The Ultimate List of Web Designer Tools

Artists need their pencil or paintbrush to bring their ideas to life, create impressive artworks, and showcase their talent. Similarly, web designers need their tools to develop beautiful websites using their skills. Web designer tools are essential to the entire design process of websites. How well you employ them as a web designer determines your long-term success in the industry.

The list of web designer tools we have compiled below will drive your focus to the primary technologies in web development. As we discuss the various tools’ relevance in web projects, we will also consider their cost, availability, and the companies that use them to deliver web products and services to consumers.

The 10 Best Web Designer Tools

1. Adobe Illustrator
2. Bootstrap
3. Canva
4. CSS3
5. HTML5
6. LESS
7. SASS
8. Slack
9. Tailwind CSS
10. Trello

What Are Web Designer Tools?

Web designer tools are programs or software that catalyze the development of visually-appealing websites. These powerful tools are essential in developing a positive user experience with intuitive website interfaces. As such, they’re central to customer engagement and conversion. They are the necessary tools in a web designer’s toolbelt.

Web design requires extra creativity and imagination to develop responsive websites with functional and beautiful designs. To achieve this, designers must take advantage of the attractive features and elements of their toolkit. Essentially, web design tools help harness one’s creativity to optimize user interaction with websites.

What Are the Main Types of Web Designer Tools?

The following are several types of tools for web designers. Thanks to their availability, there are many tool options for the various needs of a specific web project. Ranging from programming languages to database management to collaboration platforms, the categories here reflect the relevant tools at various stages in the web design process.

Programming Languages

Programming languages are a means of communicating with computers. Designers instruct computers using a set of languages and syntaxes that the machines understand. They serve as the backbone of websites and help determine their structure. In fact, it’s safe to say that it’s impossible to design a website without programming languages. If you are a newbie to programming languages, Enki and CodeHub are some of the best coding apps for beginners.

Examples of Programming Language Tools

• CSS3
• HTML5

Frameworks

Web frameworks are software that aid in fast-tracking the website development process. These frameworks include libraries that allow designers to select conventional elements and features without creating them from scratch. Ultimately, they complement design systems and contribute by quickly delivering complex web projects.

Examples of Framework Tools

• Bootstrap
• Tailwind CSS

Graphic Design Tools

Graphic design is an essential part of web design, and it defines the overall aesthetics of a web page. Graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop or Canva enables designers to create elements like logos, icons, and other visual illustrations.

Examples of Graphics Design Tools

• Adobe Illustrator
• Canva

CSS Processors

CSS Processors ease the design workflow by automating recurring tasks and creating recyclable code snippets. They allow users to integrate variables and functions in their CSS code. Furthermore, they have similar functionalities but differ in their syntaxes and custom domains.

Examples of CSS Processors

• Sass
• Less

Collaboration Tools

Collaboration tools enable multiple individuals to work together and share ideas toward achieving a common goal. In web design, experts and beginners can come together to develop a complex project as both parties contribute their expertise and learn from each other. These tools aid communication and active participation of agile design teams.

Examples of Collaboration Tools

• Slack
• Trello

Web Design Cheat Sheet: A Tabular List of Web Designer Tools

The Best Web Designer Tools, Explained

The following section discusses our list of popular web design tools. While they all have unique features and functions, they’re interdependent on one another in creating websites. This array of tools will help you build web and mobile applications with an elegant look and responsive design.

Adobe Illustrator

• Type: Graphic Design Tool
• Companies That Use Adobe Illustrator: UnitedHealth Group Inc, MWW Group LLC, CookApps
• Adobe Illustrator Cost and Availability: $20.99 monthly for annual plan, $31.49 for monthly plan, $239.88 for prepaid yearly plan

Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based graphic design software for creating visual elements and illustrations. It has limitless capabilities and applies in photo editing, iconography, logo creation, and web design. It is an essential toolkit for most web designers because it ultimately bolsters user experience. Illustrator is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud.

Bootstrap

• Type: Framework
• Companies That Use Bootstrap: Spotify, Udemy, Twitter
• Bootstrap Cost and Availability: Free and Open source

Bootstrap is a CSS framework that applies in front-end web development. It includes features that allow for flexible web design in conjunction with popular web development tools like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In addition, this powerful tool facilitates the creation of responsive designs for websites.

Canva

• Type: Graphic Design Tool
• Companies That Use Canva: Amazon, Samsung Electronics, Northwest Hospital
• Canva Cost and Availability: Free, $119.99/year for Pro, Contact Canva for Enterprise plan, Commercial

Commonly known for its use as a marketing tool, Canva is an online design app for creating posters, logos, business cards, and other digital content for various media. Its drag-and-drop interface enables someone with even minimal experience to create impressive designs. Canva is a flexible tool that is simple to use and includes multiple illustrations and design templates for effective customization.

