This website is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Website design software
Want to design a website from scratch, but don’t have advanced HTML skills? Website design software is for you. It lets you build flexible, imaginative sites without having to worry too much about the web code itself. All you need is a bit of time, a little inspiration, and a willingness to learn.
Website design software comparison chart for 2023
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
WebSite X5 |
Xara Web Designer |
WebEasy Professional 10 |
Freeway 7 |
Rapidweaver 8.6 |
Coffeecup Site Designer |
|||||||||||||||
|
Excellent
 Very good  Good  Average  Poor  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Ratings | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Overall
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Setup
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Web design
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Features
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Search Engine Optimisation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Ecommerce
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Publishing
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Reporting
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Ease of use
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Help & support
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Web design | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
WYSIWYG editor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
HTML editor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Image editor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Graphics
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Templates
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Drag & drop
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Design preview
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Features | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Photo gallery
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
YouTube videos
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Flash
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Blogs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Google maps
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Banner advertising
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
SEO optimised
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Edit meta data
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Ecommerce | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ecommerce enabled
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Paypal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Publishing | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Upload manager
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Website hosting
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Reporting | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Website analytics
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Google analytics
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Supported programming languages | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
HTML
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
CSS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
ASP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
PHP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
JavaScript
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Help & support | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Telephone support
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Email support
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Live chat
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Manual
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Forums
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Tutorials
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
FAQs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Operating systems | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Windows 10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Windows 8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Windows 7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Windows Vista
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
Windows XP
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
Website design software explained
Website design software bridges the gap between the raw HTML code that a website is built from, and the finished pages as you see them in a web browser. It generates HTML code for you, so you can use a friendlier interface to create the elements that make up your website pages.
Most website design software will allow you to access the HTML code too. You may have to edit it on occasion to tweak your site or enable certain functions, so if you’re not familiar with it, be prepared to learn in order to fully exploit the software.
However, that’s one thing website design software can really help you with. Just flip between the WYSIWIG (‘what you see is what you get’) and HTML views to see how different chunks of HTML code actually appear on the screen. It’s a great way to pick up HTML techniques.
Getting started with website design software
Consider your level of HTML knowledge when choosing website design software. Some packages are aimed squarely at people who really understand how HTML works – they’re geared more towards providing shortcuts for experienced web designers rather than offering an easy way in for people who want to learn HTML.
Some even offer support for other web technologies, like the JavaScript and PHP code that many interactive and personalized websites use.
Simpler packages are more suitable if your HTML knowledge is limited. They may include tutorials and templates to get you started, comprehensive support in case you run into problems – and a library of tools to add functions quickly to your site.
With the help of website design software, creating a website is getting easier all the time. What sort of site would you build?