Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting, having access to a variety of high-quality design resources can ignite your creativity and elevate your projects. Here’s a comprehensive guide to the best inspirational sites that every web designer should bookmark.
Table of Content
- Web Design Inspirational Sites
- 1. Awwwards
- 2. Behance
- 3. Dribbble
- A Community Rich in Web Design Inspiration
- Enhancing Your Skills and Network
- Leveraging Dribbble for Web Design Inspiration
- Staying Updated with Trends
- 4. Best Website Gallery
- How to Use the Best Website Gallery Effectively
- Web Design Resources
- – Web Design Inspiration
- Social Media and Learning Resources
- Combining Pinterest and Instagram for Maximum Inspiration
Web Design Inspirational Sites
1. Awwwards
Awwwards is a prestigious platform that recognizes and awards exceptional web design. Featuring submissions from top designers and developers, Awwwards highlights the best in modern web design.
The quality of inspiration is matched by the caliber of its jury, composed of some of the industry’s most respected figures. Browsing through Awwwards can give you a glimpse into the cutting edge of web design trends.
Recognizing Excellence in Web Design
Awwwards is dedicated to identifying and promoting the finest examples of web design. Each submission undergoes a rigorous evaluation process, ensuring that only the highest quality websites receive recognition. Here are some key features that make Awwwards a prestigious platform:
1. High Standards of Quality: Awwwards maintains stringent standards for submissions, ensuring that only websites with outstanding design, usability, creativity, and content are showcased. This commitment to quality guarantees that browsing through Awwwards will expose you to top-tier web design.
2. Diverse Categories: The platform features a wide range of categories, including e-commerce, portfolio, corporate, and experimental websites. This diversity allows you to explore different types of web design and find inspiration that is relevant to your specific projects.
3. Annual Awards: Awwwards hosts an annual awards ceremony that celebrates the best web designs of the year. Winning an Awwward is a prestigious honor, and the annual awards highlight groundbreaking projects and set benchmarks for excellence in the industry.
The Jury
The quality of inspiration on Awwwards website is largely due to the expertise of its jury. The panel is composed of renowned designers, developers, and industry experts who evaluate submissions based on a set of criteria that includes design, creativity, usability, and content. Here’s why the jury’s role is crucial:
1. Expertise and Experience: The jury members bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the evaluation process. Their expertise ensures that the websites selected for recognition represent the pinnacle of web design innovation and excellence.
2. Diverse Perspectives: The jury is made up of professionals from various backgrounds and specialties within the web design industry. This diversity allows a comprehensive evaluation process that takes into account different aspects of design and functionality.
3. Setting Standards: The jury’s decisions help set standards for what constitutes exceptional web design. By adhering to these standards, designers and developers can strive to create work that meets or exceeds industry expectations.
Exploring the Cutting Edge of Web Design
Browsing through Awwwards can provide valuable insights into the latest trends and innovations in web design. Here are some ways you can benefit from exploring the platform:
1. Staying Updated with Trends: Awwwards is constantly updated with new submissions, making it a dynamic resource for staying informed of current web design trends. Whether it’s the latest in interactive design, animation, or responsive layouts, you can find examples that reflect the forefront of the industry.
2. Learning from the Best: By studying the work of award-winning designers and developers, you can gain insights into effective design strategies and techniques. Each featured website often includes detailed descriptions and case studies, providing a deeper understanding of the design process and the decisions behind it.
3. Inspiration for Innovation: The innovative designs showcased on Awwwards can inspire you to experiment with new ideas and push the boundaries of your creativity. Whether it’s a unique approach to navigation, a groundbreaking layout, or a novel use of animation, the platform is a rich source of inspiration for innovative design solutions.
4. Community Engagement: Awwwards fosters a community of designers and developers who share a passion for excellence in web design. Engaging with this community through comments, reviews, and discussions can provide valuable feedback and foster professional growth.
How to Get the Most out of Awwwards
To maximize the benefits of using Awwwards as a source of inspiration and professional development, consider the following tips:
1. Regularly Browse New Submissions: Make it a habit to regularly browse through new submissions on Awwwards. This will keep you updated with the latest trends and expose you to a constant stream of fresh ideas.
