Free Web Design Tools Like Photoshop
When it comes to web design, there’s no tool more important than Photoshop. It is used by web designers and graphic designers alike to create amazing visual elements for their websites, and it’s also used to create logos and even product packaging.
But what if you don’t have access to Photoshop? What if you’re just starting out as a web designer or graphic designer and can’t afford the expensive software? Or maybe you’re an experienced designer but want to give something new a try! Either way, there are plenty of free tools that can help you do just that.
Free Web Design Tools Like Photoshop
Not long ago, you had to write complex code and make web design programs to create even the most basic templates. But with more advanced software now on the market, anyone can build beautiful web designs quickly and easily.
In this article, we’ll share the best web design software that you can use to create website templates or full-fledged websites.
To make it easier to navigate through the list of best website design software, we’ve categorized them by use case. You can use the quick links here to jump to the section that interests you the most.
Best software and platforms to build a website
Best web software for eCommerce
Best web tools for graphic design and marketing
Best design software for HTML sites
Best Software and Builders to Design a Website
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.
- WordPress
Self hosted 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.
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- Web.com
web.com website builder
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.
- Gator Builder
Gator website 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.
- SiteBuilder
SiteBuilder.com
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.
- Divi
divi theme review
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.
- SeedProd
seedprod website builder theme builder
SeedProd is already the best landing page builder for WordPress sites. And now, with its new Theme Builder, you can use SeedProd to easily create a custom WordPress theme from scratch.
The software comes with 9 full theme kits and over 150+ beautiful and responsive page templates. The theme kits include matching designs for every part of your site, not just the homepage.
Customizing your theme is easy with the drag and drop builder, text editor, layout navigation, and live previews. You’ll also find smart sections, headline animations, WordPress template tags, and powerful page blocks to build unique pages all by simply dragging and dropping them to where you want them to appear.
You can choose what you want to show/hide on desktop and mobile devices.
Plus, the platform integrates with email marketing tools and other WordPress tools. This makes it easy to sync other features of your website such as contact forms, WooCommerce products, and more.
With SeedProd, the best part is there’s no coding required whatsoever. The design process is contained smoothly within the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface. However, SeedProd also has advanced settings and a code editor for developers if they want to insert custom coding.
One thing that stands out about this builder is that it has built-in coming soon and maintenance modes. You can enable these modes with a single click and your website will be hidden from the public eye while you design it.
SeedProd has a free plan and a premium version. You’ll need the Pro plan to access the Theme Builder.
See our full SeedProd Review for more details.
- Weebly
Weebly
Weebly is a popular web building and designing software. It can be used to create web designs for general websites and online eCommerce stores — millions of users on the internet trust it. Weebly comes with a drag and drop interface to create your web design in just a few minutes.
It’s a hosted solution so you won’t have to worry about additional web hosting charges. It’s built-in to your pricing plan.
The drag and drop feature makes it even simpler to develop your website design without writing a single line of code.
Though the free version of Weebly comes with everything you need to make beautiful websites, it’s worth checking out their paid plan for more features and options. For more details, read the complete Weebly review from our experts.
- Beaver Builder
beaver builder
Beaver Builder is an easy-to-use page builder for WordPress users. It comes with responsive templates and a simple drag and drop builder.
This makes it one of the most beginner-friendly website design tools out there.
It works great for everyone including freelancers, developers, agencies, eCommerce stores, and businesses.
Beaver Builder is developer-friendly if you want to make advanced changes. Plus, there are addons to extend features and functionality of the page builder.
Interested in this platform? Get more information inside our Beaver Builder Review.
- Wix
wix homepage
Wix is designed to be a beginner-friendly website builder. Once you sign up, there’s a setup wizard that helps you take all the steps you need to design and publish a website.
The visual builder lets you make changes in real-time. And you’ll find tons of customization options inside the editor to add headers, footers, images, and more. The great part about Wix is that it takes care of website maintenance like updates, SSL, and security.
However, it uses a fully-managed subscription service model. This means you need to pay a monthly or yearly fee to keep your website on the internet.
