What Are The Best Website Design Tools?

In a digital world ruled by screens, having an online presence through a website is more important than ever. Think of a website as your online home- welcoming visitors, showcasing your work, and leaving a lasting impression. The better your website looks and functions, the more likely you are to turn visitors into customers.

But creating a great website can be daunting, especially if you’re not tech-savvy. You need a killer website tool to stand out in the sea of websites. Lucky for you, today’s web design landscape offers many user-friendly tools to help users. The beauty of these tools is that they don’t need extensive coding or technical skills. Whether want to start a blog, display your art portfolio, or launch an e-commerce store, website design tools can make your job easier. In this article, we’ll introduce you to the cream of the crop of web design tools. Ready? Let’s dive in.

Understanding Website Design Tools

Website design tools are software applications that help you design, build, and manage your website. They allow you to change various aspects of a website, like the visual elements, layout, graphics, typography, colors, animations, interactivity, etc.

The best website design tools are versatile. They can cater to several use cases like website building, graphics, and UI/UX. Depending on your specific need, you can choose from:

• Code-free website builders: Ideal for beginners who want great websites without getting lost in code. They come with drag-and-drop functionality and customizable templates. 
• Code editing tools: They have a code editor and visual design software for designers with coding skills. You’ll have more control over the design process with these tools.
• Graphic design tools: For creating and editing visual elements of your website.
• UI/UX design tools: Create wireframes, mockups, prototypes, and user flows.

Comprehensive List of Best Website Design Tools

There are many website design tools out there, making choosing the best one a bit tricky. That’s where this article comes in handy. We’ve worked hard to unveil some of the best web design software and its key features so you know what to look out for.

Best All-in-One Web Design Software: CMS Hub

CMS Hub is a web content management system (CMS) that is built on HubSpot’s CRM platform. Unlike your average website builder, this tool is a full-fledged web design solution that combines website creation with content management and potent marketing tools—all without the need for coding. It’s like having a one-stop shop to grow your business online. 

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop functionality: Easily create and manage your website with HubSpot’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, even if you have no coding experience. 
• SEO-friendly web design: You can optimize page titles and meta tags, customize URLs, and generate automatic XML sitemaps to improve website visibility with built-in SEO tools. 
• Marketing automation and analytics: Use HubSpot’s workflows to automate repetitive tasks like email marketing, social media scheduling, updating contacts, etc. You can also measure your website’s performance indices, like traffic, conversions, bounce rate, and more. 
• CRM integration: One standout feature of this tool is its seamless integration with HubSpot’s CRM platform to track leads, process forms, and use chatbots on your website.
• Smart content and personalization: HubSpot’s advanced smart features can tailor your website to display different content to different audiences based on their location, device, or any other criteria you set. 

Overall, CMS Hub is a versatile website-building tool that provides every feature you need right in one place. Its integration with HubSpot’s CRM and marketing software suits small businesses and beginner developers well. 

Best Free Blogging and Content Management Tool: WordPress

If you’ve ever tried getting a website, chances are you’ve come across WordPress. WordPress is the most popular website builder and CMS in the world. It powers more than 43% of all websites on the internet, from blogs to e-commerce stores to news portals. It is open-source, which means it is free to use and customize. However, you must pay for a web hosting service and a domain name.

Key Features

• Extensive plugin ecosystem: As an open-source platform, WordPress benefits from continuous plugin contributions from developers. You can access a huge library of free plugins to add extra functionalities to your web pages.
• Drag and drop functionality: Create any type of website- blogs, online stores, portfolios, etc., from scratch to finish through user-friendly drag and drop functionality.
• Thousands of pre-designed templates: Thousands of easily customizable templates and themes.
• Code-free and code-edit: WordPress caters to the two categories of designers; non-techies can create standard websites without writing a single line of code, while professional developers can tweak and edit a site’s code to their taste.
• Integration with third-party tools: You have access to email marketing, social media, analytics, and payment gateway features. You can also automate your website tasks like scheduling posts, sending notifications, and updating plugins.

WordPress is the “OG” website builder that gives you a content management system, endless customization options, and a thriving community for support. It is one of the easiest and quickest ways to establish your online presence. 

Best Website Builder for Beginners: Wix

Wix is a cloud-based website builder that lets you create stunning websites without coding. It’s a beginner-friendly platform that offers an intuitive drag-and-drop editor with customizable templates and a host of features suitable for building diverse websites. Wix offers a free plan and several premium plans.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop editor: You can edit every inch of your website on Wix’s editor. All you need to do is drag, drop, and customize. Choose from hundreds of professionally designed templates, or start on a blank canvas with the Wix editor. 
• Wix Artificial Design Intelligence: Wix’s ADI feature makes it one of the most beginner-friendly web design software out there. You’ll be asked a few questions about your website, and voila, a personalized website is generated for you in minutes. You can then customize it as you wish. 
• Wix App Market: Get extra functionalities and apps on Wix’s App Market, like e-commerce, booking, chat, social media, and more. You can browse and install hundreds of free and paid apps for your website.