2. Analyze Award-Winning Designs: Take the time to analyze award-winning designs in detail. Look at the elements that make these designs stand out, such as their layout, color schemes, typography, and interactive features. Understanding these components can help you apply similar principles to your own work.
3. Participate in the Community: Engage with the Awwwards community by leaving comments, providing feedback, and participating in discussions. This interaction can lead to valuable exchanges of ideas and insights, helping you grow as a designer.
4. Submit Your Work: If you’re confident in your web design skills, consider submitting your work to Awwwards. Not only can this provide you with valuable feedback from industry experts, but it also offers the opportunity to gain recognition and enhance your professional portfolio.
5. Attend Awwwards Conferences: Awwwards hosts conferences and events that bring together some of the brightest minds in web design. Attending these events can provide you with the opportunity to learn from industry leaders, network with peers, and stay inspired.
2. Behance
Behance is a powerhouse platform for showcasing and discovering creative work, including web design. The web design discover page on Behance is a treasure trove of inspiration, showcasing projects from designers around the globe. By exploring Behance, you can improve your design sensibility and stay updated on the latest trends and techniques in web design.
A Treasure of Web Design Inspiration
Behance is renowned for its extensive collection of creative work across various disciplines, making it one of the most comprehensive web inspirational sites available. Here’s why it stands out for web design inspiration:
1. Global Community of Designers: Behance features projects from a global community of web designers, providing a diverse range of styles, approaches, and techniques. This diversity ensures that you can find inspiration that resonates with your specific needs and preferences, whether you’re working on a corporate website, a personal portfolio, or an e-commerce.
2. High-Quality Projects: The projects showcased on Behance are often of high quality, reflecting the skills and creativity of the designers. This focus on quality means that you’re exposed to top-tier web design inspiration, which can help elevate your own work.
3. Detailed Project Presentations: Many designers on Behance provide detailed presentations of their projects, including mockups, prototypes, and case studies. These presentations offer valuable insights into the design process, the challenges faced, and the solutions implemented, allowing you to learn from the experiences of other designers.
Improving Design Sensibility
Exploring Behance can significantly enhance your design sensibility by exposing you to a wide variety of design approaches and best practices. Here’s how you can leverage Behance to improve your skills:
1. Analyzing Successful Designs: Take the time to analyze successful web design projects on Behance. Look at the elements that make these designs stand out, such as their layout, color schemes, typography, and interactive features. Understanding these components can help you apply similar principles to your own work, leading to more effective and aesthetically pleasing designs.
2. Learning New Techniques: Behance is a great place to discover new design techniques and trends. From innovative use of animations and transitions to cutting-edge responsive design strategies, you can learn a lot by studying the work of other designers. Incorporating these new techniques into your own projects can help you stay ahead of the curve and produce modern, user-friendly websites.
3. Gaining Inspiration for Specific Elements: If you’re looking for inspiration for specific elements of a website, such as navigation menus, footer designs, or call-to-action buttons, Behance’s detailed project presentations can be incredibly helpful. By seeing how other designers tackle these elements, you can gather ideas and implement them in your own projects.
Staying Updated on Trends
One of the key benefits of using Behance is staying updated on the latest trends in web design. Here’s how Behance helps you keep your finger on the pulse of the industry:
1. Regularly Updated Content: Behance is constantly updated with new projects, ensuring a steady stream of fresh content. By regularly browsing the platform, you can stay informed about emerging trends and see how designers around the world are pushing the boundaries of web design.
2. Following Influential Designers: Behance allows you to follow influential designers whose work you admire. By doing so, you can receive updates whenever they publish new projects, providing you with continuous inspiration and insight into current design trends.
3. Participating in the Community: Behance fosters a vibrant community of designers who engage with each other through comments, appreciations, and feedback. Participating in this community can provide you with valuable insights, keep you updated on industry discussions, and help you build connections with other professionals in the field.
