Web design is a job that requires a wealth of creativity, logistical know-how, and perseverance. Thankfully, the designers and developers know how to make the most of their talents and share what they know with others in the industry in ways that can turn even the most beginner user into a pro.
This is a collection compiled with the help of our designers and developers, to highlight what we love about website design and where we go to get the latest on trends, tips, tutorials, and inspiration.
1. Good UI
Good UI is a great example of a site that practices what it preaches. Exploring the blog for a few moments will reveal that it does exactly what its name implies: demonstrates good UI design and practices. The fluid, stream-of-conscious-like format makes their collection of ideas easy to get through without sacrificing quality or information.
The simple layout keeps the focus on the content which is geared toward ideas for great UI design, and both the sidebar and counter make it easy to keep tabs on your progress as you read through the blog.
Must Read: Trying Distinct Clickable/Selected Styles Instead of Blurring Them
2. Creative Bloq
Creative Bloq is a favorite among designers, and for good reason. This site takes creative and inspirational approaches to all matters of design, from web, graphic, and 3D design, to digital art, typography, and VFX. It delivers this great content on a daily basis to keep its audience up to date on all the latest trends and techniques in the industry.
Must Read: 10 Psychological Techniques for Engaging Your Users
3. Smashing Magazine
This magazine is arguably one of the most popular design and development blogs out there right now. Its quality over quantity approach has earns more than its fair share of bookmarks, along with its attention to the latest web design trends, techniques, and technologies.
Smashing Magazine’s blog is a wealth of free resources and expertise, but if that’s not enough, you can also purchase their books (physical and digital) for even more empowering design knowledge.
Must Read: Easy Steps to Better Icon Design
4. Tuts+
Tuts+ places focus on hands-on learning to engage beginner and skilled designers alike by supplying them with actionable lessons and study guides. This kind of learning helps them apply their existing creative skills to areas including photography, coding, web design, and illustration.
The real treat to using Tuts+ is that it lets you go through tutorials at your own pace. The breadth of tutorials and topics gives users the chance to explore myriad skills related to their creative digital interests.
Must Read: A Comprehensive Introduction to Visual Design
5. Web Design Ledger
Web Design Ledger is very much a ‘for and by’ web designers project. This site is all about helping others to share their experiences, useful resources like tutorials and tips, inspiration, and knowledge on all things design.
Besides being a platform intent on sharing the best of the best in terms of web and mobile design, its blog is updated several times daily with fresh and interesting content.
Must Read: Design a Carousel Slider in Adobe XD
6. Speckyboy Design Magazine
This design magazine sprang from humble beginnings as a personal freelance web design site, but has since become a go-to blog where designers can find resources, tutorials, and inspirational ideas for all areas of website design.
They cover web and mobile app design from all levels, and delve into some of the latest web trends and technologies.
Must Read: 8 Super Common Mistakes That Beginner Designers Make
7. Cognition (Happy Cog)
The creative folks over at Happy Cog created Cognition as an outlet for all their musings on anything digital, from design and coding to their experiences. They’ve written content centered around dozens of topics, including UX, front-end development, design, project management, and even client services.
They take a candid, if not sometimes eclectic approach to these topics that provide not only invaluable insight into the design process, but shed light on the human components of developing websites from the ground up.
Must Read: Distributed Yet Synchronized
8. Awwwards
If you’re interested in checking out some of the latest and greatest talent in the web design and development industries, give Awwwards a look. This site not only takes the time to recognize and promote up-and-coming designers, but it also features a host of trending tips and tutorials, along with other great freebies within the Awwwards blog.
Must Read: Do We Need Frameworks
9. Abduzeedo
Abduzeedo is all about inspiration and visuals to keep the creative designers creative. The design blog collects helpful how-to’s and visual inspiration daily for its users. They even utilize case studies and quick-tips to promote the benefits of tutorials and the software they’re designed for.
Abduzeedo covers topics including photography, typography, and logo design; but it also features interviews and ‘sites of the week’ as well.
Must Read: Brushes, Mobile UI Kits, and More.
10. A List Apart
Last but not least, A List Apart is an online publication that started way back in 1998 and caters to any and all people who make websites. They explore what it means to design and develop websites, including the meaning of web content and the standards/practices that define good web content.
Must Read: All Talk and No Buttons: The Conversational UI
If you aren’t already subscribed to or follow the sites on this list, give them a try; and if you follow any web design and development blogs that we forgot to mention, let us know in the comments section below.