The downside to this platform is that you’ll be very limited in terms of web development control and customizations.
While ease of use takes priority, you won’t be able to design your site the way you want it. There are premade responsive website formats that your site will automatically follow.
Wix is a good option if you’re new to website design. But as your own website grows and expands, you’ll want to switch to a more flexible platform like WordPress, and that can be very complicated.
- Webflow
webflow homepage
Webflow is a code-free website design software. It lets you build a custom professional-looking website using a visual canvas. The responsive design makes sure your website looks good on all devices.
There’s also a Webflow Designer where you can use HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. Added to that, you can build custom databases, eCommerce sections, and more.
With Webflow, you can get your website up and running fast. It also lets you create and update pages as you go.
That’s our list of the best web design software for building and launching a regular website. If you had to ask us what is the most popular web design software? The winner would be WordPress.org, hands down.
Up next, we’ll check out the best design software and apps available for online stores and anyone in the eCommerce sector.
Best Web Design Software for eCommerce
To create and design an online store, choosing the right platform is critical. Once you get started, it can be difficult to switch later on.
We have a detailed comparison of eCommerce platforms to choose from. Below, we’ve highlighted our 3 top picks in the market.
- WooCommerce
woocommerce home page
WooCommerce is a free eCommerce platform for WordPress. It’s incredibly easy to set up and is the most flexible eCommerce option available.
There’s a beginner-friendly setup wizard that makes sure you cover all the steps you need before you launch your store.
It lets you easily create customized product catalogs and product pages. You can list both physical and digital products. Plus, it’s easy to configure taxes, shipping, payment options, and more so your customers will have a better user experience.
With WooCommerce, designing an eCommerce website is easy, however, you’ll need to have a WordPress site for that. We also recommend choosing a WooCommerce hosting plan that will give you ample bandwidth to run your store smoothly.
Learn more in our WooCommerce Review.
- Shopify
shopify homepage
Shopify is a fully hosted eCommerce platform. It’s beginner-friendly but it’s also a managed platform like SquareSpace. This means you get very limited control over the design of your website.
This eCommerce design software comes with premade templates to create any kind of store you need. Plus, you can customize these templates using the intuitive web builder.
The good thing about this platform is that you’ll have lesser maintenance tasks to take care of. However, it comes at a hefty price especially once your website starts growing.
- Big Commerce
bigcommerce
Big Commerce is another popular eCommerce platform that’s fully hosted. You can integrate it with WordPress so you can convert your existing site to an online store.
It’s easy to design a beautiful storefront using customizable themes. And BigCommerce handles product images, crops them, and creates beautiful gallery layouts.
Shopify and BigCommerce pricing is quite similar.
See which eCommerce platform is the right one for your: BigCommerce vs WooCommerce: What Should You Choose?
With that, we’ve taken a full tour of the best web design platforms and software to build websites. Next, we’ll show you the best tools for graphic design and marketing.
Best Software for Graphic Design and Marketing
Below is our pick of the best web design software programs that can be used both online and offline. You’ll mostly need this to enhance your website’s design, create marketing campaigns, sale promotions, and more.
- Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a premium web design tool. It has tons of options to create and edit your web templates. It works with images and you can create the graphics for your web design. With infinite color and gradient options, you can make high-quality template designs.
It gives you a blank canvas to bring your imagination to life. You can attach images, move elements, draw boxes, crop the edges, and edit your template exactly the way you want. It works with layers, which makes your job really simple. You can show/hide a layer to manage your web design elements with ease.
Adobe Photoshop is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) tool which means you’ll be editing your design the way it would appear when it’s live. Keep in mind though that it’s a highly advanced tool and you’ll likely need some training before you start. Once you know how to use it, you can enjoy the best experience in web designing.
- GIMP
GIMP
GIMP is a popular free web design tool. Like Adobe Photoshop, it works with images to create web pages and template designs. It may not have the same advanced features as Photoshop, but it comes with all the tools that you’ll need to build a beautiful web template.
The software is available for all your devices. You can work on high-resolution images to create artwork, mockups, and web designs.
