Whether you’re a UX designer who wants to prototype, a front-end designer who wants to code, or a non-designer who wants to get a website up and running easily, we have the best web design software for you.
you front-end web designer Also web developer , in contrast, write code. For that, you need one of the best code editors. It’s a fast and flexible interface that makes writing and editing code easy and helps you find mistakes.
Finally, web developers, front-end designers, UX designer Also UI designer , we recommend creating a prototype of your website first. In that case, you’ll be looking for her one of her best UI prototyping tools.
In this article, we’ll cover all these types and give an overall highlight of the best web design software available today. Everything is best in class and should increase your productivity. While you’re at it, also check out our guide to the best web hosting.
Best web design software for non-coders
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(Image credit: Wix)
Best web design software for non-coders overall
specification
Release: 2006
Developer: Avishai Abrahami, Nadab Abrahami, Giora Kaplan
Free version: yes
platform: Windows, MacOS
Reason to buy
+
user friendly
+
user friendly
+
lots of features
If you want to design a website but have no coding knowledge, you need a web builder that makes it easy with templates and drag and drop. The downside is that the site doesn’t have a lot of leeway in its look and feel, but the upside is that it’s very quick and easy to get the site up and running.
Wix is our favorite, and for good reason. Offer different payment tiers (including “free”) with the right features. The entry-level free version requires you to negotiate a 500 GB storage cap with Wix Ads (which means you can’t put a lot of content on your site). But for a little more money, you can bypass ads, get a free domain for a year, and get more bandwidth and storage.
After testing it myself, I love this web builder’s intuitive design, rich customization, and the hundreds of attractive ready-to-use templates it offers. But if you want to go further, you can easily start personalizing with animations, image editing, social media buttons, and different backgrounds. For more information, see our Wix review.
(Image credit: Tom May)
Best e-commerce software for non-coders
specification
Release : 2006
Developer: Square Co., Ltd.
Free version: yes
platform: Windows, MacOS
Reason to buy
+
looks great
+
mobile friendly
+
load of customization
Weebly is a great alternative to Wix if you want to buy and sell on your site and have little or no coding experience. In my review, I found the drag-and-drop tool for site creation even easier than Wix. And while there are a limited number of templates and themes to choose from, there are plenty of clean and clear options. There is space.
You can try the free version for limited use of Weebly’s features. This is great to see if this is the right choice for you. If you feel so, there are more affordable options available. For more information, see our Weebly review.
(Image credit: Auto)
Best web design software for non-coders who want complete control
specification
Release: 2003
Developer: automatic
Free version: yes
platform: windows, mac, linux
Reason to buy
+
free
+
scalable
+
expandable
As mentioned earlier, web builders like Wix and Weebly are easy to use, but don’t give you much control over the look and feel of your site. WordPress.org disagrees. You don’t have to learn the code itself, but the system itself is fairly complex. As we noted in our review, this, along with the lack of customer support and built-in security, can be very confusing for newbies.
As an advantage, there are plenty of plugins that allow you to transform yourself into anything you like.You can also use free or paid themes to speed up your website creation.
Your WordPress site is SEO friendly and well protected from security vulnerabilities. The software itself is free and open source, but you have to pay for the hosting and domain name. It takes a little while to figure out, but it’s well documented and supported by a passionate worldwide community. (Note that WordPress.org is separate and different from WordPress.com, a paid web builder service.) See our WordPress.org review for more information.
Best web design software for prototyping and design systems
(Image credit: Daniel Schwartz)
Best web design software for all prototyping
specification
Release: 2016
Developer: Dylan Field and Evan Wallace
Free version: yes
platform: browser
Reason to buy
+
Cover from idea to handover
+
Great collaboration capabilities
+
Support your design system
Reasons to avoid
–
Full version requires subscription
A few years ago, I chose Adobe XD as the best web design software for prototyping, and it was the right decision at the time. But things change quickly in the web world. Its browser-based rival, Figma, which launched in the same year, has made significant strides recently. It made everything easy from conception to handover and quickly became the go-to software for his UI and UX designers around the world.
