Best Professional Web Design Software Tools for 2022

A web designer takes care of the layout and the appearance of the website. If you happen to be a newbie, we advise you to look for professional web designers to do the job for you. However, we get that every pro starts from somewhere.

If you want to succeed, you need web design software that will suit your skills and requirements from the start. We gathered the best web design software products that are worth the investment. You might want to combine some of these web design tools or choose only one powerful software.

As website builders, we consider the capable web designer vital for further success. Choosing the right software is not an easy job, too. Check out our top picks for user-friendly professional web design software. We hope that your perfect match is right there among our recommendations below.

Best Design Software for Website Creation

Hosting services, development environments, and code libraries allow every web development process to be effective and help reach thousands of users worldwide. Take our words when we tell you that each web development software of the following will help create your dream web pages.

1. WordPress (Free and Paid)

WordPress is the website builder that covers nearly 35% of the web in recent years. We highly recommend this open-source software because it’s relatively easy to use, offers professional web design tools, pre-built website templates, and is more flexible and powerful than some other alternatives.

Content-based websites look amazing with WordPress’s variety of features. WordPress is a phenomenal hosting provider, and if you don’t want to take our words for granted, check the statistics. The whole web community and almost every excellent website builder has used WordPress more than once.

If you are about to get started with a new blog, community site, or e-commerce store, WordPress might be just for you. Before you begin your journey as a website builder, you have to choose whether you want to set up a self-hosted site or sign up for a free account.

Any small business owner who wants to start a user-friendly online store for marketing purposes can create a WordPress website without any coding experience. However, if your new web project is more complicated than that, deciding to set up a self-hosted site is a better choice.

We also have a solution for those of you who are already working with WordPress but want to customize current web pages and need a tool that lets you create a WordPress theme. Actually, there are two options – the Elementor Page Builder and Genesis Theme Framework.

2. Bootstrap (Free)

Bootstrap is our team’s top website builder that is easy to use and lets you create mobile-friendly sites. It does its job quickly and reliably. It’s well-known as an excellent front-end open-source toolkit with powerful JavaScript plugins and Sass variables and mixins.

It’s the perfect, free, get-started tool that will provide you with a library of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In a few words, Bootstrap can simplify your job if you have to write code and build your website from scratch. What’s more? This free web design software features responsive breakpoints and a grid system.

The large library of components would suit any user that looks for a quick and easy coding solution. Headers, buttons, navigation, alerts, and forms are included. As web designers ourselves, we like how the team behind Bootstrap has documented all the features, completed with examples and additional suggestions for customization.

There is no fuss about this web design software. Download it from their official site, copy an example template, and begin with coding.

3. Wix (Free and Paid)

When it comes to free website building, Wix is an amazing alternative to WordPress. You can create blogs or an online store, and you would still have the freedom to create an engaging web design and participate in every step of the process, even if you don’t have any code writing skills. Very similar to WordPress, it’s affordable and easy to use.

Wix features a drag-and-drop interface that makes it extremely quick and easy to launch your website. They do the hosting, backing up, and address the security issues.

Wix offers paid plans starting from $14 per month up to $39 for a VIP plan. They include custom domain, ad removal, free SSL certificate, and additional space for videos. The free plan is ad-sponsored and you can choose from a huge variety of website templates.

Read further: Wix Review 2022: When and When Not to use Wix!

4. Dreamweaver (Free Trial)

Adobe Dreamweaver would simplify code writing (HTML, CSS), which makes it perfect for beginners. It offers a manual code editor, an intuitive interface, and a point and click tool. The visual interface is actually what makes the product great. Any changes in the code are immediately displayed, and you can see the results. Point and click anywhere to edit your web pages.

This Adobe Dreamweaver code editor features the ability to collapse and expand sections of code, automatic code completion, syntax highlighting, and more. Besides code editing, Adobe’s application also maintains your website.

Another advantage of Dreamweaver is that it builds responsive websites. Your pages will look good on any screen size. It features a preview in real-time to see how your site will look after you publish it.

Do you need to create a free website fast and easy? No worries! You can choose from starter templates and customize them to suit your needs. Try it for free or get it for $20.99 per month.

