Are you looking for the best web design software to make beautiful websites? Most experienced web designers have their own preferred software for different design tasks.
However, if you’re just starting out, then it can take some time to find that perfect combination.
In this article, we will show you the best web design software for different use-cases, so you can make the right decision for your need.
Why You Need The Best Web Design Software?
Due to common misconceptions about web design, many beginners feel that it would take them years to make decent and professional website designs.
While it’s true that you get better over time, the right web design software can help you easily create beautiful designs with minimal skills.
That’s because some web design software automates the entire process, which allows even absolute beginners to create beautiful websites.
Let’s take a look at some of the best web design software that will help you design like an expert web designer.
Different Types of Web Design Software
There isn’t a single web design tool that would do all the tasks related to web development and design. As a designer, you will need to choose a combination of different software to make your own toolkit.
We have divided our selection into different categories, so you can evaluate the best available options for each task.
- Best web design software for building websites
- Best web design software for eCommerce
- Best web design software for graphic designers
- Best web design software for marketers
- Best web design software for HTML sites
Let’s start with the basics first.,
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, just keep reading.
Best Web Design Software for Building Websites
Many beginners ask us if they need to learn coding to make a real website.
While knowing how to code gives you an extra advantage in creating websites, many website builders like WordPress have made it easy for anyone to create custom websites without learning how to code.
This is the reason why WordPress now powers 45% of all websites on the internet. You can learn more in our detailed CMS market share report.
In the old days, web pros would code websites from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but now all smart website professionals use WordPress to create websites due to its ease of use and advanced functionality that comes with the content management system.
1. SeedProd
SeedProd is the best web design software and layout builder for WordPress. It offers a user-friendly drag & drop page builder that allows you to create completely custom website designs (no coding required).
You can start with one of their 200+ professionally designed templates to save time or create a completely custom responsive design using their drag & drop theme builder.
SeedProd workflows are built to save you time. It comes with dozens of design blocks, pre-built section templates, interactive animations, site-wide design controls, brand color schemes, over 2 million stock photos, and more.
It also has dynamic real-time personalization tools, SEO integration, complete subscriber management, and full access control. This is why over 1 million web design professionals use SeedProd to build websites and speed up their design process.
They also have built-in layouts for common website pages like sales page, coming soon page, maintenance mode page, custom login pages, webinar registration page, and more.
There’s also a free version of the SeedProd plugin available as well.
To get started with SeedProd, you’ll need a WordPress website.
We recommend using Bluehost. They are an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider and one of the biggest hosting companies in the world.
The best part is that they are offering WPBeginner users a discount on hosting and a free domain name. Basically, you’ll be able to get started for $2.75 per month.
For details, see our guide on how to make a website with step by step instructions.
Update: SeedProd has also built a code editor for advanced front-end designers and site builders.
2. Thrive Theme Builder
Thrive Theme Builder is a popular drag and drop WordPress theme builder, used by over 85,416+ website owners. It lets you quickly create a high-converting website design in no time, without having to touch a line of code.
Thrive Theme Builder comes with four different pre-made design templates that include ready-made page and landing page templates that you can load with one click. There are also page section templates that allow you to quickly customize specific sections on each page.
You can easily edit every part of your WordPress site, including your header, footer, blog post templates, page layouts, category pages, search pages, 404 pages, and more.
Plus, there are 100’s of design and site-building elements that you can add to your theme, including product highlights, testimonials, call-to-action buttons, and lead generation forms, just to name a few.
Thrive Theme Builder is fully compatible with WooCommerce, as well as top CRMs and email marketing services like Constant Contact, HubSpot, ConvertKit, and others.
To get started with Thrive Theme Builder, you’ll need a WordPress website.
For that, we recommend using Bluehost. They are an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider and one of the biggest hosting companies in the world.
The best part is that they are offering WPBeginner users a discount on hosting and a free domain name. Basically, you’ll be able to get started for $2.75 per month.
For step by step instructions, follow this tutorial on how to make a website.
