Web development has evolved from only writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code into a more complex discipline that involves designing and developing sophisticated web applications and SaaS projects.
What started as simple hyper-linked text-based pages in 1991 has turned into dynamic, data-driven, and user-friendly experiences.
Today, if you’re looking to create a website, whether for business or pleasure, there is a vast ocean of web development software available to you.
Web development can be as simple as editing your blog in WordPress or as complex as building our own CMS from scratch.
Ultimately, everything boils down to your coding skills and the type of website you’re creating, and what features it will have:
- For example, if you’re a small business and want to set up something swift, then a web builder tool like Wix or Squarespace might come in handy.
- However, if you want to build something more dynamic and interactive like Amazon or eBay, you will probably have to go with a full-stack development platform.
- For an e-commerce site, you might be looking for an e-commerce platform such as Shopify, Magento, or even an open-source option like OpenCart or PrestaShop.
- If you’re looking for more control, consider using a content management system (CMS) such as Drupal, Joomla, or WordPress.
- And finally, if you’re looking to create a web app, you might want to look into frameworks such as Ruby on Rails, Angular, or Laravel.
Options abound — enough to make one’s head spin, certainly.
To help you make sense of the options available for web development, we’ve compiled a list of some top frameworks and software to build your website in 2022.
WordPress
WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) designed to help you quickly create and manage your website’s content. It’s also one of the most straightforward systems to use, making it an excellent choice for small business owners or bloggers who want to get their site up and running quickly.
Pricing: Free
Key Features
- WYSIWYG Editor
- Member registration/login system
- Advanced SEO tools
- User comments and social media integration
- Unlimited number of themes and plugins available to download and install for free
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Bootstrap Studio
Bootstrap Studio is a desktop application that helps you develop beautiful websites using the Bootstrap framework. It’s packed with features and options, making it an ideal choice for more complex websites or web applications.
The tool comes with customizable templates and drag-and-drop options for building responsive web pages.
It’s a simple but powerful web design tool that makes prototyping decidedly easy.
Price: One-time fee of $29 or $59 for their lifetime version (where you receive the updated version for life)
Key Features:
- Desktop application – can be installed on Windows or Mac
- Responsive design: build websites that look great on any device
- Drag and drop interface – easy to use and quick to learn
- Customizable templates – start with a template or create your own from scratch
- Bootstrap support – use the Bootstrap framework to create amazing, responsive websites
- Export files – export PNGs and SVG images, HTML5 templates, CSS stylesheets, JavaScript components/widgets for use in other web projects
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Macaw
One of the best features of Macaw is its ability to create responsive websites without having to write any code. It features a visual interface that allows you to create and design your website’s layout, automatically generating the required code for you.
That makes it an ideal choice for web designers and front-end developers who want to quickly create prototypes or mockups without learning or using any code.
Pricing: Free
Key Features:
- Responsive design – create websites that look great on any device
- No coding required – develop layouts and designs visually, then let Macaw generate the code for you
- Export files – export your designs as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Built-in editor – quickly make changes to your designs without having to leave the Macaw application
- Library of components – includes a library of components and design elements that you can use in your own projects
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Bluefish
Bluefish is a powerful, open-source text editor designed for web development and programming. It includes features such as syntax highlighting, code completion, and code snippets that make it easy to write and edit code quickly.
It also supports a wide range of programming languages, making it an ideal choice for developers who want to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
Pricing: Free
Key Features:
- Syntax highlighting – highlights code syntax to make it easier to read
- Code completion – suggests codes snippets and commands as you type, making it easy to add code to your project quickly
- Code snippets – includes a library of pre-written code snippets that you can use in your projects
- Open-source – free to download and use
- Supports a wide range of programming languages
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Weebly
Weebly is another online CMS targeted at people with little to no coding experience.
Its easy-to-use interface lets you build your website by dragging and dropping widgets, changing colours, adding images, etc. It also includes creating contact forms and blog posts without writing any line of code.
Weebly is ideal for anyone who wants an easy way to get started with building their own website.
Price:
Starter @5/month
Pro @12/month
Business plan @$25/month
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Webflow
Webflow is a cloud-based CMS designed specifically for people with little to no coding experience.
On top of being truly cross-platform, Webflow puts a lot of emphasis on the concept of smart codelessness.
First, they allow you to design your web project by dragging and dropping elements such as text and images freely onto a page. You can also choose one of their free templates and work around it by customizing its features, widgets, and other elements.
And unlike many of the WYSIWYG editors you know, the tool provides clean and well-written code. The tool can even generate any necessary HTML/CSS code for you.
It also allows you to make granular changes to individual elements by playing around with the panel on the right.
