Most Important Web design tools you can inspire

Specializing in Inspire

Designing and constructing a modern front-end in any web project can be a long and difficult process. Here’s a collection of links to help you….
Concept Inspire
These sites are good to get a general idea of possible layouts and style paths to take.

  • Awwwards – More splendid sites of various styles.
  • Dribbble – Snaps of icons, doodles, sites, and more from a talented group of people.
  • Httpster – A curated list of the best sites around the Internet.
  • siteInspire – Get inspired.
  • MinimalSites – Another list of sites, but on the much simpler side.
  • Designer News – The best design / development links from the ‘net.
  • CSS Winner – Reviewed list of great websites.
  • TheBestDesigns – General list of hand picked sites from across the web.
  • OnePageLove – Great influence for one page and general website design.
  • CodeMyUI – List of code snippets for fancy CSS/JS that make an awesome UI.
  • CodePen – Central repository of user submitted code concepts/snippets. Great for experiments.
  • CodyHouse – Tutorials and showcase of awesome UI elements.
  • CSS3 Cheat Sheet – CSS3 Cheat Sheet

Creation
These sites are good for building a basic framework for the site.

  • Color
    • ColorPicker – Simple yet affective. The name says it all.
    • Kuler – Easily create or view a custom color swatch for your site.
    • Spectral – Minimal color swatch creation.
  • Unsemantic – Provides a good grid framework for small to large projects.
  • MDN – Documentation for HTML, CSS, JS, etc.
  • Bootstrap – Very popular framework for building modern websites and web apps.
    • Bootswatch – A list of free themes for Bootstrap.
  • Iconmonstr – A collection of free, simple icons.
  • Ionicons – Another great collection of free icons.
  • Subtle Patterns – A massive archive of free backgrounds for your projects.
  • Google Fonts – Tons of free, easy to use web fonts.
  • Text to ASCII – Add some sexy Easter eggs in your source code.
  • CSS3 Animation Cheat Sheet – A collection of CSS3 animation snippets.
  • Flat UI – A superb HTML and CSS framework for flat design. It’s the juice.
  • CSS2Stylus – Convert your CSS to Stylus.
  • YMNNJQ – See jQuery functions in natural JS. No libraries.
  • User Inter Faces – Get ipsum images for user images.
  • Images
    • AllTheFreeStock – All the Free stock mmages, videos, sounds and icons in one location.
    • TheStocks.im – A collection of great stock photo websites.
    • Unsplash – Free, high quality stock photos.
    • Albumarium – A large collection of free stock photos.

Tools
Every painter needs a brush. Well… Most do.

  • Sublime Text – A very popular text editor for developers.
    • Themes
      • Flatron – It’s flat, purple, and hella sexy.
  • Atom – A hackable text editor for the 21st century.
  • FileZilla – For those who fear FTP in the terminal.
  • WinSCP – Upload files to a MEAN stack or VPS server.
  • Sketch [OS X only] – A professional vector graphics app.

Collaborate
Working with a team? These links are for you.

  • Cloud9 – An awesome, zen way to work with others in the cloud.
  • Gist – Share code and text with others fast. Like a mini repository.
  • Scratchpad.IO – A simple, RTC tool for coding and previewing websites.
  • Red Pen – Share your design and get feedback seamlessly.
  • Invoice Ninja – Open source invoicing platform.

Backends
Every awesome web app needs an awesome backend.

  • Firebase – A real-time front-end database for your sites.
  • DigitalOcean – A cheap and quality VPS hosting company.
  • Heroku – Cloud application platform; very easy to scale.

Testing
Before you launch, these are good tools to make sure your site is ready for stardom.

  • Placehold – Generate custom placeholder images of any size.
  • Browserling – Cross-browser test your website.
  • CodePen – A free web editor in your browser.
  • WooRank – A review tool for SEO elements, W3 validation, and numerous other variables. Free basic service.
  • Yslow – Tool for analyzing and finding fixes for multiple causes of slow site loading.
  • Hurl.it – Make HTTP requests in the browser.
  • Localtunnel – Open localhost ports to the world.
  • Postman – A Chrome extension to make HTTP requests.

Good Reads
Need something to read in your spare time?

  • Smashing Magazine – A magazine for all things digital design.
  • CSS-Tricks – Awesome blog on anything and everything related to CSS.
  • Codrops – Great collection of design techniques for modern web developmers and designers.
  • Insert HTML – A blog covering current and upcoming techniques and technologies for web developers.
  • 1stWebDesign – A good, simple blog on web development and design.
  • A List Apart – Guest bloggers and full books on topics from coding to business practices.
  • GoodUI – It’s definitely not bad.
  • Mentor – Get random advice from other designers and developers.
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