Making the Most off Behance
To fully leverage Behance as a source of web design inspiration, consider the following tips:
1. Create a Behance Profile: Set up a Behance profile and start showcasing your own work. This not only helps you build a professional portfolio but also allows you to engage with other designers and receive feedback on your projects.
2. Curate Collections: Use Behance’s collection feature to curate and organize your favorite projects. Create different collections for various aspects of web design, such as layout inspiration, typography ideas, and interactive features. This organization makes it easy to reference your favorite projects when you need inspiration for your own work.
3. Engage with the Community: Leave comments, appreciate projects, and participate in discussions. Engaging with the Behance community can lead to valuable exchanges of ideas and insights, helping you grow as a designer.
4. Attend Behance Portfolio Reviews: Behance often hosts portfolio review events, both online and offline. Attending these events can provide you with constructive feedback from industry professionals and help you improve your portfolio.
5. Explore Beyond Web Design: While Behance’s web design discover page is a fantastic resource, don’t limit yourself to just web design. Explore other categories, such as graphic design, illustration, and photography, for additional inspiration. Sometimes, inspiration from different fields can lead to unique and innovative web design ideas.
3. Dribbble
Dribbble is a vibrant community where designers share their work, hone their skills, and find job opportunities. It is particularly rich in web design inspiration, offering an excess creative ideas and resources. Dribbble is an excellent resource for designers looking to expand their network and draw inspiration from a diverse community of creative professionals.
A Community Rich in Web Design Inspiration
Dribbble stands out as one of the leading web inspirational sites due to its active and diverse community of designers. Here’s why Dribbble is a treasure power house of web design inspiration:
1. Diverse Creative Ideas: Dribbble showcases a wide variety of creative ideas across different styles and genres of web design. From minimalist and sleek interfaces to bold and vibrant layouts, you can find inspiration that suits your specific design needs. This diversity ensures that you can draw from a broad spectrum of design approaches and techniques.
2. High-Quality Work: The platform is known for its high-quality design work. Many top designers and agencies share their projects on Dribbble, offering a glimpse into the latest trends and best practices in the industry. This exposure to high-quality work can inspire you to elevate your own designs and strive for excellence.
3. User-Friendly Interface: Dribbble’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to browse and discover new designs. The clean layout and intuitive navigation allow you to quickly find the inspiration you need, whether you’re looking for specific design elements, color schemes, or overall layouts.
Enhancing Your Skills and Network
Dribbble is not just about finding inspiration; it’s also a platform for professional growth and networking. Here’s how you can benefit from being an active member of the Dribbble community:
1. Sharing Your Work: By sharing your own work on Dribbble, you can receive feedback from other designers, which can be very valuable for improving your skills. Constructive criticism and praise from peers help you understand what works well and what areas need refinement.
2. Discovering Job Opportunities: Dribbble is a popular platform for recruiters and companies looking for talented designers. By showcasing your work and building a strong portfolio on Dribbble, you increase your visibility and chances of landing job opportunities or freelance projects.
3. Learning from Peers: Engaging with the Dribbble community allows you to learn from other designers’ experiences and techniques. You can follow designers whose work you admire, participate in discussions, and even collaborate on projects. This interaction fosters a sense of community and continuous learning.
4. Participating in Challenges: Dribbble frequently hosts design challenges and contests that encourage creativity and innovation. Participating in these challenges can push you to experiment with new ideas, improve your skills, and gain recognition within the community.
Leveraging Dribbble for Web Design Inspiration
To maximize the benefits of using Dribbble as a source of web design inspiration, consider the following tips:
1. Follow Designers and Teams: Identify and follow designers and design teams whose work inspires you. This will keep your feed filled with high-quality designs and ideas that resonate with your style and interests.
2. Use Tags and Categories: Dribbble allows you to search for designs using tags and categories. Use these features to filter designs based on specific elements, such as “UI design,” “responsive design,” or “e-commerce.” This targeted search helps you find the exact type of inspiration you need for your projects.