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Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
Vs. Code is the most popular code editor among developers.
Those hating it only do so because it’s a Microsoft product. Otherwise, this code editor is everything you’d want in an IDE.
The tool offers a wide selection of packages and free extensions that further enhance its capabilities. Meaning, it’s highly customizable and flexible enough to accommodate all your coding needs.
Most people get intimidated by the idea of coding. However, VS Code makes it easy for beginners with its IntelliSense technology that provides intelligent completions based on the context of your code.
Pricing: Free!
Key Features:
- IntelliSense – provides smart completions based on the context of your code, making it easy for beginners to learn how to code
- A wide variety of packages and free extensions are available
- Free!
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Adobe Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver is a long-established web development software that professional web designers and developers use. Its features include code editing, design tools, and built-in support for popular programming languages.
It also offers a handy preview mode that lets you see how your website will look on different devices, making it easy to test and debug your designs.
The tool produces responsive designs that automatically adjust to fit different devices. Plus, it’s packed with easy-to-use tools that let you add interactivity to your site quickly and easily.
Pricing: $20.99 / £19.97 / AU$29.99, billed annually
Key Features:
- Design capabilities – build sites using multiple layouts, including fixed, fluid, and elastic, as well as create custom designs using the built-in design tools
- Code editing – easily edit code and preview the results in real-time
- Responsive design – automatically adjusts to fit different devices
- Interactivity – add interactivity to your site quickly and easily using the built-in tools
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Codepen
Codepen is an online code editor that lets people prototype and build websites using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other popular coding languages.
It’s a friendly environment for beginners, with no hidden tools or pre-loaded content. Everything on Codepen is right in front of you, waiting to be edited and customized.
Plus, it offers a wide range of features such as code snippets, collaboration tools, and a handy preview mode that lets you see how your website will look on different devices.
Pricing: $8 for the pro version
Key Features:
- Code snippets – includes a library of pre-written code snippets that you can use in your projects
- Collaboration tools – collaborate with other people to work on projects and brainstorm ideas
- Preview mode – preview your website on different devices such as PC, mobile, tablet, etc., to see how it will look when it’s published.
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Joomla
Joomla is a popular open-source content management system (CMS) that lets you create websites and manage their content quickly. It’s free to download and use, and there are plenty of templates and extensions available to help you get started.
Plus, it offers a wide range of features such as page management, user management, and built-in support for popular programming languages.
Pricing: Free!
Key Features:
- Page management – create and manage pages easily using the built-in tools
- User management – add and manage users, set permissions, and control access to your website
- Built-in support for popular programming languages – easily create websites using popular programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
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Mockplus
Mockplus is an all-in-one web prototyping tool that helps you design, build, and test prototypes quickly and easily.
It’s an excellent tool for beginners, with a simple drag-and-drop interface and pre-loaded content that makes it easy to get started. Plus, it offers a wide range of features such as interaction design, team collaboration, and instant preview.
Price: $199/Year
Key Features:
- A set of pre-made components (3000+) and icons (200+) to help you prototype faster and easier
- Collaboration tools for teamwork
- Support for Sketch, PSD, JPG, PNG, GIF, etc. to easily add images into the prototypes
- Export HTML files that can be viewed in a browser or mobile device
- Real-time collaboration – work on a project with your teammates in real-time
- Instant preview – view your website prototype directly on the browser or mobile devices to see how it looks
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Xampp and Mamp
Xampp and Mamp are two of the most popular local server software for Windows and Mac. They allow you to install a web server on your computer, so you can test websites and applications locally before publishing them online.
Price: Free!
Key Features:
- Allows you to install a web server on your computer
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Github
Github is a popular code hosting and collaboration platform that lets you store, share, and sync your code with others. It’s free to use for public repositories, and there are plenty of features available such as issue tracking, GIT branching, and code reviews.
Price: Free!
Key Features:
- Storage and syncing for your code
- Ticketing tools to help you manage bugs, tasks, and features
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Angular
All-in-one web app framework that helps you write client-side apps for mobile, desktop, and browser. It’s based on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to make the development process faster and easier.
Price: Free!
Key Features:
- It’s a framework built on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to speed up the development process.
- App-building tools such as AngularJS Material Design, UI Kitten, Boostrap 4, etc. to help you create unique interfaces with ease
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MySQL
MySQL is the most popular open-source database. It’s used by millions of developers worldwide to store data for their websites, applications, and more.
Price: Free!
Key Features:
- Storage for your website data
- Development tools such as phpMyAdmin to manage your data
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GIMP
GIMP is a free, open-source graphics editor for web design. It lets you create and edit graphics for your website, application, and more.
It also provides a string of tools for colour management and high-quality photo management. Its high-quality framework also lets you handle scripted image manipulation.
