Design your way

If you’re a practicing web designer, then you have a few favorite tools for website creation.

What are they, when and why do you use them, and do they stand the test of time? Have a look at what else is out there. Get inspired and potentially discover essential means to build websites for your clients this year.

Check the list below with 15 hand-picked platforms and tools for creatives in our profession. Most of them found their place here because they’re proven to be helpful, and easy to use. In 2015, we’re definitely looking at more streamlined ways to complete client projects.

Webydo

It’s no longer necessary to resort to coding for every client project. You don’t need to fence yourself in with time-depleting tasks, even if you have technical skills and you’re not afraid to use them. This is where Webydo comes in.

With Webydo, you can design your website from ground up by starting with a blank web canvas or you can choose to start with a template or a pre-set layout. Drag-and-drop anything from widgets and menus, to galleries, videos, and flash and fully customize and control everything. Features like billing your client from your dashboard for the project and a white label solution allow you to truly build your web design empire.

Webydo includes a lot of sophisticated design and project management features, for a browser-based, code-free platform. Try Webydo and build and manage websites directly in your browser.

Visual Composer

We find ourselves working with WordPress frequently for client projects. The more time you spend doing that, the more you begin to wish for a straightforward way to build pages and manage website content. Who says you have to get all tangled up with shortcodes and work for hours at a time to put together a complex layout? Secure simple drag-and-drop functionality with a premium plugin. Visual Composer saves the classic WordPress editor.

Go from hours to minutes with this world-class tool. Use more than 40 elements to construct your pages visually, and work either from Front end or Back end. It’s no point arguing why more than 500K websites were created with Visual Composer to date. You probably added to that number yourself, more than once. In 2015, this plugin is well worth $28.

Qards

Yes, web designers are visual creatures by nature. Given the choice, we always prefer to focus on the look and feel of our websites. When we’re riding on the storm of a creative idea, the very act of coding is a kill-joy. It’s the digital equivalent of sucking on a lemon. Nobody enjoys it.

This year, build some of your websites with card design for WordPress. It doesn’t get any easier than Qards. Shuffle pre-made cards until you make up your promo website, blog, photography, start-up company website, or whatever it is you’re working on. You never have to work too hard to redesign websites, or worse – go shopping for another WordPress theme. This page building plugin works with every theme you installed.

IM Creator

Let’s navigate away from the WordPress landscape for a moment. Let’s head towards the calm waters of website builders, for a change. Decide on a template that is tailored to a purpose, and get a head start. Then, customize it in a simple studio, where you can swerve from clearly defined categories: Manage Pages, Add an element, and Add a Blank Page. As you can see, Im Creator is an uncomplicated tool. It’s like a breath of fresh air. Test it out. No registration required.

BaseKit

There’s a strong circulating notion that mobile is taking over. So, expect to see more end users who check your websites over a tablet or smart phone in 2015. However, now it’s very easy to prepare for them. You should no longer have to test and tweak your website to look good on every modern device. It’s enough to use a smart website building platform like BaseKit, and preview different versions of your site as you work.

Virb

How about another lightweight website builder? Pick a responsive theme for any page type – portfolios, blogs, eCommerce. Redo the entire look of any portfolio website, as often as you wish. The simplicity is refreshing. If you’re about to create your own design portfolio, or just want to update it quickly without paying mind to the inner workings, use Virb.

Themify Builder

We’re not finished with page building plugins. Not in the least. We want to give you a full account of the best builders out there, and that includes Themify’s. Get it as part of the full package when you buy a WordPress theme from Themify. If you already have your theme, then purchase the builder individually and use modules to modify it. There’s a 30-day window to ask for your money back if your theme rejects the Themify Builder.

Moto Press Editor

And then, there’s Moto Press Editor. Extend this content editor plugin with your own shortcodes, and work from Front end. If refunds are what you’re worried about, you can stop your worrying. This content editor is of course said to work with all WordPress websites. Failing that, and if the customer support doesn’t solve your compatibility issue, you’re entitled to claim the money-back guarantee within 30 days.

AllYou

Earlier on we mentioned design portfolios. Well, I know a builder that is engineered specifically for creatives like us. You want to have an online presence that is unique, that is all you. Not only that, but you want to have your portfolio at the ready whenever a potential client crosses your path. Use the All You builder and choose from 1000 optimized fonts, as well as restructure your website to look flawless on any screen.

Webs

Have a look at another website builder that is fit for your web design projects in 2015. Go with Webs if you’re only just starting your business, or dealing with another start-up from a completely different field. It’s so easy to use and comes with advanced analytics to see how user engagement grows by the day.

Moonfruit

Of course, we are not going to leave out Moonfruit. It’s just another utterly simplistic solution to website creation, and it definitely makes the grade this year. See what works and what doesn’t work with your websites really fast, and make changes. Moonfruit offers both Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools so you never miss anything.

Semplice

Perhaps you want to get away from monthly subscriptions and fees. Does a single up-front payment sound more comfortable? If so, enlist the Semplice platform to create your websites. Buy it for your portfolio project, or for 10 different domains right from the start, and you’re good to go.

Website.com

Keep your options wide open. You never know when a website builder comes in handy. For instance, you might enjoy having a large source of stock images close at hand. In that case, website.com has an Image Library that numbers over 1000 items. Add that to the general ease of use and 3-step process (choose template, customize, publish), and you’ve got yourself a useful tool.

Doodlekit

Some website builders go above and beyond to offer as many options as possible. Take Doodlekit, for example. It doesn’t just sport a wide variety of templates, but you also get to choose template patterns and textures from a collection of background images. Besides, you can test Doodlekit for free.

Jumpseller

On an ending note, we want to recommend a builder that specializes in eCommerce projects. Take advantage of options like switching to the local currency and language, different shipping and taxes. You never lose clients because you don’t have a payment gateway they can use. Therefore, Jumpseller is perfect for setting up an international web store.

Ending thoughts

We hope you enjoyed our list with useful website building platforms and tools. Whatever you do, take some time to explore your options this year. You want to keep an open mind to using new tools and platforms. They can actually change how you normally create websites for clients, making your job easier and ten times more satisfying.