Wix streamlines every aspect of website building for you, even if you might not have as many customization options as a coding-centric tool. If you have zero experience building a website, then Wix could be the perfect tool for you. It’s incredibly easy to get started and comes with affordable pricing plans.

Best For Collaborative Design and Prototyping: Figma

Figma is a cloud-based design and prototyping tool that lets you create, collaborate, and share user interfaces for web and mobile apps. It is popular among designers who want to work together in real-time, create interactive prototypes, and share them to receive feedback. Figma offers a free plan and several paid plans for different team sizes and needs.

Key Features

• Vector-based editor: Create and edit shapes, paths, text, images, and icons. You can also use design tools like grids, guides, constraints, and masks to align and arrange your elements.
• Auto-layout: Figma’s variants and auto-layout features make creating and organizing components of your design easy. 
• Built-in prototyping and animation: This feature adds interactivity and motion to your designs. Prototypes can be tested on any device with Figma’s presentation mode.
• Real-time collaboration with teams: Edit in real-time, share feedback, and exchange ideas with your team. You can also track your design changes and roll back to previous versions if desired.

Figma is an excellent prototyping tool for remote teams seeking collaborative design software, and for that, we rate it highly.

Best for UI/UX and Interactive Prototyping: Adobe XD

Adobe XD is a vector-based prototyping software that allows you to create realistic prototypes, visualize your designs, test the user experience, and collaborate with teams. As part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, Adobe XD integrates with other Adobe tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects.

Key Features

• Components and assets: Create reusable components and style libraries to maintain consistency across your designs. It comes with intuitive design tools like grids, guides, repeat grids, responsive resize, etc.
• Cloud collaboration: Remotely work on projects with your team in real-time with XD’s co-editing and share modes.
• Robust plug-in library: Extend XD’s capabilities with a vast library of plugins: add accessibility testing tools, data visualization features, icon generators, etc. Do you have a unique need? You can even build and share your custom plugins on XD.
• Integration with Adobe tools: XD’s integration with other Adobe tools makes it easy to transfer designs and edit across platforms.

Every Adobe product has a great reputation, and XD delivers on all fronts. It is a top choice for web designers focused on the user experience. Its integration with other Adobe tools adds to its appeal, and several online learning resources make it accessible for beginners. You can get started with the 7-day free trial before committing to a premium plan. 

Best E-commerce Website Design Tool: Shopify

Here’s one for e-commerce enthusiasts. This cloud-based e-commerce platform requires no coding and is popular among entrepreneurs and small business owners for creating, hosting, and scaling an online store. 

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop storefront editor: This allows you to customize the look of your online store. In the theme store, you get to choose from hundreds of themes that cut across different industries. 
• Inventory management tools: Features like barcode scanners, inventory transfers, and stock alerts help you track large inventories across multiple locations. 
• Payment gateway, shopping cart, and checkout: These features provide customers with a smooth and secure shopping experience. You can add shipping options, print labels, and fulfill orders with a simple click.
• Marketing and analytics tools: SEO, email marketing, and blogging tools help to reach and engage your target audience.

Shopify has consolidated all the elements essential for building an e-commerce website into a single platform and should be the go-to web development software for anyone looking to run an online store.

Best Vector-Based UI Editor for Mac Users: Sketch

Sketch is a Mac-only vector design and prototyping tool specializing in prototyping, product design, and animating website and mobile app concepts. It is popular for its intuitive UI and real-time collaboration capabilities. 

Key Features

• Advanced vector-based editor: This makes it remarkably easy to design user interfaces and prototypes quickly.
• Smart layout: Sketch’s override and smart layout features allow you to customize and update your components easily.
• Collaboration: Have several editors work on the same design in real time.

Sketch is one vector tool that can stand head-to-head with Figma and Adobe XD. If you’re a Mac user, then Sketch is the best UI design tool for you. It’s easy to use and offers a 30-day free trial.

Best Free UI/UX Tool for Windows Users: Lunacy

Lunacy was originally designed as an alternative to Sketch to help Windows users open and edit Sketch files. It has, however, evolved to offer the full functionalities of a vector-based UI tool with a huge library of built-in graphics. Lunacy is a completely free web design tool.

Key Features

All the features of Sketch plus robust AI functionality.

Best Graphic Design and Visual Elements Editor: Canva

Canva is a web-based graphic design tool that simplifies visual content creation through easy drag-and-drop features and AI-powered tools. With diverse templates, images, and fonts, designing a website on this platform is a breeze. You can start with a free plan or upgrade to Pro for premium features.