3. Save and Organize Favorites: Use Dribbble’s “Buckets” feature to save and organize your favorite designs. Create different buckets for various aspects of web design, such as “Landing Pages,” “Navigation Menus,” or “Color Palettes.” This organization makes it easy to reference your saved inspiration when you’re working on a new project.
4. Engage with the Community: Leave comments, appreciate designs, and participate in discussions. Engaging with the Dribbble community helps you build relationships, gain insights, and establish yourself as an active and contributing member of the platform.
5. Explore Playoffs: Dribbble Playoffs are collaborative design challenges where designers create and share their interpretations of a theme or brief. Participating in Playoffs can provide a fun and engaging way to test your skills and see how other designers approach the same challenge.
Staying Updated with Trends
Dribbble is an excellent platform for staying updated with the latest trends in web design. Here’s how Dribbble helps you keep your design skills current:
1. Trending Designs: The “Trending” section on Dribbble highlights popular designs that are gaining attention within the community. Browsing this section regularly can give you insights into what’s trending in web design and inspire you to incorporate similar elements into your own work.
2. Design Stories and Articles: Dribbble also features design stories and articles that provide in-depth analysis of design trends, techniques, and case studies. Reading these articles can enhance your understanding of current trends and how to apply them effectively in your projects.
3. Following Industry Leaders: Many industry leaders and influential designers share their work and insights on Dribbble. Following these leaders can provide you with valuable perspectives on the direction of web design and emerging trends.
4. Best Website Gallery
The Best Website Gallery is a highly curated collection of over 2,000 premium web design examples. This gallery stands out for its robust tagging system, allowing designers to search for inspiration based on style, design approach, functionality, and more. The attention to detail in the curation process ensures that each site featured provides valuable insights and innovative ideas.
A Curated Collection of Excellence
The Best Website Gallery stands out due to its commitment to quality. Every site featured in the gallery undergoes a rigorous selection process to ensure it meets high standards of design and functionality. This curation process guarantees that the gallery only includes the best of the best, providing you with top-notch inspiration for your projects.
- Diverse Design Styles: The gallery showcases a wide array of design styles, from minimalist and modern to vibrant and eclectic. This diversity allows you to explore different aesthetics and find inspiration that aligns with your design vision. Whether you’re working on a corporate website or a creative portfolio, you’re sure to find examples that resonate with your project’s needs.
- Innovative Design Approaches: Each site in the Best Website Gallery is selected for its unique design approach. This could include innovative uses of typography, groundbreaking layouts, creative animations, or cutting-edge functionality. By studying these examples, you can learn new design techniques and apply them to your own work, pushing the boundaries of your creativity.
Robust Tagging System
One of the standout features of the Best Website Gallery is its robust tagging system. This feature allows you to efficiently search for design inspiration based on specific criteria, making it easier to find exactly what you’re looking for.
- Search by Style: The tagging system enables you to search for websites based on their design style. Whether you’re interested in flat design, material design, or something more experimental, you can quickly filter the gallery to find examples that match your desired taste.
- Search by Design Approach: In addition to style, you can search for websites based on their design approach. Tags like “responsive design,” “parallax scrolling,” “single-page design,” and “e-commerce” help you narrow down your search to sites that employ specific techniques or serve particular functions. This is especially useful when you’re looking for inspiration for a project with specific requirements.
- Search by Functionality: Functionality is a crucial aspect of web design, and the Best Website Gallery’s tagging system allows you to search for sites based on their functional features. Whether you need inspiration for a booking system, interactive elements, or multimedia integration, you can find examples that showcase effective implementations of these functionalities.
Valuable Insights and Innovative Ideas
The attention to detail in the curation process of the Best Website Gallery ensures that each featured site offers valuable insights and innovative ideas. By exploring these examples, you can gain a deeper understanding of effective web design principles and stay updated on the latest trends.
- Detailed Case Studies: Many of the sites featured in the gallery come with detailed case studies or descriptions that explain the design choices and development process. These insights can provide you with a better understanding of the rationale behind certain design decisions and how they contribute to the overall user experience.
