There’s always the option of paying big bucks to have the professionals design a website for you. But with a large variety of affordable web design software available, there’s no good reason not to take matters into your own hands. Today's market provides several web design software applications for aspiring site creators of every skill level.
Websites can range in purpose and scale from large volume commercial hubs to intimate personal homepages. Whether constructing a dedicated space for family photos or broadening business horizons by expanding into the virtual marketplace, web design software is an invaluable tool. With some basic knowledge of HTML, some curiosity and patience, creating a great looking website has never been easier.
On this site you’ll find articles about web design software. We’ve tested and reviewed leading web design software to give you an idea of which applications will best suit your needs. Some of these include WebEasy Professional, Intuit Website Creator and Web Studio. Our side-by-side comparisons detail the feature sets of competing software so you can make an informed purchase.
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Feature Set
A successful website utilizes the best of web 2.0 along with proven design elements. Good web design software will include utilities for inserting links, images, tags and keywords. We also looked for multimedia support, eCommerce capabilities, and advanced features such as an HTML editor. Good web design applications should also provide security measures such as site backup so it is possible to pull up previous versions of site in the case of a crash.
Templates
Good web design software provides website templates that serve as a starting point for users. The templates should be professional, polished and easy to customize with your own content. Some applications also offer additional templates that can be downloaded online.
Graphic Imaging Tools
Web design software should be equipped with an array of graphic imaging tools that allow you to customize and enhance images for your site. You should be able to crop, resize and compress images directly in the software without the use of a third-party application. Additionally, the software should have an image library full of graphics, clip art and photographs that you can freely use.
Ease of Use
Most consumers and small business owners do not have extensive training or experience in web design or scripting languages. Effective web design software will be easy to use, even for beginners. While a basic familiarity with markup languages and multimedia technologies is helpful, we ranked web design software with intuitive and “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWG) interfaces highly.
Help & Support
Given its technical and utilitarian function, web design software should be supplemented with ample help and support options. Most importantly, there should be a built-in help section that can be accessed directly in the software. Additionally, the software’s manufacturer should offer direct technical support via either email or toll-free telephone. Finally, a variety of online resources should also be offered including user forums, FAQs and how-to guides.
Whether developing a website for business, pleasure or both, be sure to read our in-depth reviews of the best web design software on the market.
| Rank | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 |
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8-6 Good 5-4 Average 3-2 Poor 1-0 Bad
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WebEasy Professional | Intuit Website Creator | Web Studio | Yola Silver | Xara Web Designer Premium | WebPlus | Web Page Maker | Ezypage | SiteSpinner | ThunderSite Deluxe |
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Lowest Price |
$49.95 |
$4.99/mo. |
$159.99 |
$99.95/yr |
$99.99 |
$99.99 |
$49.00 |
$23.95 |
$49.00 |
$69.00 |
| Ratings | 10.00 | 9.88 | 9.05 | 8.95 | 8.70 | 8.63 | 6.58 | 5.83 | 5.63 | 4.95 |
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| Features | ||||||||||
| Page Transition Effects | 14 | 6 | 21 | 33 | 24 | 4 | 24 | |||
| Add Keywords | ||||||||||
| FTP | ||||||||||
| Drag-and-Drop Functionality | ||||||||||
| Automatic File Backup | ||||||||||
| Meta Tag Features | ||||||||||
| Rollover Creation | ||||||||||
| Search-and-Replace Function | ||||||||||
| Spell Checker | ||||||||||
| Sitemap Assistant | ||||||||||
| Scripting Languages | ||||||||||
| Automatic Page Naming | ||||||||||
| Templates | ||||||||||
| Pre-installed | ||||||||||
| Easy to Edit | ||||||||||
| Online Templates | ||||||||||
| Number of Templates | 600+ | 2000+ | 100 | 196+ | 1000+ | 25 | 20 | 32 | 33 | 30 |
| Multimedia Support | ||||||||||
| Audio/Sound | ||||||||||
| Flash | ||||||||||
| Video | ||||||||||
| Animation | ||||||||||
| QuickTime | ||||||||||
| eCommerce Capabilities | ||||||||||
| Shopping Cart | ||||||||||
| Graphic Imaging Tools | ||||||||||
| Images Available | 85,000 | 10,000 | 122 | 21 | 300+ | 75 | 135 | 35 | ||
| Adjustable Compressions | ||||||||||
| Animated GIFs | ||||||||||
| Resize without Distortion | ||||||||||
| Online Images | ||||||||||
| Thumbnail Creator | ||||||||||
| Image Cropping | ||||||||||
| Automatic Resampling | ||||||||||
| Help & Support | ||||||||||
| User Manual | ||||||||||
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| Video Tutorials | ||||||||||
| Telephone | ||||||||||
| Supported Configurations | ||||||||||
| Windows 8 | ||||||||||
| Windows 7 | ||||||||||
| Windows Vista | ||||||||||
| Windows XP | ||||||||||