The Ultimate List of Free Web Design & Development Resources: Your Complete Toolkit

The Ultimate List of Free Web Design & Development Resources: Your Complete Toolkit
Published
Sep 19, 2023

As of 2023, the number of websites worldwide has surpassed 1.1 billion, and on average more than 25,200 websites are created daily. 

Being a high-in-demand job or simply having a passion for it, might have made you decide to join the caravan of web designers and developers, and now you are looking for the tools you need to be equipped with during this exciting journey. 

Within this comprehensive guide, we've selected an extensive collection of free web design resources, covering a broad range of elements, including graphic design, coding, inspiration, and testing. 

This listicle features different categories of free web design resources:

  1. Graphic Design Resources
  2. Coding and Development Resources
  3. Web Design Inspiration Resources
  4. UI/UX Design Resources
  5. Web Development Frameworks and Libraries
  6. Testing and Optimization Resources
  7. Content Creation and Management Resources
  8. Website Accessibility and SEO Resources
  9. Web Hosting Resources
  10. Learning and Education Resources

While most of these web design resources are free to use, some are premium products but offer free usage with limited capabilities.

Graphic Design Resources

Canva

Canva's homepage screenshot asking in the hero section "what will you design today?"
Canva Website

Canva has revolutionized graphic design for non-designers. It offers a vast library of templates for web graphics, social media visuals, and more. With its user-friendly interface, you can create stunning visuals effortlessly.

Unsplash

A screenshot of Unsplash's homepage showing a search bar and a brown background image
Unsplash Website

Unsplash is a treasure trove of high-quality, free-to-use images and videos that can add visual appeal to your various creative projects. It is a valuable resource for designers, marketers and content creators worldwide.

Pexels

Pexel's homepage view showing a search bar in the middle and written the best free stock photos above it
Pexels Website

Pexels is another outstanding source for high-resolution, free stock images and videos to enhance your web projects. Pexels is a valuable go-to for professionals and creatives seeking high-resolution visuals without the burden of licensing fees.

Adobe Color Wheel

Adobe Color Wheel's homepage showing a round colored wheel with different colors to select
Adobe Color Wheel Website

The Adobe Color Wheel is an excellent resource for selecting harmonious color palettes for your websites, ensuring that your design elements mesh seamlessly.

Google Fonts

A screenshot of Google Font's homepage showing a search bar and below it different text with different fonts
Google Fonts Website

Google Fonts provides a rich collection of free and open-source fonts that can be easily integrated into your web designs, adding personality and uniqueness to your text.

Font Awesome

Font Awesome' s homepage screenshot showing a man with a magicians hat in the background
Font Awesome Website

Font Awesome offers a comprehensive collection of scalable vector icons that can be customized and integrated seamlessly into your web projects.

Figma

Figma's homepage screenshot with a saying on the middle "How you design,align and build matters"
Figma Website

Figma is a versatile, cloud-based design tool that allows for real-time collaboration on web design prototypes and mockups, making it a go-to choice for design teams. If you’re already using it, here you will find a very useful list of Figma plugins you need to have to enhance your design process.

Coding and Development Resources

CodePen 

CodePen's homepage view. It writes "The best place to build, test and discover front-end code".
CodePen Website

CodePen is an online code editor that's perfect for front-end developers. It enables you to experiment with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code snippets and share your creations with the community.

GitHub 

GitHub's homepage view showing an image of space and below highlighted Let's build from here"
GitHub Website

GitHub is the ultimate platform for version control and collaboration on coding projects. Whether you're working solo or with a team, it's an indispensable resource for developers.

Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow homepage screenshot, it writes Every developer has a tab open to Stack Overflow"
Stack Overflow Website

Stack Overflow is a thriving Q&A community where you can find solutions to coding problems, share your expertise, and learn from experienced developers worldwide.

MDN Web Docs

A screenshot of MDN Web Docs homepage, written with white text on a black background it says: "Resources for Developers by Developers"
MDN Web Docs Website

Mozilla's MDN Web Docs is a ‘treasure-house’ of in-depth web development documentation, tutorials, and guides, covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and much more.