- Sketch
Sketch
Sketch is a web design software for Mac devices. It’s a professional tool focused on creating web templates and designs. It works with vector images, so you’ll get the best, highest-resolution results. The toolbar and options are very simple. Sketch gives you the full flexibility to create and manage your web design projects.
Also check: Best WordPress Responsive Themes.
It comes with a mirroring feature that allows you to test your web design template on multiple devices like a mobile phone or a tablet. That way, you can be 100% sure how your web design will appear on different screen sizes.
- Figma
Figma
Figma is a multi-user web design software. It allows you to connect with your design team to work on the same web template. It’s a smart tool to share a project with your client and make live changes on a template design. Figma takes web designing to a whole new level.
It comes with fonts, colors, and other settings in its editing panel. The tools and options are amazing when used to create an icon or a complete web template. Figma has both free and premium plans.
- Canva
Canva
Canva is a free graphic design software. It can’t be considered a full-fledged web design software, but you can use Canva to create interesting and attractive designs to support your web template. It’s perfect to build images that you can add to your web design, email campaigns, blogging pages, and marketing promotions.
It comes with hundreds of templates that make your work easier. If you don’t have any designing skills, you can use a template in Canva and effortlessly build professional-looking images for your web template.
Canva comes with mobile apps for iOS and Android so you can edit your designs on the go right from your smartphone.
Canva also lets you schedule your designs to be shared on different online platforms. This lets you streamline your website and social media workflows. One thing to consider is that, unlike Photoshop, you can’t use Canva offline.
You may also want to see: 8 Best Places to Find Perfect Stock Illustrations for Your Website.
Best Design Software for HTML Websites
- Bootstrap
Bootstrap
Bootstrap is a popular framework for creating and prototyping web designs and websites. It’s made for technical users to create front-end designs beautifully. It comes with the most advanced development features. The framework is powerful and can be used to make web designs with HTML, CSS, and JS.
It has pre-built web templates that work great with the Bootstrap framework. You can fully edit these templates to get your desired results.
- Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Dreamweaver is one of the most advanced web design programs. It comes with a screen to write code and design your web template. It also has a drag and drop section where you can create your web design with a live preview.
You can use both features together, which means, when you write the code, you can preview it live on the Dreamweaver software. And, if you’re designing your template by dragging the options, you can go back to the coding screen to make your adjustments.
It’s a great web designing tool for beginners to advanced-level users. You’ll need to have basic coding skills to use Adobe Dreamweaver.
Keep in mind, you’ll need ample space on your system whether it’s Windows, Linux, or Mac. When you sign up, you’ll get access to Creative Cloud where you’ll find more design tools and software that you can purchase like Adobe Wireframe Tool and Adobe XD.
How to Choose the Best Web Design Software
When making a decision, you’ll need to consider the factors that matter to you and your business.
When you choose platforms like WordPress that offer more flexibility and customization options, it also means there’s a learning curve. But once you use the software for a while, it becomes easy to use and is a better option for when your website grows.
On the other hand, self-hosted platforms like Webflow and Web.com are beginner-friendly but you also lose control over the administration of your site.
free web design tools for beginners
There are over 1.8 billion websites on the web today. That’s a lot of competition. Because of that, it’s important to think hard about how you can make your website stand out and attract visitors, especially if you can do it for free. Here’s where free web design software comes in handy.
It’s safe to assume that on and offline, people prefer to see something that’s beautifully designed over something simple and plain. That’s especially true for business sites and ecommerce stores.
Luckily, you can use free software to create a stunning website. Below, we’ll look at the top free tools that you can use to create an amazing design or improve your existing one.
Get Started on HubSpot’s CMS Software for $25/month
Free Web Design Software: Features to Look For
What critical features does website design software need to offer? When you’re considering tools, look for the following capabilities and features.
Visual Editor
Web design primarily focuses on the visual aspect of websites as opposed to the content management side. As such, good web design software should include a visual editor that allows you to design visually — no need to touch actual code unless you want to.