Even Adobe had to agree when Microsoft chose this as their in-house software. As such, they are currently in the process of buying it for a whopping $20 billion.
Based on software testing, it comes as no surprise as it provides everything you need to prototype your website or app. For example, most of his modern UI design tools share styles and components, but his Figma is the only major tool that allows you to attach design system documentation to them. What’s more, its live collaboration capabilities are second to none. For more information, check out our Figma review.
(Image credit: Adobe)
Best web design software for prototyping when using Creative Cloud
specification
Release: 2016
Developer: Adobe
Free version: yes
platform: Windows, MacOS
Reason to buy
+
feature rich
+
Creative Cloud integration
+
cross platform
Reasons to avoid
–
Full version requires subscription
Adobe XD is no longer our favorite, but it’s still a great choice for prototyping. Available for both Mac and Windows (unlike Sketch), its killer feature is its interactivity with other Adobe tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, plus Adobe Fonts and Adobe Stock You can easily import assets such as… So if you’re already a Creative Cloud subscriber, it’s worth considering.
It has a clean and intuitive interface, “repeat grid” for rapid design, automatic animations, voice triggers, great collaboration features, tons of storage for design files, a suite of plugins, and many other great features. It has many great features including: Integration with other web services. There is also a competent free version. On the downside, as noted in our review, it lacks workspace customization and hides some tools in obscure places.
However, the different ways to get XD get a bit complicated, so check out our how-to guides. Download Adobe XD Check your options. For more information, see our review of Adobe XD.
(Image credit: Dave OIsen and Brad Frost)
06. Pattern Lab
The best web design software for building design systems.
specification
Release: 2013
Developer: Dave Oysen and Brad Frost
Free version: yes
platform: browser
Reason to buy
+
free
+
clear focus
+
intuitive interface
Building a design system for web work? Pattern Lab is a front-end workshop environment that can act as a hub to help you build, view, test, and showcase UI components. And it’s completely free.
based on the concept of atomic design , which involves breaking down a website into its basic components and working from there to create a site. Its mental model is built into its interface and feature set, making it very intuitive and easy to get started with.
But please understand that this is not a production ready framework. You don’t actually build a website with Pattern Lab. Building components and designing systems makes prototyping and completing websites faster and more consistent.
Best Web Design Software: Code Editor
(Image credit: Sublime HQ)
7. Sublime Text 4
Best web design software for writing code
specification
Release: 2008
Developer: Sublime HQ
Free version: No
platform: Windows, Mac OS, Linux
Reason to buy
+
fast
+
lightweight
+
expandable
You need a decent code editor to write code. We chose Sublime Text 4. It has a streamlined and easy-to-use interface and is fast, lightweight and responsive. It also makes a difference that there is not even the slightest delay in the operation when entering the programming flow.
Developed by a former Google engineer, Sublime Text is very flexible and has a huge range of plugins available. This basically means that it is suitable for all kinds of web design projects and all levels of his web designer, from beginners to veterans.
There is a free trial, but after that you have to pay the $99 license. With so many free code editors available, you might be hesitant. Time is money. If it makes you more productive, the best code editor pays off many times over.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
8. visual studio code
Best free web design software for writing code
specification
Release: 2015
Developer: microsoft
Free version: yes
platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, Web
Reason to buy
+
robust
+
Suitable for large projects
+
Built-in Git support
If you don’t mind paying for a code editor, check out Visual Studio Code. A code editor developed by Microsoft, it is free, open source software and packed with great features.
Now in version 1.71.1 it has a terminal built in and Git commands built in. Debug your code directly from the editor. There are extensions that add new languages, themes, debuggers, etc. They run in separate processes, so they don’t slow down the editor. Visual Studio Code also goes beyond syntax highlighting and autocompletion with IntelliSense features, providing code and data autocompletion for function parameters and well-known variable names.
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