Want to create a website? Whether it’s an online store, a blog, a portfolio website, or any other type of website, you may be wondering what web design tools are the best option to use as you learn the basics about building a website.
So in this blog from Australian Internet Advertising, we’ll take a look at some useful website design and website builder tools. We’ll look at open-source tools that are free to use, as well as some professional-grade tools that may cost a subscription fee, but offer the best features.
And don’t worry – even if you’re not a web designer and don’t know HTML/CSS, you can use some of the tools on this list to begin building your website and learning the basics. Many of these tools have drag and drop interfaces, include built-in design templates, and a relatively small learning curve.
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WordPress
WordPress offers a free version that you can use if you don’t want to pay for web hosting or your own URL, so it’s completely free to start learning the basics of this platform. WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world. In fact, it’s estimated that this platform powers about 35% of all websites on the internet.
The best part about WordPress is that it can be as simple – or as complex – 
as you want. If you don’t have any technical skills, you can still easily customise the layout of your website, install new themes, edit text, and install extra functionality using WordPress Plugins.
And if you are an expert web designer, you can even go into the code of WordPress directly to alter the HTML/CSS, add more functionality with JavaScript, and much more – the sky’s truly the limit.
Overall, WordPress is very user-friendly, and its interface design and content management system make it easy to get started with, even if you have absolutely no experience designing websites. And since you can try it for free, it’s a great option for new web designers. There are also a lot of tutorials out there that can help you learn about the basics, ensuring you don’t get overwhelmed.
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is one of the best graphic design tools available, and can be used throughout the entire web design process. It’s not exactly user-friendly, given how deep and powerful the software is, and it’s not free – you’ll need to subscribe to it through Adobe Creative Cloud.
But still, Adobe Photoshop offers you a tremendous range of possibilities when it comes to creating website mockups, developing images for your website, and designing individual web elements.
And since it’s the industry standard when it comes to raster graphics editors, you can find a huge variety of resources about how to use it. From books to video-based tutorials and blogs, you can get a handle on the basics quickly, even if you’re totally new to Adobe and its Creative Suite products.
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Dreamweaver is a unique website builder that has a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface design. With this tool, you can develop, prototype, and build websites in a simple, streamlined interface.
It comes with a variety of starter templates for eCommerce websites, blogs, newsletters, portfolios, and a number of other types of websites, and supports responsive websites natively. In addition, it integrates closely with Adobe Photoshop and other Adobe products, so it offers a seamless experience when used alongside the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud.
Dreamweaver also has a built-in code editor with features like syntax highlighting and other visual aids that help minimise bugs, errors, and mistakes in development. Whether you know a lot about HTML/CSS and other coding languages, or you’re just a beginner, Adobe Dreamweaver can be a great tool to use when you’re learning the basics.
InVision Studio
InVision Studio is a powerful tool for building website mockups and wireframes, which are the basic building blocks of any website. Using InVision, it’s easy to quickly visualise webpages, complete with interactive buttons, fillable forms, page transitions, responsive design, and other modern design elements that are must-haves in any website.
It even includes a built-in collaboration system that helps you, other designers, stakeholders, and any other interested parties leave feedback and make changes on-the-fly, leading to faster iterations and better overall project outcomes.
Best of all, InVision Studio is completely free for individuals and small teams, though you’ll miss out on a few administrative features if you don’t upgrade to a paid subscription.
Sketch
Sketch is similar to InVision Studio, and is a vector-based website mockup editor that offers pixel-perfect website layouts, asset exports, and shared libraries of assets to make it easier to develop website mockups and wireframes.
However, it’s important to note that Sketch is native to macOS and does not support Windows. Because it’s built natively for Mac, Sketch offers a superior experience on these devices in many cases, but it won’t be an option if you primarily work on a Windows PC.
Unlike Invision, Sketch has no free version – but individuals can purchase a permanent software licence for a reasonable price, and teams can subscribe to a monthly licence for the Sketch software.
Bootstrap
Bootstrap is a free, open-source framework for CSS built for front-end development, and it’s primarily focused on mobile websites. It was originally developed by Twitter, and its latest version was released in June of 2020.
Using Bootstrap, developers can easily change the styles and appearances of webpages – quickly adjusting and customising tooltips, buttons, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), icons, and page layouts to their liking, based on Bootstrap best practices.
This is not a tool for those who don’t know how to code, however. It’s specifically meant for those who understand and know how to use CSS, HTML, and (to a lesser extent) JavaScript.
Wix & SquareSpace
Wix & SquareSpace are quite similar to WordPress, but have a slightly more refined user experience, and more powerful drag-and-drop web page editors. They are not free or open-source, either – you need to pay a monthly subscription fee and buy a URL.
We’ve put these platforms together because they’re broadly similar. They both allow you to choose from a variety of different templates – such as eCommerce websites, blogs, or corporate websites – and use drag-and-drop tools, customisable themes, and other integrations to customise your website to your heart’s content.
Overall, they are simpler compared to WordPress, but do not offer as many powerful features for those who know HTML/CSS. If you don’t have any technical skills and are not that interested in learning how to design websites using code, they may be a better option than WordPress.
Canva
Canva is an online raster image editing program, similar to Photoshop. It lets you quickly edit images by adding text and colour, adding gradients, cutting and pasting images, and much more. It’s easy to use, and quite powerful given the fact that it’s a free, web-based application.
It’s also completely free for individuals and small teams, though you can pay a monthly fee to get more templates, gain access to stock images, upload your own fonts, and gain access to other customisation options.
Since you don’t have to install anything or subscribe, you can give it a try right away, and see if this online software is the right option for creating images and graphical assets for your websites.
Sublime Text
If you’re an expert in HTML/CSS and you want a powerful, text-based editor that can work with even the most complex code, Sublime Text is a great option. This text editor natively supports an enormous range of programming languages, including HTML/CSS as well as C, C#, Java and JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby, to name just a few.
With features like syntax highlighting, rapid keyboard-based navigation, extensive customisability, and simultaneous editing to make changes to multiple selected areas at the same time, Sublime offers web developers and designers a powerful text-based editor where they can code using powerful tools and a unique, streamlined design that enhances efficiency.
Try These Tools For Yourself – And Get What You Need To Develop Your Own Websites
Whether you have some experience designing and developing websites, or you are new to this industry and are looking to build your skills, these tools are sure to help. From simple drag-and-drop editors and online image editing tools to powerful desktop text editors and website building tools, we’ve listed all of the products you may need.
Not ready to go it alone with web design in Sydney? Australian Internet Advertising can help. Contact us now to learn about our expertise in web design, and see how we can help you build a better online presence for your business.