- Inspiration for User Experience (UX): User experience is a critical component of web design, and the Best Website Gallery offers numerous examples of sites that excel in this area. By studying these examples, you can learn how to create intuitive and engaging user interfaces that enhance the overall user experience.
- Staying Ahead of Trends: The gallery is regularly updated with new examples, ensuring that it remains a current and relevant source of inspiration. By frequently visiting the gallery, you can stay ahead of design trends and incorporate the latest innovations into your own projects.
How to Use the Best Website Gallery Effectively
To make the most of the Best Website Gallery, it’s important to use it strategically in your design process. Here are some tips on how to leverage this resource effectively:
1. Regular Exploration: Make it a habit to regularly explore the Best Website Gallery. Set aside time each week to browse through new additions and revisit your favorite examples. This practice can keep your creative juices flowing and ensure you’re constantly exposed to fresh ideas.
2. Save and Categorize Favorites: Use the gallery’s favoriting feature to save your favorite examples. Create categories for different types of inspiration, such as layout ideas, color schemes, or interactive features. This organization makes it easier to reference your saved examples when you’re working on a project.
3. Analyze and Deconstruct: When you find a design that resonates with you, take the time to analyze and deconstruct it. Look at the elements that make it successful, such as the use of typography, the layout structure, or the color palette. Understanding these components can help you apply similar principles to your own designs.
4. Experiment with New Techniques: Use the gallery as a springboard to experiment with new design techniques. If you come across an innovative animation or an interesting layout, try recreating it in your own projects. This experimentation can help you expand your skillset and discover new ways to enhance your designs.
5. Draw Inspiration for Specific Projects: When you start a new project, use the gallery to gather inspiration that aligns with the project’s goals. For instance, if you’re designing an e-commerce site, look for examples of online stores that excel in user experience and visual appeal. This targeted inspiration can help you create designs that are both beautiful and functional.
Web Design Resources
– Web Design Inspiration
For those seeking a comprehensive list of website design ideas, Web Design Inspiration is the go-to resource. This site provides a surplus of design concepts, helping to streamline your workflow and spark new ideas. Regularly exploring these resources can encourage you to experiment with new design solutions and keep your work fresh and innovative.
– Webflow Showcase
Webflow Showcase is an indispensable resource for Webflow users. It features a wide array of designs that can be sorted by popularity and filtered by animation, interaction, and other criteria. The showcase is a reliable starting point for staying current with design trends and pushing your creativity to new heights.
– Commerce Cream
Specializing in e-commerce web design, Commerce Cream focuses on Shopify websites. It offers a curated collection of beautifully designed e-commerce sites, providing specific inspiration for those working in the online retail space. Commerce Cream helps you find design ideas that can enhance the shopping experience on your site.
Social Media and Learning Resources
Pinterest is often described as a visual discovery engine, and for good reason. It allows users to find and save ideas for their projects and interests, making it an excellent resource for web designers. Here’s how you can make the most of Pinterest for web design inspiration:
1. Creating and Organizing Boards: Pinterest allows you to create boards to save and organize your ideas. You can create separate boards for different aspects of web design such as layouts, typography, color schemes, and user interfaces. This helps in categorizing your inspiration and makes it easy to find what you need when you start designing.
2. Following Design Trends: By following popular web design boards and pinners, you can stay updated with the latest design trends. Pinterest’s algorithm also suggests pins based on your interests, ensuring a continuous flow of fresh ideas tailored to your preferences.
3. Using the Search Function: Pinterest’s search function is incredibly powerful. You can search for specific web design elements, such as “minimalist web design,” “e-commerce website layouts,” or “responsive design.” The platform will present you with excess of pins related to your search, each potentially leading you to a new source of inspiration.
4. Collaborating with Others: Pinterest’s collaborative boards feature allows multiple users to contribute to the same board. This is particularly useful for team projects, as all members can save and share their design ideas in one place. It fosters a collaborative environment where team members can build on each other’s inspiration.
5. Exploring Related Pins: Once you find a pin that resonates with you, Pinterest shows related pins to explore further. This feature can lead you down a rabbit hole of inspiration, exposing you to a wide variety of styles and concepts that you might not have discovered otherwise.
