fees or domain names either since all of those things are included when you download these programs onto your computer (or tablet/phone).
Free Web Design Software Online
If you’re new to web design, you probably want to know which web design software is worth the investment. You might also want to know what are the must-haves that every web designer should know?
Choosing a great web design tool comes down to its functionality and purpose. There isn’t the best all-in-one solution. Also, depending on your goal, you may need to use more than one design software to achieve the best-designed website.
We recommend testing out several types of web development software to learn which one suits your work the most.
To help you find what you’re looking for, we’ve put together a list of the 15 best web design software tools for building websites, graphic design, interface design, and prototyping.
Table of Contents
Best Design Software for Website Creation
Best Software for Interface Design & Prototyping
Best Software for Graphic Design
To Sum Up: Best Web Design Software Tools
Best Design Software for Website Creation
Code libraries, development environments, and hosting services allow developers to launch their websites and share them with the world.
Take a look at some of the best tools for this purpose.
- WordPress (Free and Paid)
WordPress.com web design software
Here at websitesetup.org, we recommend people use WordPress to create their websites.
Why?
Through our experience creating hundreds of sites, we’ve found that WordPress offers the best combination of flexibility, power, and ease-of-use necessary to build and launch content-based websites.
And it seems like the internet agrees with us! Over 35% of all websites run on WordPress. WordPress powers popular blogs, e-commerce stores, communities, and more.
To get started with WordPress, you have two options:
Set up a self-hosted WordPress site (WordPress.org)
Sign up for a free WordPress.com account
If you’re just looking to host a small personal site, WordPress.com may be a great choice. However, if you’re starting a more complex project a self-hosted WordPress site is probably a better option.
If you are already using WordPress, but looking for help creating a WordPress theme or customizing WordPress pages, we recommend checking out the Genesis Theme Framework and the Elementor Page Builder.
Visit WordPress.com
Further Reading:
How to Create a Website using WordPress (step-by-step)
How to Create a Blog using WordPress (step-by-step)
- Bootstrap (Free)
Bootstrap web design software
Originally created by the engineering team at Twitter, Bootstrap is now the world’s most popular framework for building responsive, mobile-first websites.
Put simply, Bootstrap is a free library of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that simplifies the process of coding a website from scratch. Bootstrap offers dozens of features like a grid system, responsive breakpoints, and a large library of components that make coding a website quick and easy.
The component library includes headers, navigation, buttons, forms, alerts, and more. The Bootstrap team has comprehensively documented each feature, complete with examples and suggestions for customization.
To get started with Bootstrap, simply download the latest version of the Bootstrap framework, copy one of the example templates, and start coding.
Visit GetBootstrap.com
Further Reading:
How to Use Bootstrap (step-by-step)
- Wix (Free and Paid)
Wix website builder software
Wix is an easy-to-use, affordable alternative to WordPress.
Much like WordPress, Wix can be used to create a variety of different sites, including blogs and stores. Through its drag-and-drop editor, Wix makes it simple to set up and launch your site in just a few minutes.
Wix is a fully-managed subscription service, meaning that the company handles all the details around hosting the site, backing it up, and handling security.
Wix offers a free, ad-sponsored plan that includes hundreds of templates and options to choose from. Paid plans start at $14 per month and include ad removal, increased bandwidth, and additional space for videos.
Visit Wix.com
Further Reading:
How to Use Wix (step-by-step)
- Dreamweaver (Free Trial)
Adobe Dreamweaver web design software
Dreamweaver is Adobe’s application for coding, editing, and maintaining websites. It lets you edit websites both by coding them manually and through an intuitive visual interface.
Dreamweaver includes many of the features of a traditional, text-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like syntax-highlighting, automatic code completion, and the ability to collapse and expand sections of code. You can even use Dreamweaver with Bootstrap!
Unlike a traditional IDE, however, Dreamweaver’s visual interface is what makes it really stand out. Any changes you make in your website’s code are automatically displayed in real-time in Dreamweaver’s interface, and you can also point and click to edit your website’s code visually.