5. Squarespace (Paid)

Since this is the first fully paid website builder on our list, we feel obligated to say that according to our research and comparing it to other alternatives, Squarespace is definitely worth the investment. Although it comes after WordPress and Wix, it’s one of the best out there in terms of ease of use and some features.

Beginners would feel confident building web pages with its step-by-step guide. Every user has different professional needs, and Squarespace knows that. Determine what type of website you want to have, choose one of their beautiful templates, add a tool according to your ideas, and learn how to reach your audience.

It includes regular SSL encryption and lets you build a visitor-friendly online store. If you are a fan of the drag-and-drop interface to customize your site’s appearance, you might like it a lot. This software offers many themes and color customizations for a stunning web page.

Continue reading: Squarespace Review – 2023

Best Software for Interface Design & Prototyping

Everyone dealing with web design would tell you that it’s so much better to be allowed to see the website’s look before publishing it. We researched and gathered the best interface design apps and prototyping tools that will help you design your site. Check out the best web design software candidates according to our team!

6. Figma (Free and Paid)

This multi-user web design software is a relatively new tool on the market and a very powerful one. It’s a future-loaded tool and has gained its place among the best web design software products.

This web design software features an easy-to-use interface that will be a perfect fit even for new designers without much experience. If you have ever heard of Adobe XD or Sketch, it’s worth mentioning that they are pretty similar to Figma. For the most part, whatever they offer, this software for web design offers it too.

However, if you are on a hunt for collaborative, cloud-based software for web design, Figma could be your winner. A team of designers can work simultaneously on one single file, which makes it a great match for bigger projects or if you want to receive help and a second opinion on your web page.

Figma will keep your ideas flowing with all its cool features. The free version provides a maximum of 3 projects and 2 editors. You also get unlimited cloud storage and unlimited free viewers.

The Professional plan is $12 per month, but you can apply for getting it free if you are a student or educator. If you’d like to pay month-to-month and not for a whole year, it will cost you $15 for the same paid plan. It includes Unlimited projects, version history, custom file permissions, private projects, and shearable team libraries.

7. Sketch 3 (Free Trial)

As we already mentioned, Sketch is one of the most popular web design software tools out there. It has deserved its good name because of its excellent job creating beautiful web pages with a unique design. Some of you might know that at the beginning of 2010, this tool won an Apple award for design.

There is no fuss about Sketch. When we decided to try it out, we didn’t stumble upon a labored learning experience, which is often common with most design tools. Its interface is very intuitive and self-explanatory.

Although the program has some prototyping and collaboration-focused features, they are not as advanced as in other design software tools in our recommendations. You can get Sketch for $99 per year (one-time payment) or try it for 30 days free of cost. It’s available for the latest macOS versions, so if you are unsure whether it will work on your computer, get the free trial first.

8. Adobe XD (Free Trial)

Adobe has a history of competitors that used to be simpler but better-suited to prototyping and interface design. It’s one of the biggest names in the industry, and it’s no wonder that in 2019, the company released Adobe XD and quieted its haters for a while.

This is a vector-based tool that allows you to work with prototyping animations.

We think the fans of Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop would like the company’s web design tools as well. What’s more? Adobe XD can open and edit files from Sketch.

If Windows users are about to design websites in a team with other designers who work with Sketch, XD would be the popular choice.

However, learning to work with this web design software might take some time. Even professionals like to use a more simple web design tool.

Subscription to this design software will cost you $9.99 per month if you want to use only this single app, or you can pay $52.99 for this and 20+ Creative Cloud apps, including Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. It has one week free trial for each option.

9. InVision Studio (Free and Paid)

In the beginning, InVision offered a prototype service that was cloud-based and integrated with design tools such as Photoshop and Sketch. Now they offer their own interface design and prototyping tool.

Studio by InVision is like a version of Sketch but a highly developed one. It features collaboration tools, motion animations, and the possibility to share prototypes after you create them. It has an excellent layout engine that will let you fix your design and adjust everything to look good on any screen automatically.

Rapid prototyping is also one of the advantages of InVison Studio. You can preview the changes you make right away while working with Studio.

Teamwork can be at a whole new level with this web design software. Why? It provides built-in shared component libraries, so each web design specialist will be connected and informed with every decision or a new idea of the teammates.

