Web design software is a tool that can help you create a website quickly, efficiently and affordably. There are many different types of web design software available on the market today, so it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into before making a decision. This article will go over some of the most popular types of web design software and help you decide which one might be right for you!
Table of Contents
Reviews Of Web Design Software
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?
01. 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 OSTODAY’S BEST DEALSWix ProUS$23/mthWix Connect DomainUS$3.54/mthVISIT SITEat 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.
02. Adobe XD
The best web design software for prototyping.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2016Developer: AdobeCost: Free to $9.99/monthPlatform: Windows, Mac OSTODAY’S BEST DEALSAdobe XD – Single App MonthlyUS$9.99/mthVISIT SITEat 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.
03. Weebly
The best web design software for e-com
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched : 2006Developer: Square, Inc.Cost: Free to $18/monthPlatform: Windows, Mac OSTODAY’S BEST DEALSWeebly StarterUS$5/mthWeebly ProUS$12/mthWeebly BusinessUS$25/mthVISIT SITEat Weebly
REASONS TO BUY
+Looks great+Mobile-friendly +Loads of customisation
REASONS TO AVOID
-Empty ListAdvertisementhttps://af8ea09b16dc92ff97688d026534dc4c.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
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.
04. Webflow
Another great website builder for starters
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched : 2013Developer: WebflowCost: Free to $36/monthPlatform: BrowserTODAY’S BEST DEALSCHECK AMAZONVisit Site
REASONS TO BUY
+Cross-platform+Easy drag and drop
REASONS TO AVOID
-There are better interfacesAdvertisement
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.
05. Pattern Lab
The best web design software for building design systems.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2013Developer: Dave OIsen and Brad FrostCost: FreePlatform: BrowserTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT 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. Advertisement
06. Bootstrap
The best framework for web designers.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2010Developer: Open sourceCost: FreePlatform: BrowserTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT 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. Advertisement
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.
07. Sublime Text 3
A super-strong web design software choice.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2008Developer: Sublime HQCost: $80Platform: Windows, Mac OS, LinuxTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT 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.Advertisement
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.
08. WordPress.org
The best content management system for web designers.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2003Developer: AutomatticCost: FreePlatform: Windows, Mac, LinuxTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT 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.)Advertisement
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.
09. PageSpeed Insights
The best web design software for testing performance.
SPECIFICATIONS
Launched: 2013Developer: GoogleCost: FreePlatform: Chrome browserTODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT 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.Advertisement
best software for web design
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.
6. SeedProd
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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Wix
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.
10. Webflow
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
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