If you’d like more power than a simple drag-and-drop editor, but need something simpler than a code-only IDE, Dreamweaver is a fantastic option.
You can subscribe to Dreamweaver on its own for $20.99 per month or choose a subscription to Adobe’s full Creative Suite for $52.99 per month. Adobe offers 7-day free trials for both options, and discounts for students are frequently available.
Visit adobe.com
Further Reading:
How to Use Dreamweaver (step-by-step)
- Squarespace (Paid)
Squarespace web design software
Squarespace is another good website builder that serves as a third alternative to Wix and WordPress.
Much like Wix, Squarespace offers an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for creating your website. Squarespace also offers a huge variety of different themes and color customizations and includes many of the standards you’d expect like SSL encryption and the ability to build an online store.
Squarespace’s personal plan starts at $14 per month with limits of 20 pages and two contributors. The business plan lifts these limitations and costs $23 per month.
Visit Squarespace.com
Further Reading:
How to Use Squarespace (step-by-step)
Best Software for Interface Design & Prototyping
Interface design apps and prototyping tools help designers envision and communicate how websites will look and behave before they’re launched. Here are a few great candidates to consider.
- Figma (Free and Paid)
Figma interface design software
Despite being one of the newest tools on this list, Figma is also one of the most powerful. If you’re looking for a feature-loaded tool for interface design and prototyping, Figma may be the perfect fit.
Much like Sketch, the next app on this list, Figma features an intuitive, vector-based interface that makes designing websites simple. Anything you can do with Sketch or Adobe XD, you can also do with Figma.
What makes Figma really shine, however, is its collaborative, cloud-based approach. With Figma, multiple team members can edit a design file simultaneously. Business stakeholders can also leave comments, and developers can copy code snippets to simplify the process of turning your design into a real site.
Figma offers a free plan that includes up to 3 projects. Paid plans start at $12 per month and include advanced options like custom user permissions.
Visit Figma.com
- Sketch 3 (Free Trial)
Sketch3 interface design software
Sketch is an extremely popular interface design tool focused on simplifying the process of creating beautiful, high-fidelity mockups. Sketch gained popularity in the early 2010s when it won a design award from Apple.
Designers love Sketch because its uncluttered and intuitive interface makes it easy to create beautiful designs quickly, without the steep learning curve often associated with other design tools. Sketch also has a comprehensive ecosystem of plugins and integrations that bring added power and make it simple to integrate Sketch into your workflow.
While Sketch has recently added some features focused on prototyping and collaboration, the program isn’t as advanced in these areas as some of the other tools on this list.
Sketch is available for macOS and costs $9 per editor, monthly (or $99 per editor, annually). Sketch comes with a 30-day trial.
Visit Sketch.com
- Adobe XD (Free Trial)
Adobe XD interface design software
Tired of being beaten out by simpler tools that were better-suited to interface design and prototyping, Adobe released XD in 2019 as its answer to the other tools on this list.
XD is a powerful, vector-based tool that also supports prototyping animations. If you like Adobe’s other products like Photoshop and Illustrator, chances are you’ll also like XD.
The program also supports opening and editing files from Sketch, making it a popular choice for Windows users who need to collaborate with other designers who use Sketch. That said, novices may find XD’s learning curve a bit steep, and even many professionals prefer other tools on this list.
You can subscribe to XD on its own for $9.99 per month or choose a subscription to Adobe’s full Creative Suite for $52.99 per month. Adobe offers 7-day free trials for both options.
Visit adobe.com/products/xd
- InVision Studio (Free and Paid)
InVision Studio interface design software
While InVision got its start offering a cloud-based prototype service that integrates with tools like Sketch and Photoshop, it now offers its own full-featured interface design and prototyping tool called Studio.
Think of InVision Studio like an advanced version of Sketch, complete with advanced motion animations, collaboration tools, and options to create and share prototypes.