W3Schools

A screenshot of W3School's homepage saying in the middle Learn to Code
W3Schools Website

W3Schools offers a comprehensive repository of web development tutorials and reference materials, making it an excellent resource for beginners and experienced developers alike.

Web Design Inspiration

Behance

Behance's homepage showcasing different projects with different pictures and colors
Behance Website

Behance is a popular platform for showcasing and discovering creative web design and graphic design projects. It's a fantastic place to get inspired and see what's trending in the design world.

Awwwards 

The Awwwards homepage showing in capital letters the text "SITE OF THE DAY" and below it a feature site
Awwwards Website

Awwwards recognizes and awards outstanding web designs, providing a constant source of inspiration and motivation for web designers seeking to push their creative boundaries.

Landdding

Landdding's homepage showcasing Todays 3 favorite project picks
Landdding Website

Landdding serves as a hub for the design community, offering a platform to showcase and discover remarkable web design concepts effortlessly. Visitors can engage with various web design projects across categories like SaaS, agency, portfolio, design, and more by upvoting their favorites. By doing so, they contribute to these projects' chances of earning a prestigious community badge as one of the top three most-liked endeavors.

Web Design Reddit Communities 

A Reddit's page showing search results of web design communities
Reddit Website

Reddit hosts several active communities related to web design, such as r/web_design and r/webdev, where you can engage with fellow designers, seek feedback, and stay updated on industry trends.

UI/UX Design Resources

InVision Freehand

InVision Freehand homepage view, a white background with text in the middle saying "all-in-one collaborative workspace"
InVision Freehand Website

InVision Freehand is a collaborative digital whiteboard that empowers designers to brainstorm, sketch, and create user interfaces together in real-time.

UserTesting

Usertesting's homepage view showing a text "Understand what it's like to be your customer"
UserTesting Website

UserTesting offers a free trial for user testing and feedback on your web design prototypes, helping you fine-tune your user experience.

Balsamiq Wireframes

Balsamiq Wireframes homepage screenshot. It displays a text saying "Quick and easy Wireframing Tool"
Balsamiq Wireframes Website

Balsamiq Wireframes is a valuable tool for creating wireframes and prototypes, allowing you to visualize the layout and functionality of your web pages before diving into development.

Web Development Frameworks and Libraries

Bootstrap

Bootstrap's homepage screenshot. "Build fast, responsive sites with Bootstrap" text in the hero section.
Bootstrap Website

Bootstrap is a widely-used CSS framework that simplifies the process of building responsive and mobile-first web projects. Its pre-designed components and grid system are a game-changer.

jQuery

jQuery homepage view, showing the download button section and a "what is jQuery description".
jQuery Website

jQuery is a fast and feature-rich JavaScript library that simplifies complex tasks like DOM manipulation and AJAX requests, making it a staple in many web developers' toolkits.

React

React's homepage screenshot - "The library for web and native user interfaces"
React Website

React, developed by Facebook and the open-source community, is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. Its component-based architecture makes it an excellent choice for creating interactive and dynamic web applications.

Vue.js

Vue.js homepage screenshot "The progressive JavaScript Framework"
Vue.js Website

Vue.js is another JavaScript framework that focuses on building user interfaces. It's known for its simplicity and flexibility, making it an attractive option for web developers.

Semantic UI

Semantic Ui homepage view with a green background and "semantic ui" text in the middle
Semantic UI Website

Semantic UI is a sleek and intuitive CSS framework that emphasizes human-friendly HTML, making it easier to create beautiful and responsive web designs.

Testing and Optimization

Google PageSpeed Insights

Google Pagespeed Insights homepage screenshot showing a URL bar in the middle and analyze button
Google PageSpeed Website

Google PageSpeed Insights is a handy tool for analyzing the performance of your web pages. It provides valuable suggestions for improving loading times and user experience.

GTmetrix

GTmetrix's homepage screenshot - with text in the middle saying " How fast does your website load"
GTmetrix Website

GTmetrix offers detailed insights and actionable recommendations for optimizing your website's speed and overall performance. It's a must-have resource for ensuring your site loads quickly and efficiently.

BrowserStack 

BrowserStack homepage screenshot - a light blue background with a blue button saying Get started for free
BrowserStack Website

BrowserStack allows you to test your website on various browsers and devices to ensure compatibility and functionality across the diverse landscape of the web.

