20 Best Web Design Tools You Must Know

Web design tools are many for different purposes. And as the web evolves and expands, the tools and their functionalities continue to grow as well.

From easy-to-use apps for beginners to professional tools designed for experts, the wide range of offers out there touches everything from prototyping to programming, planning, deployment, wire-framing, graphics, and testing.

This post focuses on the 20 best web design tools based on their functions. The goal is to make it easy for you to choose the perfect app for your next project.

The Best Tools For Web Design

Rank	Name	Features	Price	Website
1.	Wix	Best website designer	Freemium	wix.com
2.	Dreamweaver	Drag-and-drop designer, code highlighting	$21/month	adobe.com/products/dreamweaver.html
3.	VisualStudio Code	Microsoft product, highlighting, Git support	Free	visualstudio.com
4.	Gimp	Powerful graphics program	Free	gimp.org
5.	WordPress	Popular, robust website creator	Freemium	wordpress.com
6.	Bootstrap	Framework for experts, fast, mobile first	Free	getbootstrap.com
7.	Webflow	CMS & drag-and-drop editor for experts	Freemium	webflow.com
8.	11ty	Static site generator	Free	11ty.dev
9.	Canva	Quick & easy graphic designs	Freemium	canva.com
10.	WooCommerce	WordPress plugin, open-source	Free	woocommerce.com
11.	Figma	Collaboration, wire-framing, prototyping	Freemium	figma.com
12.	Sketch	UI/UX design for macOS	$9/month	sketch.com
13.	Ghost	Publishing business in a box	Freemium	ghost.org
14.	COLOURlovers	Colors, pallettes, patterns	Free	colourlovers.com
15.	Shopify	Easy e-commerce store	Freemium	shopify.com
16.	GitHub	Repository host, Jamstack	Freemium	github.com
17.	Google Fonts	Stylish & fast fonts	Free	fonts.google.com
18.	Appy Pie	No code app creation	Freemium	appypie.com
19.	Npm	JavaScript, Node.js dev	Free	npmjs.com
20.	Eclipse	Code editor, IDE, old school	Free	eclipse.org/ide

1. Wix

Highlights: Free hosting, drag-and-drop, free subdomain

Website: wix.com

Wix is a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that makes it very easy for beginners and experts alike to create and host a website in no time.

The platform combines a drag-and-drop website designer with free hosting on a free sub-domain. It also offers premium plans starting from $4.50 per month with more features.

Wix makes it easy to create all types of websites from business to blogs, portfolio sites, and even complex e-commerce stores with integrated payment processing.

You get hundreds of templates to choose from. Just select what’s closest to your needs, make little tweaks on color, size, positioning, etc and you have a shiny, unique website.

There is also an AI design mode that just lets you answer a few questions and it will create the website for you. You get a ton of extra tools from SEO to marketing, social media, and so on. Plus, you can extend the site with custom code if you need to.

2. Dreamweaver

Highlights: Create and publish anywhere, code highlighting, drag-and-drop

Website: adobe.com/products/dreamweaver.html

Dreamweaver is one of the oldest web design tools for professionals. Initially developed by Macromedia in 1997, Dreamweaver makes it easy to design and build any type of website from scratch to finish.

Dreamweaver is currently in version 21 and now developed by Adobe. It is a desktop app available for Microsoft Windows and Apple’s macOS operating systems.

You get a drag-and-drop editor that also includes a coding mode with syntax highlighting. The system supports various languages from ActionScript to ASP, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, XHTML, CSS, Visual Basic, and many more.

There is multi-monitor support, integrated Git support, code completion, and lots of visual aids to help you stay in line.

Adobe offers Dreamweaver with a single app license for $20.99 per month through its Creative Cloud subscription service. There is a 7-day trial period with full features.

3. Visual Studio Code

Highlights: Syntax highlighting, versatile, customizable, Git

Website: code.visualstudio.com

Also commonly referred to as VS Code, Visual Studio Code is an unusual product from the Microsoft Corporation – first, it is entirely free, it is open-source, works beautifully, and is available for macOS and Linux as well.

VS Code is strictly a code editor, so there are no visual drag-and-drop elements for designers here. It is ideal for editing JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and other files by hand.

The platform includes syntax highlighting, extensions, integrated Git management, and debugging features. Microsoft offers an online version here.

4. Gimp

Highlights: Graphics, photo manipulation, scriptable

Website: gimp.org

The Gimp is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a gift from the GNU free software movement as free and open-source software. However, it is very powerful.

Gimp comes with most of the features you will find in Photoshop, but it is free. It is a great program to edit photos, as well as to create all types of graphics and export them in any format.

You can use it to enhance images and digitally retouch any file, as well as create logos and other graphics elements for your website, either manually or with scripts.

One possible issue with this program is the learning curve. But once you get it, then you are only limited by your imagination. Gimp is available for Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD, and OpenSolaris.