Compatibility with Current Systems
Whether you’re using CMS Hub or WordPress, your chosen web design software should be compatible with your current website builder or content management system (CMS). For instance, after using Sketch, you should be able to export the prototype’s CSS code and import it into your chosen CMS.
Templates
A piece of great web design software will offer you a point to work off of. Because this type of software is meant to be beginner-friendly, you shouldn’t have to start from scratch. That’s where templates come in. The software should offer various templates for you to create a site that looks and feels the way you envision it.
Fonts and Graphics
You shouldn’t feel short-changed when trying to use a free web design tool. Instead, you should have access to the fonts and graphics you need to create a stunning prototype or wireframe. It’s important that a web design tool offers you plenty of options for fonts and graphics.
Some web design tools will also include hosting services, SSL certificates, content management tools, and domain names. Others will only offer tools for wireframing and visual design. Others still are only designed for writing code. Whether you’re looking for an all-in-one solution or a standalone design tool, we’ve got you covered with this list of top web design software.
Best Free Web Design Software
CMS Hub: Best All-in-One Web Design Software for Beginners
WordPress: Best Free Blog Design Software for Beginners
Figma: Best Free Collaborative Wireframing Tool for Beginners
Sketch: Best User Interface Design Tool for Mac Users
Lunacy: Best Free User Interface Design Tool for Windows Users
Adobe XD: Best Prototyping Software for Adobe CC Users
Origami: Best Free Web Design Tool for Animations
InVision Studio: Best Free Mobile Responsive Prototyping Software
FluidUI: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Prototyping
Vectr: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Vector Drawing
GIMP: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Photo Editing
Marvel: Best Simple Web Design Tool for User Testing
Wix: Best Simple Website Builder
Framer: Best Simple Design Tool for Web Apps and Products
Bootstrap: Best Prebuilt Web Design Framework
Sublime Text: Best Free Code Editor for Mac
Visual Studio Code: Best Free Code Editor for Windows
With hundreds of tools available, it can be confusing and overwhelming to decide which to use. That’s why we’ve curated a list of some of the best design tools that you can use for free.
The list will be divided into three:
Best Free Web Design Software for Beginners
Simple Free Web Design Software
Code Free Web Design Software
Let’s get started.
Best Free Web Design Software for Beginners
- CMS Hub: Best All-in-One Web Design Software for Beginners
Free Trial
OS: Any (web-based)
CMS Hub web design softwareCMS Hub is a website builder and content management system that includes a visual drag-and-drop editor, a collection of templates, and an SSL certificate. Because it requires zero coding and includes everything you need to launch a website, it comes out on top as the best all-in-one design software for beginners.
CMS Hub is also integrated with all other products in the HubSpot platform, including our CRM, marketing software, sales software, and service software.
CMS Hub Core Functionalities
Web Design
Collaboration
Wireframing
Content Management
Website Structure
URL Mapping
Analytics Reporting
Security
CMS Hub Pros
Comprehensive content management system
No coding required with an easy drag-and-drop page builder
Healthy selection of templates
Seamless integration with the rest of the HubSpot CRM platform
Hosting is include
CMS Hub Cons
Free trial only
Plans are priced higher than other options listed that offer paid plans (though this includes hosting costs)
Rich functionality may be under-utilized by beginner website owners
- WordPress: Best Free Blog Design Software for Beginners
Free
OS: Any (web-based)
free web design tool wordpress and block editor
WordPress is an open-source content management system that makes it easy to set up a website in minutes. There are thousands of free plugins available to download and install so that you can extend the functionality of your site. This simplifies the entire customization process and means you don’t need coding skills to design your site.
It’s important to note that WordPress is free to use, but there are other costs associated with building and running a site on the platform. We break down the cost of building and launching a website here.
WordPress Core Functionalities
Content Management
Blog Design
Website Structure
WordPress Pros
Most popular CMS on the web
Highly customizable and configurable thanks to its open-source build
Thousands of themes and plugins to customize and optimize your site
WordPress Cons
The WordPress CMS is free, but you’ll still have to pay for good hosting
Can feel too hands-on for those who want a more streamlined site-building experience
WordPress has known security vulnerabilities that leave your site at risk if not addressed
- Figma: Best Free Collaborative Wireframing Tool for Beginners
Free
OS: Any (web-based)
Figma web design softwareBest defined as an interface design tool, Figma enables multiple designers to collaborate in real time. As such, it’s ideal if you have various project stakeholders involved in the design process. Figma is a web application, so you won’t need to download a tool to your desktop.