InVision Studio is currently in free beta. To share prototypes using its cloud service, you can opt for a free plan or upgrade to one of InVision’s paid offerings, which allows for more collaborators and projects.
Visit InVisionapp.com
- Framer X (Free Trial)
Framer X interface design software
Framer originally started as a JavaScript library and toolset for prototyping, but it’s evolved into the most powerful tool on this list.
Framer X is a rapid prototyping tool that supports complex animations and generates the code for React components on the fly. At first glance, Framer’s vector-based interface looks extremely similar to Sketch, but there’s far more power under the hood.
Designers like Framer for its responsive design features, an array of premade components, and support for advanced animations. Developers love it because it simplifies the process of turning a design into production-ready code.
If you’re already part of the React ecosystem, or if you simply want a powerful interface capable of creating high-fidelity prototypes with realistic interactions and animations, Framer X is a fantastic option.
Framer X offers a free plan for up to two editors. Framer’s paid plans start from $20/month.
Visit Framer.com
Best Software for Graphic Design
Photo-editing and graphic design tools allow designers to manipulate images and create graphics. Here’s our top pick of the best graphic design tools.
- Adobe Photoshop (Free Trial)
Adobe Photoshop graphic design software
If you’re looking for a powerful, do-it-all graphic design tool, Adobe’s Photoshop has been the leader for decades.
While originally released purely for photo editing, Photoshop has evolved to support a variety of use cases, including interface design, video editing, and more, while remaining true to its photo-editing use.
While many designers prefer to work exclusively in Photoshop because of its flexibility, others prefer more specialized tools. Like Adobe’s other products, the learning curve is a bit steeper because of the vast array of tools and options Photoshop offers.
You can subscribe to Photoshop on its own for $20.99 per month or choose a subscription to Adobe’s full Creative Suite for $52.99 per month. Adobe offers 7-day free trials for both options.
Visit adobe.com
- Canva (Free and Paid)
Canva graphic design software
If you need a simple tool for creating graphics for social media posts, flyers, or business cards, Canva is a fantastic option.
Users love Canva for its easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface. With thousands of templates and hundreds of design types, marketers and hobbyists can produce beautiful imagery in just a few clicks.
Canva offers a free plan with over 8000 templates. Pro plans start at $9.99 per month (up to five people) and include advanced features like the ability to export transparent PNGs and the option to resize a graphic for multiple use cases in just one click.
Visit Canva.com
- Vectr (Free)
Vectr graphic design software
Vectr is a free, cloud-based illustration tool with features similar to Sketch and Adobe Illustrator.
If you want to create complex illustrations, or simply design a website or mobile app, Vectr offers everything you need to get started.
Vectr’s drag-and-drop editor is easy to learn, and since it’s cloud-based, it’s easy to share designs with others for feedback and collaboration.
Visit Vectr.com
- Pixelmator (Free trial)
Pixelmator graphic design software
Much like Photoshop, Pixelmator is a feature-rich photo editor for macOS.
While you can use Pixelmator for illustration or interface design, it works best as a tool for editing and retouching photos, with features for color correction, retouching, and applying filters.
Pixelmator costs $39.99 and is available on the macOS app store. Pixelmator also offers a free, 15-day trial on its website.
Visit Pixelmator.com
- GIMP (Free)
GIMP graphic design software
GIMP (the GNU Image Manipulation Program), is a popular, open-source photo editor that supports Windows, Linux, and macOS.
While the interface feels a bit dated, don’t let that fool you. GIMP packs quite a bit of power and is capable of nearly everything that Photoshop can do.
While the free price point is certainly appealing, GIMP isn’t the easiest tool on this list to learn or use day-to-day. Still, it’s a great choice for budget-conscious designers who need to edit photos or design interfaces.
Visit Gimp.org
To Sum Up: Best Web Design Software Tools
And you’ve reached the end of this list!