Key Features

• Drag and drop design editor: Canva provides thousands of free templates and royalty-free images that you can easily drag and drop into your website design.
• AI design functionality: Canva has integrated AI tools like Magic Design, which creates professional designs in minutes, and Magic Write, an OpenAI-powered AI writer.
• Website insights: It lets you track key website metrics like traffic, unique visitors, page views, and engagement directly from Canva without needing third-party apps

Honorable Mentions

These tools have not made it onto our list, but they are more than worthy alternatives to consider:

1. Square Space
2. Webflow
3. Marvel
4. Invision Studio
5. Bootstrap
6. Visual Studio Code

Features to Look for in Web Design Software

Here are the basic features to consider when choosing a new website design tool. 

• Visual editor: As you’ll see from many of the tools listed above, you can create and edit stunning websites without writing any code. You want software with a great visual editor that helps you achieve great designs through easy drag-and-drop functionality.
• Integration with current systems: Ensure that the web design tool you choose is compatible with your existing content management system, whether WordPress, CMS Hub, or any other website builder. 
• Templates: Having a starting point for your designs saves you much time and effort. A responsive web design tool should offer an extensive collection of standard templates to help you better visualize your end product, especially for beginners. Remember that it’s not just about having numerous templates; the quality of those templates is equally important.
• Rich fonts and graphics library: Keep an eye out for web design tools that offer a wide array of options for fonts and graphics. Having diverse options at your disposal makes creating unique designs that communicate your brand identity much easier. 
• Collaboration: Many web design tools miss out on this essential feature. If you work in a team and need to bounce design ideas off each other and co-edit in real time, you will need a tool that allows for seamless collaboration. 

Criteria for Choosing the Best Tools

Now that you’re familiar with the various types of web design software, you should be able to select one that’s best for you. There’s no one-size-fits-all tool, so you should ask yourself the following questions before choosing.

What type of website do I need? The very first thing to do is define your website’s purpose. What features are most important to you? Do you need an online store or an all-in-one CMS tool? A tool that offers full web hosting or just simple prototyping tools? What you need determines what web design tool is best for you.

Do you have experience with designing websites? Consider your level of expertise. As a beginner, opt for software with an easy-to-use interface, ample tutorials, and community support. Experienced designers can explore a wider range of options.

What operating systems and devices will the website function on? You need to select a web design tool compatible with various platforms, CMSs, and devices. Also, check for the availability of third-party integrations and plugins to extend functionality.

How proficient are you with coding? If you’re a novice, lean towards tools with a simplified drag-and-drop editor or all-in-one platforms like WordPress. If you can code or are willing to learn, you’ll have more flexibility in your software choices.

What’s your budget? Finally, no matter how great a website tool is, it won’t be very useful if it’s beyond your budget. Fortunately, all the tools listed above are bang for your buck. 

Comparative Analysis of Tools

Success Stories

If you opt for any of the tools mentioned in this article, you’ll be in excellent company. Consider that WordPress fuels approximately 43% of all internet websites. Notable entities like the White House of America and The New Yorker rely on WordPress to drive their online presence. Wix has been used by renowned brands like Coca-Cola and The New York Times. 

Airbnb leverages Figma’s collaborative features to enhance its UI/UX design process, while GitHub is built and maintained by developers who use Sublime Text for coding. Adobe XD played an important role in the development of Behance, and HubSpot demonstrates confidence in its own CMS Hub tool by deploying it for its website. You’re in esteemed company indeed.

Updates and Trends in Web Design Tools

The future of website design is full of exciting possibilities. Many website tools are beginning to embrace the AI revolution. Tools like Wix ADI, Canva’s Magic Write, and CMS Hub’s AI optimizations are actively generating layouts, suggesting content, and streamlining responsive web designs for users. Wix has also added Wix Velo as a Javascript code editor, allowing for more customization options for experienced coders. 

Design tools are also pushing boundaries. 3D transforms in Adobe XD now allow immersive prototyping, and Figma has introduced FigJam to allow teams to brainstorm and organize ideas. Sublime Text’s recent GPU rendering update has accelerated complex code editing.

So, keep your eyes peeled for AI-powered assistants and other intuitive web design trends as website design tools evolve over the coming years. 

Conclusion

An appealing website sets the stage for a remarkable first impression in the digital world, and web design tools are here to make your design journey way easier and more efficient. We have discussed the best tools available today that can streamline your workflow and give you stunning website designs. However, remember that these tools can only do so much. To achieve exceptional results, you should refine your design skills and leverage available learning resources. Ultimately, the best web design tool for you is one that produces the desired result within your budget range, so explore the tools listed above and unleash the creative designer in you.

FAQs 

Q: Do I need coding to design a Website?

A: No, you don’t. Many of the best web design tools discussed in this article use drag-and-drop interfaces to build sites without any coding at all. However, coding does help you add more customization and design features to your website.

Q: Are web design tools free?

A: Yes, there are many free web design tools or those with trial versions. However, the free versions often have limited functionality, so you might need to upgrade to premium plans if you need more features. Design tools like Lunacy are completely free.

Q: What’s the best web design software?

A: The best web design tool depends on what you need. Ultimately, the best tool for you should help you create stress-free, stunning websites within your budget.