The free version includes unlimited drafts, unlimited commenters, and unlimited editors. You can have up to 1 team project, so if you’re all working together on one website only, this is a great choice for your team. The one limitation is that it only includes up to 30 days of historical changes.
If you upgrade to the Professional tier, you’ll get unlimited projects and unlimited history, while the Organization tier gives you access to advanced security and analytics.
Figma Core Functionalities
User Interface Design
Collaboration
Wireframing
Prototyping
Figma Pros
An excellent piece of web design freeware for wireframing, mockups, and prototyping
Unlimited drafts, commenters, and editors allowed on the free version (however, projects are limited)
Real-time collaboration with team members
Figma Cons
Free version is limited in collaboration features
Only tracks 30 days of changes
Can experience performance issues, especially over weaker connections
- Sketch: Best User Interface Design Tool for Mac Users
Free Trial
OS: macOS
free web design tool sketch editor with comments overlaidSketch is one of the most (if not the most) well-known and used tools for web designing. It comes with an advanced vector tool, which aids in a collaborative development of interfaces and prototypes. This tool was built particularly for making websites and web apps.
Its prominence among the designer community is at least partially due to its clean interface and high performance; however, it only works on Mac. Since many designers work on Windows, you might be better off with a web-based option such as CMS Hub or a Windows-based option such as Lunacy.
Sketch Core Functionalities
User Interface Design
Collaboration
Wireframing
Prototyping
Sketch Pros
Intuitive, easy-to-use, and popular design tool
Clean, simple displays for users who hate page clutter
Handles all phases of the design process from wireframes to prototypes and developer handoff
Sketch Cons
Free trial only
macOS only
Weaker collaboration features than other options on this list
- Lunacy: Best Free User Interface Design Tool for Windows Users
Free
OS: Windows, macOS, Linux
Free web design tool Lunacy editor
Launched as a free alternative to Sketch for Windows, Lunacy is now a fully functional graphic design software that’s rich in features. A couple of years ago, all it could do was open Sketch files on Windows. Today, it offers all the standard features of a UI and screen design tool and a library of free, high-quality graphic assets.
It includes full support for Sketch files, so if you ever switch from Windows to Mac or vice versa, you can edit your Sketch design without a problem.
Lunacy Core Functionalities
User Interface Design
Collaboration
Wireframing
Prototyping
Lunacy Pros
Built-in graphic assets to quickly add content to your screens
Compatible with Sketch files, letting you edit them on a Windows device
Allows for offline editing, unlike web-based competitors
Lunacy Cons
Still a relatively new product with some minor bugs being resolved
Performance issues have been reported, especially dealing with large files
Lacks prototyping features
- Adobe XD: Best Prototyping Software for Adobe CC Users
Free Trial
OS: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android (web version also available)
Free web design tool Adobe XD editor
Though it’s one of the newer tools on this list, Adobe XD quickly became the go-to tool for many in the web design community. Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Illustrator hold the first three spots in the graphics software market share. For that reason, Adobe XD became the natural choice for graphic and web designers.
Even if you’re not familiar with Adobe’s products, Adobe XD is a top-of-the-line web design tool worth trying. The tool offers a repeat grids feature, which allows you to easily create grids and populate them with images, text, and other one-of-a-kind content. It’s also handy for creating and testing variations in the spacing between UI elements.