InVision Studio is still free web design software, so check it out until you can do it without paying for it. We loved it, so we are sure you will find a huge value in this design software as well.

10. Framer X (Free Trial)

Framer X leads this list of the best web design software names in the industry. It started as a toolset for prototyping and a JavaScript library, but now it has evolved into more than that.

It allows you to create complex animations and is rightfully marketed as an easy and rapid prototyping tool. It features multi-player editing, inline commenting, multi-player editing, mobile preview, and so much more. It can be compared to Sketch for its vector-based interface, but Framer hides unparalleled power.

It has responsive design features, supports advanced animations, and a variety of premade components. Web developers like to use this web design software because it makes the process of creating a design into production-ready code much simpler.

Framer X generates the code for React components. If you are part of this JavaScript library for creating design interfaces or want a strong interface able to provide you with high-fidelity prototypes, this web design software is a great choice.

When it comes to pricing, you can use it for free and get unlimited viewers, up to 2 editors, and 3 projects. If you are a part of a team that also works with developers and wants to manage users, you have to pay $20 individually per month (billed yearly).

Best Software for Graphic Design

A graphic design tool helps designers to change certain images and allow them to create graphics. Check our recommendations below for the best software that will improve any web design work.

11. Adobe Photoshop (Free Trial)

There is no way to start this list without such a powerful design tool. It’s not a surprise to anyone that Adobe, after all these years, is still a leader in the industry of graphic design.

Many of you know that originally, it was released solely for photo editing. Later on, Photoshop began to cover different cases, including interface design.

If you are new to web design, you should know that you will be mesmerized by the diversity of options and tools it offers, as with every Adobe product. However, it takes time and willingness to learn how to do most things, so be prepared for a steep learning curve.

Photoshop subscription for photography costs $9.99 per month. For a Single App as part of the Creative Cloud, it’s $20.00 per month. Of course, you get a 7-days free trial.

12. Canva (Free and Paid)

What about social media graphics? We all know a designer that has used Canva at least once for their social media, web graphics, business cards, or flyers. The simple drag-and-drop interface can turn anyone into a decent web designer.

Everybody can get into web design and create professional-looking imagery. Customizing with a drag-and-drop tool is simple and fast. Canva provides every designer or hobbyist with thousands of templates and design types to create and inspire.

You can try Canva free forever or purchase it for $12.95 per month. This pro plan supports up to 5 people. It includes everything that the free version has plus cool stuff like 420,000+ free templates with new designs, 100GB of cloud storage, 75+ million premium stock images, videos, and the ability to upload fonts and logos of your own design.

13. Vectr (Free)

This cloud-based illustration software is completely free. It is a very intuitive, powerful web platform. Forget about the steep learning curve of other design software alternatives, Vectr is easy to use, and it will turn the designs in your head into reality pretty fast. After all, that’s what really matters.

Again, it features a drag-and-drop editor and is perfect if you want to design a mobile app or even more complex illustrations. Overall, it gives you everything web design-related that you need when you are just getting started.

Related: The Best Mobile App Builder for High-End Mobile Apps

14. Pixelmator (Free trial)

We are almost at the end of our list of the best web design software suggestions, and we can’t fail to mention Pixelmator for macOS users. This web design software is similar to Photoshop because it offers plenty of features. However, it doesn’t work on Windows.

You can use it for interface design, but honestly, it works most effectively as a tool for editing photos. You can color correct your images, retouch them, or apply a variety of filters.

Download it from the macOS app store and try it cost-free for 15 days. After this period, the paid plan is $19.99.

15. GIMP (Free)

This photo editor can also work as your web design software. GIMP supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. The interface seems a bit old-fashioned at first sight, but it offers more than that.

GIMP is an open-source photo editor that offers plenty of power and can be compared to Photoshop when it comes to its abilities. It has many tools and allows for third-party plugins.

This design software might be free, but it’s surprisingly hard to work with. If you are on a tight budget, however, it will do the job.

Going Further

You could start working with the best web design software out there, but your knowledge and skills are important for the final results. There are hundreds of tutorials and resources that will help you upgrade your abilities and use them effectively with whatever web design tool you are working with.

Continue reading: The Best Website Builder in 2023