Google Mobile-Friendly Test

Google's Mobile friendly test homepage screenshot - it shows a url bar with a question above " Is your web page mobile-friendly?"
Google's Mobile-Friendly Test Website

Today with the increasing use of mobile devices, it's crucial to ensure your website is mobile-friendly. Google's Mobile-Friendly Test helps you determine if your site meets mobile usability standards.

Content Creation and Management

WordPress

Wordpress's homepage screenshot - Worlds most popular website builder
WordPress Website

WordPress is a widely-used content management system (CMS) that simplifies website creation and management. With numerous free themes and plugins, it's an excellent choice for bloggers, businesses, and e-commerce websites.

Webflow

Webflow's homepage screenshot - with a big quoute" Build with the power of code—without writing any"
Webflow Website

Webflow is a powerful and user-friendly web design and development platform with CMS that empowers designers to create responsive, visually stunning websites without the need for coding skills. 

It bridges the gap between traditional website builders and custom-coded websites, offering a range of features and benefits that make it a preferred choice for many web designers. Though it is not a free platform in essence, it provides a free starter plan with limited capabilities.

Jekyll

Jekyll homepage screenshot - Transform you text into static websites and blogs
Jekyll Website

Jekyll is a static site generator that allows you to build fast, secure, and SEO-friendly websites. It's particularly popular among developers and bloggers.

Medium

Medium's homepage screenshot with a beautiful yellow background and text saying: Stay curious
Medium Website

Medium is a popular platform for publishing and sharing articles. It's a superb choice for content creators looking to reach a broad audience.

Web Analytics

Google Analytics

Google Analytics homepage view with text saying Welcome to Google Analytics
Google Analytics Website

Google Analytics is a powerful web analytics tool that provides detailed insights into your website's performance, user behavior, and traffic sources. It's an essential resource for data-driven decision-making.

Matomo (formerly Piwik)

Matomo homepage screenshot - a text saying Google Analytics Alternative
Matomo Website

Matomo is an open-source alternative to Google Analytics, offering similar features while allowing you to maintain full control over your data and privacy.

Security

Wordfence

Wordfence's homepage screenshot, a black backgroung with "Introducting Wordfence" text in green and white in the middle
Wordfence Website

If you're using WordPress, Wordfence is a highly-rated security plugin that helps protect your site from malware, hackers, and other security threats.

Let's Encrypt

Let's encrypt homepage screenshot saying they provide TLS certificates to 300million websites
Let's Encrypt Website

Let's Encrypt is a free, automated, and open Certificate Authority that provides SSL/TLS certificates for encrypting website traffic, enhancing security and trustworthiness.

Sucuri Security

Sucuri's homepage screenshot showing a "clean and protect your website fast" text in the hero section
Sucuri Website

Sucuri offers a free website security scanner and malware removal tool, helping you identify and eliminate security vulnerabilities.

H5BP (HTML5 Boilerplate)

HTML5 Boilerplate's homepage screenshot with text saying "Web's most popular front-end template"
HTML5 Boilerplate Website

HTML5 Boilerplate is a front-end template that includes best practices for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It promotes a solid foundation for secure and well-optimized websites.

Content Creation and Management

Ghost

Ghost homepage screenshot - "Turn your audience into a business" text in the middle
Ghost Website

Ghost is an open-source CMS specifically designed for bloggers. It's clean, fast, and user-friendly, making it an excellent choice for writers.

Hugo

Hugo's homepage screenshot showing the Hugo name in 4 different colors per letter
Hugo Website

Hugo is a static site generator that's incredibly fast and easy to use. It's ideal for building simple, high-performance websites.

Trello

Trello's homepage screenshot showing a preview of trello's app user interface
Trello Website

Trello is a versatile project management tool that can help you organize your web design projects, track tasks, and collaborate with team members.

Notion

Notion's homepage screenshot, with a text saying "Your wiki, docs, projects. Together".
Notion Website

Notion is an all-in-one workspace that can be used for project management, note-taking, and collaborative work. Its flexibility makes it an invaluable tool for web designers. It offers the ability for free usage with some limitations after which you need to upgrade to the premium plan.