3. Beaver Builder
Beaver Builder is a user-friendly page builder for WordPress. It comes with a drag-and-drop editor that allows you to build responsive websites without writing any code.
To get started with Beaver Builder, you’ll need a WordPress website.
We recommend using Bluehost. They are an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider and one of the biggest hosting companies in the world.
The best part is that they are offering WPBeginner users a discount on hosting and a free domain name. Basically, you’ll be able to get started for $2.75 per month.
For details, see our guide on how to make a website with step by step instructions.
Once you are up and running, you need to install and activate the Beaver Builder plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
After that, you can edit WordPress posts or pages using the Beaver Builder.
Simply point and click on any item to edit it or load from dozens of ready-made templates to use as a starting point. For instructions, see our guide on how to create custom layouts using Beaver Builder.
Beaver Builder also comes with a Theme Customizer which allows you to create custom WordPress themes using the same drag and drop interface. Unlike editing pages, you can create a complete theme with your own design.
For more information, see our tutorial on how to create custom WordPress themes without writing any code.
4. Divi
Divi is another excellent website design software built for the WordPress.org website builder. It is one of the best WordPress page builders and comes with dozens of ready-to-use templates to choose from.
After you have set up your WordPress site, simply install and activate Divi on your website and start editing. It works with almost any WordPress theme, and you can also use the Divi theme, which comes with enhanced features for the builder.
It is a drag and drop tool which means you can simply point and click on any item and change its appearance. You can add images, videos, sliders, contact forms, widgets, and more.
Most importantly, your design changes are fully responsive and would automatically adjust for mobile devices.
Divi comes with 800+ design layout packs that cover all industries, including business websites, designer portfolios, real-estate websites, and more.
5. Web.com
If you are looking for a fully-hosted website builder, then Web.com is a good WordPress alternative for beginners. This smart website builder comes with beautiful website designs that you can edit using a simple user interface.
Simply start by choosing from one of their thousands of pre-designed templates, and then you can easily point and click to replace it with your own images, text, videos, and more.
They also provide thousands of stock images and tons of other features, all starting at just $1.95 per month.
We have Web.com listed as one of the best website builders in our expert pick.
6. Gator by HostGator
Gator is another website builder that allows you to design complete websites without any coding. Gator is made by HostGator, one of the best web hosting companies in the world.
It is a fully hosted platform, which means you don’t need to worry about updates, security, or backup. It not only includes the builder and website hosting, but you also get a free domain name for your website.
The builder software itself features an intuitive drag and drop interface with more than 200+ professional web design templates. Each template is fully customizable using a simple point and click tool.
You can edit any item on a page or drag and drop commonly used items like images, videos, photo gallery, text, columns, maps, and contact forms.
Gator also comes with a built-in stock photo library, so you can find and add beautiful photos on your website.
Best Web Design Software for Ecommerce
The eCommerce industry is expected to reach $4.9 trillion by the year 2022. There is an enormous demand for eCommerce web design in the market.
Following are our top picks for the best web design software for eCommerce that will allow you to break into this market without any coding skills.
7. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the best eCommerce platform in the world. It runs on top of WordPress, which means you’ll need a WordPress website to design an eCommerce website using WooCommerce.
You can sign up with SiteGround or Bluehost to get started. Both of them offer customized WooCommerce plans, which comes pre-configured with the right settings for you to get started.
For detailed instructions, see our complete guide on how to start an online store.
The best part is that you can use SeedProd alongside with WooCommerce to create completely custom online stores.
All you need to do is install SeedProd alongside WooCommerce, and then use the drag & drop web design builder to create your product page, customize your checkout design, and more.
8. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a popular eCommerce platform. It is available as a fully-hosted solution, and the best part is that it can be easily integrated into a WordPress website.
Creating an online store with BigCommerce is quite simple. It comes with beautiful storefront designs and fully customizable themes for your online store. It automatically handles product images, crops them, and displays them in beautiful gallery layouts.