All of the abovementioned tools can help you be more productive and creative at the same time. However, it’s still important to check the software’s features to see if it fulfills your web design project requirements.
best free web design software
The presentation and the layout of your website act as the prime factors for an effective online presence. After all, in the digital world, any online business can hit well with the audience only based on its appearance, visibility, and accessibility. A properly planned Web design can help a business sustain itself well. Any professionally created and easy-to-navigate website can attract the attention of the audience. The process of web designing varies depending on the type, size, and products or services of a business. Web designing is a skill, and it encompasses several disciplines in terms of producing and maintaining a website. The process may throw several challenges to those who are at this work.
Let’s discuss the challenges faced in web designing:
Integration – It is tough to allow seamless synchronization with third-party applications.
Responsive – Web designers are unable to serve content across multiple screens and platforms.
User experience- It is challenging to maintain a consistently good user experience throughout the website.
Accessibility – All levels of society that include the elderly or less privileged don’t have the convenience of the website. It is tough to ensure compliance.
Security- It is tough to provide sound safety to websites from viruses, malware, or hacker attacks.
Retention- Web designers find it tough to keep visitors coming back to the website.
All the challenges associated with web designing tasks can be overcome by making use of the latest technology. The implementation of technology can help in providing unique web designs. Moreover, web design software can make the web designing task more exciting and appealing for web designers and developers.
There are lots of website designing tools available in the market. If you are into small business and have low budget cost, then the apt option is to have free and open source website design software. The open source software allows you to customize the functions efficiently.
Let’s have a quick look at the comparison chart of free and open source website design software.
comparison chart
Free and Open source web design software solutions
1 GIMP (free and open source)
GIMP is a free and open source software that provides original artwork creation. The artists can have the power and flexibility to transform images into truly unique creations. This free website design tool can provide high-quality image manipulation. GIMP manages the tasks related to photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring.
Graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, and other artistic people can create design elements, icons, and scripted images with the help of GIMP.
GIMP(Source: GIMP)
Core functionalities:
Photo Manipulation
The full suite of painting tools
File Handling
Animation
Customizable Interface
Photo Enhancement
Digital Retouching
Hardware Support
File Formats (JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF)
Filtering
Image Editor
Templates
Artwork Creation
Graphic design elements
Programming Algorithms
Desktop publishing Workflow
Extensibility and flexibility
2 Brackets (open source)
Brackets is an open source tool that can design in the browser effortlessly. Brackets software is crafted for web designers and front-end developers. You will find this open source website design tool light-in-weight yet compelling.
The software helps in creating new pages or sites and provides a simple interface to web designers. With live preview functionality, the user can connect to the web browser in real-time. It is an excellent tool for coding exercises.
Brackets
(Source: Brackets)
Core functionalities
Inline Editors
Live Preview
Preprocessor Support
Front-end editor
Simple user interface
Effortlessly switch between the tabs or pages
Multiple Cursors
Open Source Text Editor
3 openElement –free
openElement is free software for creative professionals. This powerful and intuitive web authoring program provides tools to build a reliable, compliant website. This software supports all the latest technology (like HTML5, CSS3).
This free web design tool can maximize productivity by simplifying tasks and optimizing workflow. This tool helps in providing efficiency in the web creating process. Custom elements can be effortlessly modified and created with openElement. OpenElement can optimize your site for a better user experience and a higher position in search results.
openElement(Source: openElement)
Core Functionalities:
Intuitive Interface
Responsive design
Drag-and-drop facility
SEO Management
Element Editor
Image and Code optimization
Easy integration of scripts
Cross-browser
Reusable styles and element packs
Manage Codes
4 Adobe Dreamweaver (open source)(free trial)
Adobe Dreamweaver is an open source software that is fast and responsive. The developers can create websites and web applications for any device with the help of this tool.
This tool is apt for everything from single page design to the development of dynamic pages. It is a powerful and fully-featured web designing software tool. The software can build beautiful sites for any browser or device. In a few easy steps, you can set up your website. The software can provide a dynamic display on every device.
