Best Resources for Web UI/UX Designers

Websites have grown complicated over the years, a far cry from websites made primarily with HTML, CSS and Javascript. If anyone still remembers the days of geocities, websites were pretty wacky back then. As more and more activities are performed online, it is only natural for the demand in usability and flexibility to improve. During the early years of the internet, websites functioned like newspapers for dissipating information. Now, we can watch movies, shop, and collaborate on multiple ways. But none of these would be possible without having the necessary resources to pull this off like web page builders. We compiled a list of websites and pieces of software web developers use to build rich, dynamic websites for themselves or their clients, most of which I’ve used personally in the past.

IDE (Integrated Development Environment) Software

Complex codes demand sharp eyes. One misspelled word could mean hours of tracking for it to correct it. Those lost hours could mean lost traffic and profit. So having the right tools for the job is paramount. Color-coded words in code are a time and sanity saver for coders, and that’s just an expected feature for a modern IDE. Keeping track of different files and folders is also an important function by presenting these items in a clean and clear hierarchy tree structure that is visible on the IDE, usually to the side of the coding area. A clear hierarchy helps programmers visualize components of the project and how they relate to one another, without having to dig folders using the file explorer. Thus, we come to our first entry.

Visual Studio Code

Built to be lightweight and available for multi-platform support, compared to Microsoft Visual studio. This software supports many programming languages and plugins for expanding IDE functionality. It works with git repositories to ensure source codes are backed up to the cloud. The best part is it is free to use.

Netbeans

From Apache Software Foundation, Netbeans is a multiplatform IDE that is comparable to Visual Studio Code but with a more limited scope when it comes to languages supported. It primarily supports Java, Javascript, PHP, HTML, CSS, and C/C++. Just like VSCode, it’s also free to use. If you need to include GUIs in your Java application, Netbeans comes with a built-in GUI editor.

Software Utilities

On top of IDEs, web developers need ways to enhance their work routines. Various software utilities make this possible such as updating files on the live server.

WinSCP

It’s a small piece of software that functions similarly to Filezilla. The difference is WinSCP updates changes automatically, basically syncing the local and server-side source codes. If you wished Filezilla updated your source code changes as you saved them locally, this is the software you need.

Figma

Prototyping websites matter as it can save UI/UX designers time and energy in designing the website. Instead of spending hours messing with CSS and JS to find the correct codes to get the desired look, the website can be composed on-screen and presented to a client for approval or changes before even writing a single line of code.

Figma is free but also has a subscription tier. The higher the subscription plan, the more features are open to you.

Stock Photo and Video Platforms

Web design has changed a lot. There’s a lot of focus on negative spaces to allow the page to “breathe” and not look cluttered. But an element guaranteed to be present on any website these days is large hero images, the first thing users see when visiting a website. If you have a client, unless they provide you with the exact images or videos to use, you will have to source them yourself. Thankfully, stock videos and photos are available for purchase, some even free to use.

Pixabay

This platform is a repository for stock images and videos provided by users. A variety of media like photos, videos, audio, music, and animated GIFs are free to use for personal and commercial purposes.

Pexels

Another repository for stock media, but they only provide video and photos uploaded by users. The stock media are available for personal and commercial use.

Adobe Stock

If you work with Creative Cloud products like Adobe Photoshop CC, you can have access to Adobe Stock media for use or testing in your projects. Alternatively, you can browse the site itself and get a hold of stock media.

Most of the downloadable media are provided by users through another site portal for those who want to contribute and make money on the side.

To access all available media, you can apply for a subscription plan that comes at different tiers.

Fonts and Iconography

Whether developing a website or application or both, the experience of your users depends on the design of the interface. The design is a huge contributor. Symbols and clarity of text help a lot when navigating an interface. Carefully choosing what font and icons give the impression of legitimacy for a piece of software. Interface design for any software is an art form in itself.

Google Fonts

Google provides a repository for thousands of fonts and icons web designers can use for work. The fonts and icons are freely available to use for personal and commercial products free of charge. The fonts and icons can be downloaded locally or linked.

Icones

Icones hosts a vast range of categories for icons, so developers are likely to find what they are looking for here. The licenses for these icons differ from one another. They are variants of MIT, CC, Apache 2, or GPL. Using the website is convenient. You can pick the icons you need, stored in a virtual bag like shopping, and you can download them all at the same time for later.

JavaScript Libraries and Frameworks

An interactive user experience cannot be possible without the inclusion of complex code. But complex code means more time spent writing and debugging it to ensure it works properly for as many platforms as possible. Thankfully, libraries and frameworks exist to help programmers speed up development time and reduce errors.

JQuery

Good classic JS library that has been around since 2006. For DOM manipulation, JQuery makes it easy to do this by shortening the code required to perform an action. JQuery also has other extensions that expands its scope, namely, jQuery UI, jQuery Mobile, jQuery Sizzle, and more.

ChartJS

For data aficionados, nothing excites them more than graphs and data. But data can be tricky to visualize without the proper way of presentation. Graphs can convey a lot at first glance without even looking at the numbers. ChartJS is a brilliant library for laying out data. With this library, the graphs come in various designs, from simple bar graphs to line charts, to radar charts.

GPUJS

Javascript is, by default, single-threaded, and there are ways around this. But they can only do so much. If parallel computing is required, leveraging the power of a graphics processing unit brings huge advantages by cutting down time, energy consumption, and possibly improve the responsiveness of your website.

AnimeJS

Animating elements is one of the most effective means to enhance user experience. By introducing smooth transitions, you can make a static image pop up. Movement catches the eye, you can easily bring attention to an object on screen. Developers can also create animated menu such as the one below.

Conclusion

The rapid evolution of technology is bringing more and more advancements to how we communicate and dissipate information with the added bonus of faster internet connections for a richer and diverse library of media utilization.

The software tools listed here are not an exhaustive list, but these are very handy and still useful for basic functionalities that offer convenience like syncing files between the client (developer) side and server side. A picture says a thousand words, as the saying goes. With the right choice of imagery, a website can appear more professional and legitimate to an audience. Couple these with the extensive list of JavaScript libraries available, and a rich experience is presented to the audience, to what could otherwise be a static page, that will bring a lasting impact to your audience.