5 Best Web Design Tools for 2020

There are so many great resources available to web designers. I’d like to share some of my favorite, lesser-known web design tools with you.

Free Photography

Most of us are familiar with Unsplash, right? It’s a great site full of beautiful, royalty-free stock photography. The only problem is that it’s gotten a little too popular and you start to see the same images all across the web. There are a few other websites that offer a similar service, but fresh images that aren’t being over-used across the web. Here are a few of my faves. Burst - The brainchild of Shopify, where you can find killer photography that’s free to use. Stocksnap.io - A site very similar to Unsplash. The layout isn’t nearly as sexy, but the photography is still strong. StyledStock.co - Free feminine stock photography for every woman entrepreneur.

Colors

Color is everywhere, and obviously a vital part of web design. Sometimes finding the right color is tricky. These sites should help. Coolers.co - Stuck with trying to find a color palette for your next project? If so, this site might help. It generates color palettes for you simply by clicking your spacebar. Geenes.app - This is a helpful site, especially when designing for apps. It can also be super helpful for any design project. Make Tints & Shades - I use this site all the time. Most designs don’t need more color options added to their palette, but many could benefit from using more variety in the shades of their colors. (Quick tip: Don’t just settle on black for your text. Try using a dark option generated from the site above. The same goes for gray — don’t just use a completely unsaturated gray; sometimes, a really light version of your color is a better option.)

Apps

The following apps aren’t free, but I like them so much that I have to share them with you. Sip - If you’re tired of constantly opening up files to track down hex codes, this app is sure to make you smile. It keeps a running list of all the hex codes you’ve copied using their color picker. You can even create and save your own palettes for your most common projects. It’s a huge time-saver. HazeOver - My workspace consists of two relatively large monitors. This is great, but it also gives more room for distractions. You can reduce some of these distractions by using HazeOver. It allows you to create a “haze” over all other programs that aren’t currently your focus. And if you want to change the haze level, you can make those changes super-quick. It’s great for increasing your focus and minimizing distractions.

What Are Your Favorite Web Design Tools?

One great thing about being in a creative field is that someone is always learning about something new and useful. And then, we share it with each other! I hope you give these web design tools a try and find them as useful as I do. If you have any resources that you rely on, tell me about it. I'd love to hear!