Adobe Dreamweaver(Source: Adobe Dreamweaver)
Core Functionalities:
Multi-device products
Dynamic Code editor
Regular Updates
Quick Publishing
Code Themes and Introspection
Real-Time Browser Preview
Syntax Checking
Fast and flexible coding
Creative cloud
Seamless live view editing
Multi-monitor support
5 Mobirise (free)
Mobirise is free software that can efficiently create a mobile-friendly website. The software can create landing pages, online resumes, and portfolios effortlessly. Without HTML/CSS skills, the professionals can create a stunning site in a few minutes with the help of this free software.
This free web designing tool can effortlessly set up a stunning personal site or a fully functioning landing page for the business. The software is a downloadable offline web builder that can be supported on Win, Mac, and Android Operating systems.
Mobirise(Source: Mobirise)
Core Functionalities:
Mobile-friendliness
Latest website blocks and techniques
Drag-and-drop website builder
Website builder
Themes and Templates
Extensions
Bootstrap and AMP (accelerated mobile page) pages
6 Webflow (free)
Webflow is free software that can translate the design into clean and semantic code, which can be quickly published to the web. The pre-built pieces can be used for complex elements like tabs, sliders, and background videos. The software can create reusable symbols and can effortlessly keep the items organized.
It is easy to build the site with real content by employing this free website design software. The software can create responsive sites and can create reusable CSS classes. The user has complete control over the layout. The software allows the building of website interactions and animations visually.
webflow(Source: Webflow)
Core Functionalities:
Build CSS (Cascading style sheets) grid-powered layouts visually
Add CSS filters
Clean, compliant, exportable client
Responsive Images
Flexible and responsive layouts
Reusable and editable symbols
Creative Control
Content Management System (CMS)
Customizable forms
Marketing & SEO
Website animations and interactions visually
Custom Branding
Fine-tune typography
Global color swatches
Integrations
Motion design
7 Webydo (free trial of 30 days)
Webydo is a cloud-based software that can create beautiful websites without handling any code. The software is apt for businesses and design agencies. With the help of intuitive tools, it is effortless to have an excellent website-building experience.
The software is easy-to-use that allows for building responsive SEO-friendly websites along with a powerful content management facility. Users can efficiently create interactive and attractive sites.
Webydo(Source: Webydo)
Core Functionalities:
SEO-friendly websites
Content Management
Client Billing
White label branding
Customizable Templates
Hosting
Web Analytics
Social Integration
Mobile styling
eCommerce
Drag and drop elements
Responsive websites
Parallax Scrolling Animator
Professional design tool
Although the list mentioned above of free and open-source web designing tools is of top-notch quality that can provide amazing results to the users. Along with it, there is also one more web design software- Google web designer, which is gaining popularity. Below you can explore the core functionalities of Google web designer:
Google Web Designer- Popular
Google Web Designer is remarkable software that can create engaging and interactive HTML5-based designs and motion graphics. The software allows seamless integration with other Google products like Google Drive, display and video 360, and Google ads.
The software provides a full design suite and can edit HTML, CSS, and JavaScript directly. Across the advertising platforms, this web designing tool can support a wide range of display and video ad formats.
Google web Designer
(Source: Google Web Designer)
Core Functionalities:
Drag-and-drop component
Flexible
Interactive
Dynamic workflow
Animation-3D content
Content Creation Tools
Display and Video ad formats
Google Integrations
Responsive Ads
Conclusive statement
In the digital marketplace, your website defines your online presence. It is essential to make your website appealing to the audience. If the design of your website is attractive, then it will surely hold the attention of the people, which in turn allows them in completing a visit to the website.
Web design software enables designers to experience drastic growth in the designing arena. The software can effortlessly and creatively build an excellent website for the viewers. With the help of free and open-source web design tools, it is effortless to have a fully-functional and professionally-designed website for business use.
If you are looking for more advanced features of web design tools, then you can explore the GoodFirms platform where you will find the top web design software available in the market. In case you have come across any of the free and open-source software mentioned above, then feel free to share your valuable reviews on the same.
Conclusion
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