Adobe XD Core Functionalities
User Interface Design
Collaboration
Wireframing
Prototyping
Adobe XD Pros
Great reputation as an end-to-end UX design tools
Seamless integration with other products in the Adobe suite like Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop
Good performance when handling large files
Handy UI kits from top tech brands to build out interfaces more quickly
Adobe XD Cons
Free trial only
Lacks real-time collaboration ability
While there is an extensions library, it is not as rich as some competitors’
- Origami: Best Free Web Design Tool for Animations
Free
OS: macOS
Origami web design softwareOrigami is an interface design tool created by the designers of Facebook. It’s everything you wish that Sketch had when it comes to making high-fidelity UIs and prototypes. It’s tailored to building mobile prototypes, which support all popular mobile interactions and gestures.
Origami truly shines in terms of adding screen interactivity. Most UI design tools offer limited micro-interactions settings, but this tool enables you to fine-tune spacing, timings, triggers, animation types, and more.
The best part is that it allows you to use it in conjunction with Figma and Sketch, so if you’re using those web design tools, you can switch back and forth without losing your work.
Origami Core Functionalities
User Interface Design
Animation
Wireframing
Prototyping
Origami Pros
Easy prototyping, animations, and micro-interactions
Specializes in mobile prototyping
Compatibility with Sketch and Figma
Origami Cons
Lacking in collaboration features
More difficult to learn than other options
Less support and community if you run into problems using the tool
- InVision Studio: Best Free Mobile Responsive Prototyping Software
Free
OS: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android (web version also available)
Free web design tool invision studio editor
Offering versions that work on PC and Mac desktops, InVision Studio offers an advanced mobile responsive feature that allows you to design for different screen sizes. Since its very first release, this tool has focused on providing a collaborative design experience. Moreover, it’s now on par with AdobeXD in terms of built-in functionality.
You can further extend its functionality by downloading apps from its AppStore. Many of these offer the same functionality as AdobeXD’s repeat grids feature. There are also UI Kits you can download and use to build screens immediately. The extensions and UI kits are all free.
InVision Studio Core Functionalities
User Interface Design
Animation
Wireframing
Responsive Prototyping
InVision Studio Pros
One of the best high-fidelity mockup and prototyping tools available
Advanced collaboration capabilities
Intuitive animation controls for more realistic prototypes
Many free extensions and UI kits
InVision Studio Cons
Collaboration tools exist but are not as convenient as competitors’
Users have experienced response issues with support
Occasional issues with tracking changes and saving files
Simple Free Web Design Software
- FluidUI: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Prototyping
Free
OS: Any (web-based)
FluidUI web design softwareFluidUI is a free online tool that is ideal for prototyping and building UIs quickly. This tool, combined with the library of standard Apple and Google material assets, enables direct editing in your browser. You can also share prototypes via email and share links so that others can review and leave comments on the page.
FluidUI Core Functionalities
Quick Prototyping
User Interface Design
Wireframing
FluidUI Pros
Quick, easy web design freeware for prototypes and wireframing
Accommodates both high-fidelity and low-fidelity prototyping
Real-time collaboration and easy sharing
FluidUI Cons
Free version is limited — you’re allowed one project with 10 pages and one user
Less ideal for higher-fidelity designs, as it’s meant for fast iterative prototypes
Paid plans are more expensive than other options here, but necessary for collaborative projects
- Vectr: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Vector Drawing
Free
OS: Any (web-based)
Free web design tool vector editor
A cloud-based, free illustration tool with similar features to Adobe Illustrator and Sketch. Vector offers everything you need to get started building complex illustrations, or designing a site or mobile application.
Learning how to use the drag-and-drop editor is easy, and because it’s cloud-based, sharing designs is exceedingly simple. That means your team will be able to collaborate and gather feedback without the headache.
Vectr Core Functionalities
Vector Drawing
Prototyping
Wireframing
Vectr Pros
A solid Adobe Illustrator/Sketch alternative for vector graphics
Easy cloud-based collaboration
Simple, intuitive interface and features
Vectr Cons
Requires an internet connection to use
Importing and exporting have been reported as occasionally difficult
The tool displays ads
- GIMP: Best Simple Web Design Tool for Photo Editing
Free
OS: Windows, macOS, Linux
GIMP web design software
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is an open-source, popular photo editor supported by Linux, macOS, and Windows. Although the interface looks a bit outdated, it packs quite a bit of power and is capable of almost everything Photoshop can do.