Website Accessibility and SEO

Google Search Console

Google Search Console's homepage screenshot, a text writes "Improve your performance on Google Search"
Google Search Console Website

Google Search Console provides insights into your website's performance in Google's search results. It's a valuable resource for monitoring your site's SEO, indexing, and search traffic.

Google Trends

Google Trends homepage screenshot - with a message saying Explore what the world is searching for right now"
Google Trends Website

With Google Trends you can stay updated with the latest search trends and keywords helping you create content that resonates with your audience. 

WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool

WAVE's homepage screenshot with a web page address bar in the middle
WAVE Website

WAVE is a web accessibility evaluation tool that helps you identify and rectify accessibility issues on your website, ensuring it's inclusive to all users.

A11yproject

A11yproject's homepage screenshot - saying a11y stands for ACCESSIBILITY"
A11yproject Website

The a11yproject is a community-driven effort to promote web accessibility. It provides resources, tutorials, and best practices for making your website more accessible.

Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO's homepage screenshot - the 1st  WordrPress SEO Plugin
Yoast SEO Website

If you're using WordPress, the Yoast SEO plugin can help optimize your site for search engines by providing guidance on content, meta tags, and more.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Screaming Frog's homepage screenshot with a green and white interface
Screaming Frog SEO Spider Website

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a desktop application is useful for analyzing and auditing your website's SEO performance. The free version allows you to crawl up to 500 pages.

Web Hosting

Netlify

Nelify's homepage screenshot showing a blue background with text in the middle saying Connect everything.
Netlify Website

Netlify offers free hosting for static websites with features like continuous deployment and serverless functions.

GitHub Pages

Github Page's page screenshot with text saying "Websites for you and your projects"
GitHub Pages Website

If your website is open-source and hosted on GitHub, you can use GitHub Pages to host it for free.

Heroku

Heroku homepage screenshot showing the supported code languages and a button for sign up
Heroku Website

Heroku offers a free plan for hosting web applications. It's a great choice for developers looking to deploy web projects quickly.

Learning and Education

Coursera

Coursera's homepage screenshot saying "Learn without limits"
Coursera Website

Coursera offers numerous free courses on web development, design, and related topics from top universities and institutions.

edX

edX's homepage screenshot with text "Fuel your ambition and a black man with green shirt on the background"
edX Website

Similar to Coursera, edX provides free courses on web development and design and many other disciplines, allowing you to learn from experts in the field.

Codecademy

Codecademy's homepage screenshot with an email and password bar to sign up
Codecademy Website

Codecademy offers free interactive coding lessons and projects, making it an excellent choice for beginners.

Webflow University

Webflow University's homepage screenshot showing a search bar and text saying " Learn web design and development - viusally
Webflow University Website

If you are a user of the Webflow no-code web development platform or want to be, Webflow University is an excellent resource for both beginners and experienced web designers looking to master the Webflow platform. 

It provides a wide range of free tutorials and courses that cover everything from the basics of web design to advanced techniques and features offered by Webflow. 

Smashing Magazine 

Smashing Magazine's homepage screenshot showing the latest articles
Smashing Magazine Website

Smashing Magazine offers a wealth of articles, tutorials, and resources on web design and development.

CSS-Tricks 

Css-tricks homepage screenshot showing a featured article about Passkeys
CSS-Tricks Website

CSS-Tricks is a valuable resource for learning CSS and front-end web development, featuring tutorials and articles from industry experts.

Conclusion

In the dynamic world of web design, staying well-equipped with a diverse range of free resources is essential for success. Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned pro, these tools and platforms can help you design, develop, and optimize websites that captivate and engage users.

From graphic design and coding to inspiration, testing, security, and education, the vast array of free web design resources presented in this comprehensive guide empowers you to create websites that not only meet but exceed industry standards.

By harnessing the power of these resources, continuously learning, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries of your creativity, you'll be well on your way to mastering the art of web design. With these tools at your disposal, your web design journey is bound to be a thrilling and successful one. 

Lastly, as a bonus for reaching the end of this tool guide, check out this useful list of Chrome extensions, and enrich your web browsing experience. For more articles and the latest trends in web design, visit our blog section @wedoflow.com/insights

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