What’s more?
It supports multiple languages, including Perl, C++, C, Scheme, and more.
Key Features:
- Graphics editor for creating and editing graphics for your website or application
- Colour management and photo management tools
- Perspective distortion for images
- Filters to enhance your photo and make them stand out
- Eliminate barrel distortion and vignetting
- Graphic design elements: stunning art for user interface, mockups, icons, and more
- Hardware Support: GIMP supports various devices and hardware, like tilt-sensitive tablets, pressure, and a wide range of USB and MIDI controllers.
Price: Free! (For open-source project)
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Google Web Designer
Google Web Designer is a free web design software to create cross-platform layouts and animations. It has a simple WYSIWYG editor with an intuitive visual interface.
What’s more?
It also supports HTML5 Canvas, SVG, CSS3, prebuilt and custom components for faster production workflows. Plus, there’s a built-in library with curated fonts and vector graphics to choose from.
Features:
- A simple WYSIWYG editor to create cross-platform layouts and animations in no time
- An intuitive interface for quick workflows
Google Web Designer integrates seamlessly with Google Drive, Video 360, and Google Ads.
You can build all these components and more using JavaScript. It provides “Quick Mode,” a system for stringing together scenes sequentially to create better animation.
Characteristics like motion oaths and custom easing can also help you add more nice-looking animations to the pages you create.
What’s More?
You can design and develop your site simultaneously, switching between tech and design view to preview your design in real-time.
Price: Free! (For open-source project)
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Figma
Figma is a design toolkit that helps you create interface designs, user flows, and more. It has a simple yet powerful interface that lets you work with vector graphics, fonts, and symbols.
What’s more?
You can also share your designs with team members for feedback and collaboration. Plus, it integrates well with other tools like Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, and Illustrator.
Price:
Figma has three pricing plans to choose from:
- Starter: Free for up to three projects and two editors
- Professional: $12/editor/mo, billed annually
- Organization: $45/editor/mo, billed annually
Key Features:
- Intuitive, vector-based interface
- Arc tool
- Modern pen tools
- Vector Networks
- Team collaboration and feedback
- Observation Mode: Shows the presenters’ shadow moves, allowing you to track all the changes and edits you make.
- Allows you to inspect your design files efficiently. You can quickly grab and view your iOS, Android, or CSS codes.
- It also allows you to tag your team members quickly. You can tag them using @mention and notify them about project status, tasks, or comments.
The cloud-based and collaborative approach means large teams can work together effectively. Different stakeholders can drop comments, allowing developers to copy code snippets for a simplified collaboration process.
You can also take advantage of the animated prototypes that feel like you’re interacting with your project in real-time.
Figma also provides a rich fountain of canned, beautifully designed templates that you can use. You also have the option of downloading a plugin for almost anything you wish to add to your design, including stock imagery, flow diagrams, colours, etc.
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Adobe XD
Adobe XD is it a vector-based UX/UI web design tool that lets you design, prototype, and share your work with others? It provides a native experience on Mac and Windows built for design teams, product managers, and anyone else who wants to create hi-fi designs with simple tools.
What’s More?
Adobe XD enables you to design complete UI/UX design without using a third-party tool. You can create virtually anything, including user-flows, wireframes, high-fidelity designs, animations, and interactive prototypes.
You also don’t have to worry about syncing your design or combining them with multiple applications. That’s because it’s complete on its own, even though it can seamlessly integrate with other design tools, including Adobe tools like Illustrator and Photoshop.
Features:
- Auto animate
- Repeat Grid
- Responsive resize
Key Features
- Design Systems: Use design system in Adobe XD to design and share your character colours, styles, and components for collaboration. You can even use the tool to juggle multiple projects at once.
- Extensive Integration: The platform offers hundreds of plugins. It can also be integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud and a long list of other third-party tools.
- Content-aware layout: You don’t have to create or edit layouts manually. The tool will automatically make the necessary layout changes with every design adjustment.
Pricing Plans:
Adobe XD has three pricing plans:
- Adobe Starter: free
- XD: $9.99/month, billed annually
- XD for teams: $22.99/month/user
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Invision Studio
Invision Studio is a powerful and fast design tool that lets you create beautiful, high-fidelity prototypes in minutes. It’s simple enough for anyone to use, with a wide range of advanced features for advanced users.
What’s More?
Invision Studio imports your designs from Sketch, Photoshop, and Illustrator seamlessly. You create clickable mobile, tablet, and desktop prototypes that look like the real thing.
It also has powerful collaboration features to help teams keep track of feedback. Invision Studio’s built-in commenting makes it easy for users to leave comments on specific designs without switching tools.
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