It’s a wonderful choice for designers who have limited budgets and need to design UIs or edit photos.
GIMP Core Functionalities
Photo Editing
Prototyping
Wireframing
GIMP Pros
A powerful alternative to Photoshop for designers on a budget
Feature-rich and sufficient for rudimentary and advanced photo editing
Large community of users for support
GIMP Cons
Outdated interface
Tools and icons are not always intuitive for non-experts, resulting in a steeper learning curve
Primarily intended for photo editing and lacks out-of-the-box prototyping and wireframing features
- Marvel: Best Simple Web Design Tool for User Testing
Free
OS: Any (web-based)
marvel-web-design-software
Marvel is ideal for producing and refining an interface exactly how you want it to appear and for creating prototypes. It offers a truly innovative way for creating pages and enables you to simulate the design via a prototype.
There are several integrations available that enable you to insert your designs into the project workflow. There is also an integrated user testing feature, which is still rare in the web design space.
Marvel Core Functionalities
Prototyping
User Testing
Collaboration
Marvel Pros
Fast and efficient creation and user testing
Integrated user testing features
Simple, user-friendly interface
Includes a handoff option that translates prototypes into CSS
Marvel Cons
Free version limits you to one project and required Marvel branding on projects
Performance issues have been experienced with larger projects
Handoff does not include HTML, just CSS
- Wix: Best Simple Website Builder
OS: Any (web-based)
Free web design tool wix editor
An affordable, easy-to-use WordPress alternative, Wix is a website builder offering free and premium plans. Like WordPress, Wix makes it possible to build all kinds of sites, including stores and blogs, in just a few minutes. But the experience of managing a Wix site will be very different from WordPress.
If you opt for one of the premium plans, you’ll get a fully-managed subscription service. Meaning, Wix takes care of all the technical details around site hosting, back-ups, and security. You can also choose the free ad-sponsored plan, which comes with hundreds of options and templates to choose from.
Wix Core Functionalities
Web Design
Collaboration
Content Management
Wix Pros
Simple website builder aimed at helping anyone build a high-quality online presence
All-in-one option, including codeless building tools, hosting, and security
Ad-sponsored options available
Wix Cons
Wix’s free offering is pretty bare-bones and requires Wix branding in your site’s URL
Less flexible than WordPress — for example, you’re unable to twitch site template once you’ve started building
Limits in terms of page layouts, as well as color and text styling that make it less suited for visually complex sites
- Framer X: Best Simple Design Tool for Web Apps and Products
Free
OS: Any (web-based)
Free web design tool framer X editor
Originally, Framer was simply a library of JavaScript and a prototyping tool set. It has since evolved into one of the most powerful tools for creating responsive designs. Now called Framer X, this fast prototyping tool enables designers at every skill level to create complex animations and generate code for React components. This sets it apart from Sketch, although their vector-based interface looks similar.
Framer X Core Functionalities
Web App Prototyping
Wireframing
Collaboration
Framer Pros
Powerful all-in-one design alternative to tools like Figma and Adobe XD
Tight control over interactive components and animations
Compatibility with react components
Framer Cons
The free version of framer limits you to two editors and three projects
Steep learning curve due to intimidating interface and complex workflow
Having JavaScript knowledge is key to using the tool to its full potential
Code Free Web Design Software
- Bootstrap: Best Prebuilt Web Design Framework
Free
OS: Any
free web design tool bootstrap getting started pageBuilt originally by the Twitter engineering team, Bootstrap is now the most popular framework in the world for building mobile-first, responsive websites. It’s basically a free library of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which helps streamline the process of building a site from scratch. There are dozens of features — including a grid system, a series of responsive breakpoints, and a rich components library — that make coding easier and faster.
The component library has buttons, navigation bars, forms, headers, alerts, and so forth. You can simply download the current version of Bootstrap, or load it locally with BootstrapCDN, copy one of the sample templates, and begin customizing.