5. WordPress

Highlights: Versatile, powerful, popular, user-friendly

Website: wordpress.com, wordpress.org

First launched in 2003, WordPress has grown to power 43% of websites on the net. It also holds a 60% market share in the Content Management System (CMS) market, powers nearly 15% of the world’s top websites, and has a giant ecosystem of over 50,000 plugins.

If you are looking to create a blog, a company homepage, an e-commerce store, a mailing list, a membership site, or a media gallery, then WordPress might be what you need.

There are two versions of WordPress. The first is the hosted version on WordPress.com. This version lets you simply sign up to create a new website by choosing a theme. You can then host your site for free on a sub-domain or get a premium plan with a custom domain for $5 per month.

The second version is the self-hosted WordPress. You will have to download the package here and host it by yourself. Or if your web provider offers WordPress hosting, then all you need is a 1-click install.

Check this out: Top 10 fastest and best WordPress themes

6. Bootstrap

Highlights: Professional grade, flexible, extensible

Website: getbootstrap.com

Bootstrap is probably the most popular web development framework. It is a mobile-first front-end framework, which means your websites automatically display beautifully on mobile and desktop browsers.

A framework is a collection of libraries and commonly used coding conventions. This makes it easy to quickly build modern websites from scratch, allowing you to customize them as you see fit.

Understandably, this framework is not for beginners or hobby web developers because it requires you to first learn about its different naming and writing conventions to get the best of it.

Bootstrap includes HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. You will also find a ton of templates to make your development easier, with many additionally including PHP, SQL, and other languages.

7. Webflow

Highlights: Drag-and-drop, CMS, 1,000+ templates

Website: webflow.com

Those wishing for more design flexibility with a drag-and-drop website design tool can check out Webflow, a SaaS website creator with content management and web hosting.

There is a free plan that lets you create and host a basic website for free, while premium plans start from $12 per month.

Webflow makes it easy to create any type of website with complete control of all details. Its flexibility, over a thousand templates to choose from, and embed-able custom code make it easy to create everything from personal websites to custom e-commerce stores.

8. 11ty

Highlights: Fast static sites, simple & powerful generator, very versatile

Website: 11ty.dev

Eleventy or 11ty is a static site generator. You can think of it as a type of framework that makes it easy to create websites made entirely of static HTML pages. This brings lots of performance and security advantages and is known as the Jamstack movement.

Similar to most frameworks, you will first have to learn 11ty’s conventions. The good news, however, is that they are easy and intuitive to understand and follow.

11ty might be one of the simplest static site generators out there, but it is also one of the most powerful. You can automate a lot with it and use up to 11 templating languages including markdown, nunjucks, mustache, and so on.

Static sites might not be for everyone, because you need to know HTML at the very least. But if you additionally know CSS and JavaScript, then you will appreciate the static site philosophy and have fun building with 11ty.

You may also like: WordPress vs 11ty: Which is better?

9. Canva 

Highlights: Easy design tool, lots of free content, flexible

Website: canva.com

Graphics design can also be easy, and that’s what Canva is all about. Founded in 2013, Canva makes it quick and easy to create all sorts of media content for your online presence.

You can use it to create graphics for your company’s social media accounts or use it to make posters, presentations, logos, and so on. Canva makes this possible by providing lots of templates and the ability to tweak them to your needs.

There are also millions of free icons, font combinations, and shared access that lets team members inspect and comment on your work. You can further edit videos and even have your designs printed and shipped.

Canva offers free and premium plans. It is available on the web and as an app for Android, Windows, macOS, and iOS platforms.

10. WooCommerce

Highlights: Free & open-source, popular, plenty of features

Website: woocommerce.com

WooCommerce is a free and open-source plugin to turn any WordPress website into an e-commerce store. Simply install it into your WordPress and start selling in just minutes.

You can use WooCommerce for everything from subscriptions to selling luxury watches, gym classes, customized T-shirts, and so on. WooCommerce integrates with Stripe, PayPal, MailChimp, and lots more services.

For some usage statistics, WooCommerce runs on about 8% of all websites, with 5 million+ live sites and over 160 million downloads from Wordpress.org. Over 90% of WordPress-based online stores run on WooCommerce.

11. Figma

Highlights: Collaboration, graphics, prototyping, UI/UX design

Website: figma.com

Figma is a web-based vector graphics and prototyping tool with collaboration features, which makes it great for UI/UX (User Interface & User Experience) design.

Although you can use Figma to create graphics and collaborate on them with your team, its main features include a prototyping feature, developer handoff, version control of your designs, and design components.

Each project also features team collaboration, where you can see each member’s cursor on the screen, with commenting, slack integration, easy live-share features, and a team library.

You can try out Figma with its free plan, which is limited to 3 project files but unlimited personal files and collaborators. The Pro plan goes for $12 per month and $45 for the Organization plan.

