Top 5 Web Design Tools for Beginners

The best website design software allows anyone to create a platform, whether you're an experienced developer or setting up your first ecommerce store. Coding experience was once considered an absolute requirement for anyone designing a website. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript were, and still are, the order of the day in some of the best website builders. Top web designers, such as Adobe Dreamweaver and a plethora of Dreamweaver alternatives, are more accessible - a blank canvas controlled by a drag-and-drop interface that won't limit your creativity. Third-party tools can also be an excellent way to expand the functionality of a website. The best web design software will work in tandem with online form builders, image hosting, and CDNs to help you build your brand.

Wix

Wix is more of a website builder than a coding platform, but with its wide range of plans and products, it is one of the most popular online website designers for both beginners and professionals. The free version includes Wix branding and has limited storage space and bandwidth; however, upgrade to the most popular plan (unlimited) and there are no Wix ads.

An excellent collection of over 500 templates gets the design process started quickly. The drag-and-drop editor provides a plethora of tools and features to play with, including an image editor, video backgrounds, animations, social buttons, and an integrated site blog, and almost everything can be tweaked, tuned, and restyled. Furthermore, Wix recently introduced Wix Turbo, which significantly improves the speed and performance of websites.

All of the core editing functions are extremely well designed and operate more like a native app than a website builder. Wix does have some flaws, including sluggish and limited tech support in some areas. But there's no denying that it's the best web design software, with a fantastic editor and a plethora of top-tier templates making it simple for beginners to create something impressive.

Adobe Dreamweaver

Adobe Dreamweaver is a well-known app that allows you to directly code your website design without having to know much about programming. Because the software employs a combination of visual and HTML editing, most users should find it simple to learn. Furthermore, while coding your own website design requires more effort than simply using an existing ready-made template, you have the opportunity to ensure you get the look you want rather than working around someone else's design specifications.

Dreamweaver has a particularly useful feature in that it allows you to create a responsive design, which means that your website can be optimized to display on desktops as well as mobile devices without compromising the user experience. However, if you are a more advanced user, you will be pleased to know that Dreamweaver supports multiple monitors on Windows. It also works with HTML5 elements and CSS grids using the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF). There is also support for Git, which allows you to edit source code directly from within Dreamweaver.

Wordpress

WordPress is a different way to set up and design your website than the other options we've highlighted here because it's a content management system (CMS) (opens in new tab). The advantage here is that it is simple to set up a website in minutes. Indeed, many web hosting packages include a one-click install of WordPress from their Control Panel, but even without it, WordPress is simple to set up. Once installed, the administration and management backend is very user-friendly. You can use the existing WordPress design templates for your website, but you're more likely to want to download and install an existing free or premium WordPress template - all with just a few clicks.

Even if you prefer to work with your own design, drag-and-drop functions, usually from a downloaded design with an in-built framework, can often be used. This allows you to create a professional-looking website without learning any programming or coding. Even better, there are so many free add-ons available to download and install, often with just a few clicks. This simplifies the process of customizing your website and eliminates the need for any professional skills.

Overall, WordPress is a very simple CMS that can provide a quick way to get any type of website online. Because of the large number of template designs and additional community-supported features, getting something that is close to what you want isn't difficult. Just make sure that you turn off comments in the settings to avoid spam. Weebly is another online CMS that provides easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools for creating a website. It is one of the best web design software tools for users with little or no coding experience.

Weebly

Weebly is another online CMS that provides easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools for creating a website. It is one of the best web design software tools for users with little or no coding experience. Weebly also allows users to create online stores using pre-existing templates that work with their simple website-building framework. Weebly themes are somewhat limited in number, but the designs are clean and professional-looking, and there are options to personalize accordingly. The themes are also responsive, which means they are optimized for mobile devices, and they include SEO, analytics, and even a feature for posting ads directly to Facebook.

There is a free tier available for basic use, which allows you to become acquainted with the service. To use your own domain and remove ads, you'll need the Professional plan.

Webflow

Webflow is a cloud-based online web designer designed specifically to help people without coding experience get started with web design. Webflow emphasizes the concept of'smart codelessness' in addition to being truly cross-platform. In the first instance, this means a clean drag-and-drop interface that allows you to seamlessly drop elements like text and images onto a page using one of the freely available templates. Unlike many WYSIWYG editors, even if you select the 'I have no coding experience' option during setup, the code produced is very clean and well-written. The automation tool in Webflow will generate the necessary HTML/CSS code for you. Using the panels on the right, you can make granular changes to individual elements.

Webflow's website provides a free demonstration of its features, and you can also sign up for a free Starter package that allows you to create up to two projects.