Wondering how it stacks up against WooCommerce? See our article on BigCommerce vs WooCommerce for side by side comparison of the two platforms.
9. Shopify
If you are looking for a fully hosted eCommerce solution, then Shopify can be a good fit for you. It comes with professionally designed templates to create almost any kind of online store.
All eCommerce design tools are highly intuitive and allow you to just drag and drop items to create beautiful pages. You can easily upload custom logos, images, videos, and more.
Shopify takes care of hosting, software, and backups, so you can just focus on creating a beautiful online store.
For more details, see our detailed comparison of Shopify vs WooCommerce.
10. FunnelKit
FunnelKit, formerly known as WooFunnels, is one of the best sales funnel builders for WooCommerce. It lets you easily create high-converting lead pages, custom checkout pages, order bump pages, one-click upsells, and more.
FunnelKit comes with a built-in library of pre-made templates to help you kickstart the design process. Or, you can create your own funnel design from scratch.
It has seamless integrations with Gutenberg and popular page builders like Elementor, Divi, and more so that you can customize your funnels using easy drag-and-drop functionality.
FunnelKit also comes with A/B testing right out of the box. This allows you to experiment with different funnel designs, compare them against each other, and discover which version converts best.
Best Web Design Software for Graphic Designers
A big part of web design consists of graphics to create custom logos, background images, featured images, and more. For all these, you will need graphic design tools.
These tools require some basic know-how of how to use them. Luckily, there are tons of online resources to quickly get you up to speed.
11. Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is the industry leader in photo editing and graphic design software. It is available for Mac and Windows operating systems, so you can use it even when you’re offline.
It is one of the oldest and easiest-to-use graphic design software on the market. Due to its massive popularity, there are plenty of online resources to learn Photoshop for free.
Adobe Photoshop is a bit more expensive than some other software. It is available on a subscription basis, and each paid plan comes with different apps and addons.
You can also get a Creative Cloud subscription that combines other apps like Adobe XD, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and more.
12. Sketch
Sketch is a powerful vector design tool that allows you to create scalable high-quality designs. Sketch makes it super easy to create icons, illustrations, prototypes, and mockups for apps, websites, and print.
It comes with an intuitive design that’s easy to learn for beginners. It also comes with tons of learning resources to help you quickly familiarize yourself with the software.
13. Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer is an incredibly easy-to-use and powerful graphic design tool. Suitable for beginners and advanced users alike, Affinity Designer is packed with all the tools you would want in a graphic design tool without any of the complicated stuff.
It also allows you to easily switch between raster and vector modes. This makes it easy to design illustrations with a powerful combination of tools.
Affinity Designer is available for simple pricing of $49.99 one-time payment.
Basically, Affinity is a perfect combination of both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
14. Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is Adobe’s vector graphic design tool. Popular among graphic design professionals, Illustrator lets you create logos, icons, drawings, typography, and illustrations for print, web, video, and mobile.
It is easy to use but comes with a slight learning curve to take full advantage of the software. However, Adobe offers plenty of resources to help you get started. You’d also be able to find free tutorials online.
Adobe Illustrator is available on monthly subscription plans, which makes it a bit more expensive than other software.
15. Gimp
If you are looking for a free web design software, then Gimp is an excellent free option. This open source design software is a good alternative to Adobe Photoshop and allows you to easily edit images and create graphics for your websites.
Gimp is available for MacOS, Windows, and Linux. It may not look as polished as some other paid software, but it is a full-featured and powerful design software with much to offer.
16. Figma
Figma is quickly becoming a popular website building and design software among professionals.
It’s a web-based design tool that makes collaboration easy. Their wysiwyg editor is great for even non-designers.
You can get started with their free plan, which gives you access to all the features you need.
There are also dozens of Figma design kits that let you create designs for all formats, including websites, mobile apps, and more.
Over the last year, a lot of professional designers have started switching from Sketch and Adobe to Figma.
Best Web Design Software for Marketers
Web design does not just end with the launch of a website. Marketers regularly need to design graphics, social media images, icons, infographics, banners, and more.