12. Sketch

Highlights: UI/UX design for macOS

Website: sketch.com

Apple users often live in their own worlds, and the same is true when it comes to UI/UX design. Sketch is a macOS native app with similar features as Figma.

Sketch offers prototyping, real-time collaboration, offline mode, developer handoff, shareable links, access control, and much more.

The complete platform costs $9 per month.

13. Ghost

Highlights: Very fast loads, fully-featured out-of-the-box, secure

Website: ghost.org

WordPress is great for publishing blogs, but you generally have to tweak it to get the platform you need. Ghost is a modern type of WordPress designed specifically for the publishing business.

Ghost comes straight out of the box with everything you need to make money from your content. It includes SEO, paid subscriptions feature, memberships, newsletters, and many more modern features.

Its major advantage over WordPress though is speed – blogs built on Ghost are much faster than their WordPress counterparts. Ghost is available as a free self-hosted platform or with managed hosting for $9 per month.

14. COLOURlovers

Highlights: Art lovers community, lots of ideas, colors

Website: colourlovers.com

Colors are very important in web design work, so having a place or community dedicated to colors can be a great help.

COLOURlovers offers you colors, color palettes, shapes, and patterns to help with all types of design work – from the web to print, digital art, weddings, fashion, and so on.

There is also a forum for related discussions, as well as trends and browsing features that let you see what’s going on and hopefully get that spark of inspiration from someone’s post.

15. Shopify

Highlights: Simple shop setup, powerful marketing features, free trial

Website: shopify.com

Entrepreneurs looking to create an online shop without all the hassle of setups, configurations, plugins, and all other technical hurdles can just turn to Shopify.

Simply use the easy setup form, answer a few questions, and you have an online shop. You can now add products, upload their pictures, add some descriptions, and go live with just one click. That’s how simple an online shop with Shopify can be.

However, the platform offers lots more features like secure hosting, SEO, analytics, marketing automation, blog, and even POS for offline sales. Shopify comes with a 14-day free trial.

Read this: How To Create An Online Store With Shopify

16. GitHub

Highlights: Software repository host, free plan

Website: github.com

Version control is a serious issue when designing software over a given period. SVN and Git are two approaches to handling the different versions of software and coordinating the work among contributors.

GitHub is a cloud-based Git hosting service. It lets you manage your software repositories and includes a free plan for non-enterprise users.

Software version control was previously not an issue for web design, but the rise of Jamstack sites has turned Git hosts like GitHub and Bitbucket into integral parts of modern static website design.

For statistics, GitHub hosts over 190 million software repositories for 40 million+ users. You can either use the service through a web browser or use a command-line Git application to manage your repositories.

17. Google Fonts

Highlights: 1,400+ font families, free

Website: fonts.google.com

If you plan to give your project a unique personality, then Google Fonts might help you to select and use the best font family.

Google Fonts offers a clean UI to browse and find what you like, as well as APIs to use from Android and CSS.

You will have to know some CSS to work with Google Fonts though, but it’s not difficult. First, you link your font of choice in the document header with <link>. Then you later define it in <style> and you are good to go.

For example:

<link rel=”stylesheet” href=”https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Sofia”>

<style>

body {

font-family: “Sofia”, sans-serif;

}

</style>

18. Appy Pie

Highlights: No code app creation, free plan

Website: appypie.com

If your business needs an app, then Appy Pie can help you to get it done without writing a single line of code.

Appy Pie is a development platform that lets you create all types of apps – from games to forms, shopping, messaging, alerts, automated responses, and so much more.

You can start with a free but limited plan, then grow as your app matures. Other features you can add to your app with simple clicks include dating, news, poll, reservations, timesheet, e-wallet, auctions, etc.

You will like this: How to create an app without coding (Android & iOS)

19. Npm

Highlights: Node.js development, 1,000+ free JS modules

Website: npmjs.com

Node.js is a runtime environment for JavaScript built on Chrome’s V8 engine. It is used by both front-end and back-end web developers and is very popular.

Npm is a command-line package manager that lets you download packages (or node modules) to include in your JavaScript projects. There are thousands of these packages hosted on npmjs.com.

You may also need a Node version manager (nvm) to switch between different versions of your Node.js environment and the npm management.

20. Eclipse

Highlights: Code editor, free & open-source

Website: eclipse.org/ide

Eclipse is a popular old-school IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for computer programmers, which is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.

Although it was most popular for Java development, Eclipse is available for nearly every programming language. All you have to do is install the required language plugin and you are good to go.

The Eclipse Web Developer plugin, for instance, comes with code highlighting for HTML, CSS, JSON, and JavaScript.

Conclusion

Rounding up this list of the 20 best web design tools, you have seen all the different options out there. From UI/UX designers for mockups to JavaScript, blog, and e-commerce solutions.

A good website should be unique, and this might require a unique combination of tools. So, feel free to explore, as your best tool depends on the job at hand.