6. Saving and Reviewing Pins: The ability to save pins for later review is one of Pinterest’s strongest features. As you browse, you can quickly save any design that catches your eye. Later, when you’re ready to work on your project, you can review your saved pins to refine your ideas and draw direct inspiration from them.
Instagram is another powerful platform for web design inspiration. With its emphasis on visual content, it serves as a showcase for designers around the world to share their work and gain inspiration. Here’s how you can leverage Instagram for your web design projects:
1. Following Web Design Accounts: Start by following accounts dedicated to web design. These can include individual designers, design studios, and web design communities. Accounts like @webdesign_inspiration, @ui_gradient, and @awwwards are great places to start. By following these accounts, your feed will be filled with a constant stream of design inspiration.
2. Exploring Hashtags: Instagram’s hashtag feature is an excellent way to find specific types of design inspiration. Hashtags like #webdesign, #UIDesign, #UXDesign, and #ResponsiveDesign can lead you to thousands of posts showcasing a variety of design elements. This allows you to discover new styles and techniques from designers worldwide.
3. Engaging with the Community: Instagram is a social platform, and engaging with other designers can be incredibly beneficial. Commenting on posts, sharing your thoughts, and even direct messaging designers can lead to valuable exchanges of ideas and feedback. This interaction can spark new ideas and provide different perspectives on your work.
4. Utilizing the Save and Collections Features: Much like Pinterest, Instagram allows you to save posts for later. You can create collections to organize saved posts into different categories, such as typography, color schemes, or interactive design. This organization makes it easier to reference your saved inspiration when you’re ready to design.
5. Watching Stories and IGTV: Many designers and studios share behind-the-scenes looks at their design process through Instagram Stories and IGTV. These insights can be incredibly inspirational, providing a deeper understanding of how professionals approach their projects. Watching these can give you new techniques and ideas to incorporate into your own work.
6. Analyzing Visual Trends: Instagram is a great platform to observe and analyze visual trends. By seeing what’s popular and frequently shared, you can identify emerging trends in web design. This can help you stay ahead of the curve and ensure your designs are modern and relevant.
7. Participating in Design Challenges: Many design communities on Instagram host regular design challenges. Participating in these challenges can push your creative boundaries and expose you to new design techniques. It also provides an opportunity to showcase your work to a broader audience and gain feedback from the community.
Combining Pinterest and Instagram for Maximum Inspiration
While both Pinterest and Instagram are powerful on their own, combining their strengths can provide a more comprehensive source of inspiration. Here are some tips on how to integrate both platforms into your design workflow:
1. Cross-Platform Searches: When searching for inspiration, use both platforms to get a wider variety of ideas. For instance, if you’re looking for minimalist web design ideas, search on both Pinterest and Instagram. This approach can expose you to different styles and concepts that may not appear on just one platform.
2. Syncing Boards and Collections: Create boards on Pinterest and collections on Instagram for similar categories. This will help you organize your inspiration in a cohesive manner across both platforms. For example, you can have a Pinterest board and an Instagram collection both dedicated to e-commerce web design.
3. Following Influencers Across Platforms: Many web design influencers and studios maintain a presence on both Pinterest and Instagram. Follow them on both platforms to ensure you don’t miss out on any of their content. This can provide a consistent stream of inspiration and keep you updated on their latest projects.
4. Sharing Your Work: Share your own web design projects on both platforms to engage with the community and receive feedback. This not only helps you grow as a designer but also contributes to the collective pool of inspiration available to others.
5. Regularly Reviewing Saved Content: Make it a habit to regularly review the pins and posts you’ve saved on both platforms. This practice can refresh your memory and spark new ideas when you’re in the design phase. It ensures that your inspiration remains relevant and actionable.
Conclusion
Reviewing website inspiration from these sources is a great way to improve your design sensibility. Learn from award-winning web designers and developers by studying their work. Understanding the principles and techniques behind their designs can help you create beautiful and functional websites.