There are plenty of tools that allow you to design professional-grade marketing material with very little effort and skills. Here is our pick of the best web design software for marketers.
17. Canva
Canva is a graphic design tool for marketers and bloggers. It is a web-based tool and doesn’t require the installation of any additional software.
It comes with many ready-made design templates for different types of graphics. You can pick a template and then use Canva’s drag and drop tool to edit those images for your own website.
18. Balsamiq
Balsamiq is a powerful design tool to create mockups, wireframes, and websites. It comes with an easy to use interface that helps you learn UI design as a beginner. Advanced users would find it immensely helpful in quickly building mockups for products pages, marketing material, and more.
19. Moqups
Moqups is another wireframe and mockup design tool. It allows easy sharing and team collaboration without downloading any files.
The intuitive user interface makes it easy to use for beginners and powerful enough for advanced users. It comes with a built-in library of thousands of icon sets, fonts, and style library.
20. Piktochart
Piktochart is an easy design tool for creating presentations, infographics, flyers, and posters. It comes with dozens of templates to use as a starting point.
You can use it in your browser, so there is no need to install any software. Simply drag and drop to add icons, elements, photos, shapes, lines, and arrows. Rearrange items and add your own text to create professional designs for your marketing campaigns.
Best Web Design Software for HTML Sites
Need to quickly design static HTML sites? These web design software will help you easily design HTML sites without writing any HTML at all.
21. Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Dreamweaver is one of the most beginner-friendly web design software. It allows you to easily create mobile-friendly static HTML websites, stand-alone landing pages, or quick HTML docs.
It is easy for beginners to simply drag and drop to create web pages. Advanced users would find it equally useful with smart coding, autocomplete, compilers, git support, and more.
22. Google Web Designer
Google Web Designer is another intuitive and easy-to-use tool to create HTML-5 based designs, motion graphics, and animations. It can also be used to design banner ads, video ads, and other marketing materials.
You can start from scratch or choose from dozens of templates available in different layouts. Google Web Designer is available as a free download for Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems.
We hope this article helped you find the best web design software for your design toolkit. You may also want to see our list of the best CRM software and the best business phone services for small businesses.
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Editor’s Note: To help our readers avoid choice paralysis, we do not include all available web design software in the market. There are many other solutions available such as Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Webflow, WordPress.com, and custom Bootstrap template solutions.
Syed Balkhi says
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Rupinder says
Thanks for sharing, this article is extremely great and helpful it is very useful for developers. Thanks and keep Sharing.
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome, glad our guide could be helpful
Admin
Nissi says
thanks for sharing list of web design software its really used for me
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome, glad you liked our article
Admin
Alex says
Nice list guys, however including Adobe AI an PS, which are for vector and raster graphic design, and not including Adobe XD, which is specifically for Web and Mobile design is quite strange…
Editorial Staff says
Adobe XD is a great software as well, and if you have the whole suite, then definitely worth using XD.
Majority of our team now uses Affinity suite because its far more affordable and gives you the best of both world.
Admin
Caleb Weeks says
Hi guys – thanks for another great post!
If the editors might still have the energy, Adobe XD is a really good (FREE!) option and has many of the features of Sketch but is available for both Windows and Mac users. Perhaps it would qualify as official website design software?
Also, with Beaver Builder & Divi listed for WordPress, it felt like something was missing without Elementor. That said, perhaps all that is needed is a link to WPBeginner’s other post “6 Best Drag and Drop WordPress Page Builders Compared” to let those in your audience who are truly new to this know that there are some other great (Grade: A) WordPress options. We, personally, love using Elementor and easily recommend it to others designing with WordPress.
No worries if both are still left out! You can only include so many. Congratulations on WPBeginner’s steady contributions to the WordPress/Website/Design world!
Editorial Staff says
Hi Caleb, we do have a link to the best page builder article in the description for Beaver Builder. Unfortunately we couldn’t list every single design software or builder, so we picked the two that our team uses the most.
This doesn’t discredit other software that exist in the market though
Admin