Bootstrap Core Functionalities
Front-End Web Design
User Interface Design
Bootstrap Pros
A must-know for mobile-first web development
Allows you to build websites for both desktop and mobile without creating two different sites
Dozens of responsive interface options, each with multiple easy style customization
Extensive documentation that’s clear for beginners
Bootstrap Cons
Coding knowledge is required (as it’s a CSS framework)
As far as styling goes, Bootstrap has native options for its components, but they’re not extensive, which can make Bootstrap-powered websites look homogenous
Minimal backward compatibility with older versions of the framework
- Sublime Text: Best Free Code Editor for Mac
Free
OS: macOS
Sublime Text web design softwareSublime Text is a free web design tool that’s optimal for coding a website from the ground up. It allows you to keep HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code all in one unified file, and it color-codes different tags and attributes for easier reading and editing. If you pair Bootstrap with Sublime Text, you’ll be able to easily build a high performing website.
Sublime Text Core Functionalities
Coding
Text Editing
Sublime Text Pros
Among the most popular and well-reviewed free code editors available
Customizable interface
Essential code editing features like color coding, search functionality
Many plugins to try with the tool
Lightweight
Sublime Text Cons
Sublime Text is free to use, but sometimes displays pop ups asking to upgrade to the paid version
Coding knowledge is required (as it’s a text editor)
Some users have complained that Sublime is light on native features compared to its plugin offerings
- Visual Studio Code: Best Free Code Editor for Windows
Free
OS: Windows, macOS, Linux
Visual Studio Code web design software
Visual Studio Code is to Windows what Sublime Text is to macOS. Use it to intuitively write and edit HTML and CSS code. You can also use it to build a Bootstrap website. Visual Studio Code gives you access to a wealth of extensions to expand the functionality of the tool. For instance, you can download GitLive to collaborate with other developers and designers.
Visual Studio Code Core Functionalities
Coding
Text Editing
Visual Studio Code Pros
Lightweight and efficient
Large extension library to improve the editor, including a GitHub integration
Extensive documentation for beginner users
Visual Studio Code Cons
Coding knowledge is required (as it’s a text editor)
A steep learning curve compared to sublime, but still manageable for beginners
Why is using web design software important?
Website redesigns require a serious investment of time and resources, so it makes sense to consider why you should redesign your website.
Without web design software, though, you can easily build a website that won’t perform as expected. That’s why wireframing, prototyping, and coding is important — and you can use the tools above to get that done.
Here’s why using web design software is important:
- Your web design sets the first impression.
Your website is often the first impression consumers have of the business. You want to make it a good one, and fast. An outdated or poorly designed website could sour a visitor’s first impression of your brand, and deter them from staying on your site or returning. - Good web design impacts your SEO.
Web design practices and elements not only impact the visitor experience — they also impact how search engine bots crawl and then index your website.
You can learn web design best practices through diligent research and practice. To simplify the process and save time, you can also work with a website development company that knows what they’re doing.
- A good design sets the tone for your customer service.
By simply looking at your website, visitors can glean insights into how you would treat them as customers. If you thoughtfully include web design elements that make it easier for them to navigate your website, learn about your products, and more, then that indicates they can expect the same thought and care from your customer service.
On the other hand, if no effort was put into your web design, then that indicates to visitors that your business would not put effort into helping them as customers either.
- A good design fosters trust with your audience.
If your site is outdated or poorly designed, consumers will be less likely to trust your brand and more likely to view you as less credible and professional than your competitors.
By updating your design, you can build audience trust. This is critical. If you gain their trust, visitors will be more likely to stay on your website longer and give their personal information, which means you’ll have more opportunity to convert them into leads.
- Good web design builds consistency.
When you are attempting to gain new business leads, you want to generate brand awareness. If your audience is familiar with your business, then they will be more likely to choose you when they are ready to purchase.
Web design plays a huge part in brand consistency. Considering its importance, you might want to work with a web design company to help you create a beautiful design across your site.
Use Web Design Software to Build a Stellar Website
The right web design software can empower you to prototype, wireframe, and design a website that delights your visitors. Luckily, many tools are free. Be sure to try your hand at the tools listed above to code your site from the ground up or revamp it entirely.
Conclusion
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