CSS3

• Type: Programming Language
• Companies That Use CSS3: Barogo, Alibaba Travels, UpstageAI
• CSS3 Cost and Availability: Free and Open Source

CSS3 is a recent version of CSS with updates that allow for more customization during the design process. While web designers can include stylish elements and describe web layouts, they can also integrate multimedia without using external plug-ins. Generally, CSS3 makes workflow faster and supports most browsers and devices with an aesthetic design.

HTML5

• Type: Programming Language
• Companies That Use HTML5: Udemy, Reddit, Delivery Hero
• HTML5 Cost and Availability: Free and Open Source

HTML5 is the latest version of the HTML scripting language. Its revisions facilitate faster design, compliance with specific design standards, and general productivity. Much of the heavy media on websites rely on HTML5 because it enables seamless multimedia integration and effective content structure and management. This development tool is used in a code editor to create web and mobile platforms.

Less

• Type: CSS Processor
• Companies That Use Slack: Odoo, Brilliant, Accenture
• Slack Cost and Availability: Free and Open source

Less stands for Leaner Style Sheets. It enables designers to create nested rules and perform arithmetic operations with numbers, colors, and variables to achieve specific results. Less makes writing CSS code easier and faster and eliminates redundant code duplication.

Sass

• Type: CSS Processor
• Companies That Use Slack: Airbnb, Robinhood, StackShare
• Slack Cost and Availability: Free and Open source

Sass stands for Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets. When combined with CSS, it allows for faster scripting and compilation into specific CSS Style Sheets. This CSS extension has a powerful feature that lets users employ mathematical operations, imports, loops, and mixins for practical web design.

Slack

• Type: Collaboration Tool
• Companies That Use Slack: Shopify, LaunchDarkly, Instacart, Udemy
• Slack Cost and Availability: Free, $6.67/month for professionals, $12.50/ month for business, contact Slack for the enterprise grid plan, Commercial use

Slack is a messaging platform that allows various teams to communicate and share ideas towards a common goal. Web designers use slack to share code snippets for collaborative design activities. This collaboration tool makes it possible to execute unlimited projects pulling support from agile teams.

Tailwind CSS

• Type: Framework
• Companies That Use Tailwind CSS: BlaBlaCar, Online Doctor, Foretog
• Tailwind CSS Cost and Availability: Free and Open source

Tailwind CSS framework enables web designers to build custom designs with independent component libraries. It is a perfect tool for developing an intuitive interface and also acts as an Application Programming Interface (API) for CSS. MIT license covers its use, and relative contributions follow Tailwind CSS Contribution Guidelines.

Trello

• Type: Collaboration Tool
• Companies That Use Trello: Zendesk, Terracycle Inc., Bitbucket, Lorven technologies
• Trello Cost and Availability: Free, $5 monthly for Standard, $10 monthly for Premium, $17.50 monthly for enterprise plan options, Commercial use

Trello allows for real-time collaboration and management of teams working on projects. This powerful tool provides real-time visual updates to users and offers organization boards packed with unique features. Its full automation and customization characteristics induce a seamless design workflow and create an exciting working environment for team members.

Why Web Designer Tools Are Important

As a professional web designer, it’s your responsibility to identify the industry’s in-demand tools, skills, and design trends. They’re vital to having a successful career as you seek out various job opportunities for career advancement.

Interestingly, these opportunities have great remunerations. ZipRecruiter reports the average annual salary of web designers is $62,202. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 13 percent employment growth from 2020 to 2030.

Undoubtedly, there are an infinite number of employers willing to pay for your skills and service as a web designer. With a deliberate effort to master relevant design tools, stay up-to-date with web design trends, and contribute to this ever-changing digital world, you can be sure to find success in your web design career. Enroll in online web design classes today to learn more about the newest tools.

Web Designer Tools FAQ

What tools are needed for web design?

The tools that facilitate web design fall under various categories, including programming, frameworks, text editors, database management, prototyping, and collaboration. Key web design software tools include Adobe Illustrator, InVision Studio, Bootstrap, Canva, and Google Web Designer.

What’s the purpose of web design tools?

These software or computer programs allow designers to express their creativity and bring their designs to life. They help create elegant websites and applications. More so, web design software tools help validate the skills and credibility of digital artists.

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What are the essential skills for a web designer?

The essential skills every web designer must have are an understanding of design principles, an imaginative mind, and ingenuity in their work. Technically, they should have strong skills in UI/UX, responsive web design, visual design, programming, and Content Management Systems (CMS).

What are the principles of web design?

There are multiple web design principles because, extensively, design is subjective. However, simplicity, visual hierarchy, content management, proportion, and reciprocation are recurring principles that constitute the art of web design.