Top 15 Tools and Resources You Need and Their Cool Features

Top 15 Tools and Resources You Need and Their Cool Features

  • by The Logo Creative

    • Overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of available web design resources and tools? You are not alone.

    It can get to the point that every web site design tool you hear about begins to sound like any other. And that can make finding one you really have a need for a problem.

    This list of 15 first-rate free and premium web design resources and tools gives you an alternative and includes:

    • Tools for creating ecommerce stores – Shopify brings in more fans every day, so it made sense to include a Shopify theme. We’ve also included best-selling WordPress themes that are specifically WooCommerce oriented.
    • Tools for creating websites and pages – You’ll find promising free AI website builder in the listing together with some excellent free and premium WordPress themes. They will have what you need no matter the page or website you intend to build.
    • Tools for adding animations & special effects – static web pages are rarely good at converting visitors. We’ve selected tools to help your website charm its visitors into making purchases – and are also fun to work with.
    • Resources for visually improving your website – visual elements provide an excellent way to differentiate between related products or services. We’ve included unique icons and illustrations and a free font identifier you can use to identify any cool or must-have font you may come across.
    • Tools for adding popular website functionalities – One of the most sought after post-2020 functionalities is appointment booking. We have included two tools that are easy to use and will do an excellent job, plus another that makes managing complex data less stressful.

    The list:

    What do these awesome Web Design Tools and Resources have in common? 

    • Most of them are free or have a free version. They can save you money.
    • They are of high quality. They are aesthetically and functionally best-in-class.
    • Your website projects will look better. These awesome web design resources and tools will turn a bland website or page into one that is anywhere from more appealing to downright exciting.

    1. Trafft – White Label Booking Software for Agencies

    The product in one sentence: Trafft White Label is the perfect solution when you need a powerful booking system.

    Click anywhere on the video to see Trafft features live.

    Trafft enables you to offer online appointment bookings, accept payments, organize team schedules, send reminders, and more. Its top feature, a White Label Option, allows developers to rebrand and sell the Trafft solution as their own.

    Whether or not you use the While Label option, there is plenty to like about Trafft such as:

    • the ease of navigation and its modern interfaces.
    • the depth of customization possible.
    • the ability for virtual meeting scheduling using Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Zoom.
    • Trafft’s library of prebuilt websites.

    Regarding the latter, the Premantura Health Clinic  pre-built website provides an example of how to handle bookings for various medical services, but can be customized to fit almost any kind of services.

    Booking software rating: 5 stars on Capterra, 4.7 (Excellent) on Trustpilot.

    User review: “The simple and intuitive user interface and the management of multiple users is what puts Trafft ahead of the competition. It’s really easy to use and very customizable. And then on top of that, the price, simply unbeatable! Also, there is the important Google Calendar connection and synchronization with Trafft.” 

    Readily accessible support materials: YouTube videos, Support manual, social networks, email, and Customer Support via the Ticketing System

    See the Booking Plugin in action

    2. wpDataTables -The Best WordPress Table and Chart Plugin

    The product in one sentence: The wpDataTables best-selling WordPress plugin makes working with table, charts, and data management easy.

    Click anywhere on the video to see this wpDataTables live.

    wpDataTables is well-known for its ability to enable its users to easily create informative and responsive tables/charts under challenging circumstances. Its best feature, Multiple Database Connections is relatively new. It enables any table to establish an independent connection to MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MS SQL databases, making it a virtual data hub that seamlessly integrates data from disparate sources. Any table you create with wpDataTables becomes a portal to a network of diverse data resources.

    You will quickly discover other advantages this plugin gives you. Its intuitive user interface helps streamline your data management tasks by making them appear much less complex, and you will be able to handle complex data structures with finesse with the separate database connections, single cell shortcodes, 4 chart building engines, etc.

    Templates can also be helpful. The Responsive Financial Table template for example,  can be customized to address to a wide range of uses.

    Table and Chart Plugin rating: 4.5/5 on WordPress.org

    User review: “This is the best plugin for displaying tables and charts! And the support is the best one I had on WordPress. Responses within hours and problem fix the same day !”

    Readily accessible support materials: Support Manual, Facebook Community, YouTube videos.

    See the Table and Chart Plugin in action

    3.Amelia – Enterprise-Level Booking Plugin for Appointments and Events

    The product in one sentence: Amelia is a comprehensive easy-to-use plugin that can help you to create and manage bookings and events.

    Click anywhere on the video to see Amelia usage live.

    The automated multilingual notifications system is Amelia’s most notable feature. A favorite of 70+% of its users, the system seamlessly confirms or rejects appointments via email and can make payments using the payment link.

    It keeps you well-informed about the status of events or appointments and enables efficient communication between clients and employees.

    When triggered by specific actions or scheduled alerts, Amelia ensures timely and hassle-free management of events and appointments.

    Templates can help you set up a customized website that will make booking easier for your established clients as well as attract potential clients. Coach for a Healthy Life is a typical example.

    You will quickly become attuned to Amelia’s ease of navigation, user friendly design, and depth of customization options.

    Booking Plugin rating: 4.8 on Capterra.

    User review:  “I’ve been using Amelia for a couple of months now on a client’s website. It’s easy to install and set up. There are so many options it can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but the support team have been extremely helpful and pointed me in the right direction. There have been regular updates and new features added. The backend management is simple and easy to use.”

    Readily accessible support materials: Support Manual, Discord Group, YouTube Videos

    See the Booking Plugin in action

    4. Uncode – Creative Multiuse & WooCommerce WordPress Theme

    The product in one sentence: The Uncode WordPress theme enables you to create amazing WooCommerce websites with no need for coding knowledge.

    Click anywhere on the video to see this multiuse WooCommerce theme live.

    Uncode’s users without exception point to the theme’s WooCommerce demo library as their preferred feature. Pick any demo and you’ll discover that the secret behind their choice is the demos’ exceptional attention to detail along with their inspirational qualities.

    It would be impossible to say which demo is their absolute favorite. That would depend on the needs of the individual Uncode user. The Creative Company demo is one of the five most widely used and canbe customized to fit a large number of different uses. What could you do with it?

    As an Uncode user, you’ll quickly become aware of the substantial level of customization available to you along with the value the demos and wireframes can provide, and the first-class client assistance.

    Are you a shop creator? If so, you could easily put Uncode’s advanced WooCommerce features to effective use.

    If, on the other hand, you are a freelancer or represent an agency, Uncode’s advanced customization options will prove valuable.

    Theme rating: 4.89/5

    User review: “Excellent Theme and Very nice staff. I’m really thankful how kindful they are. Theme looks match no words.”

    Readily accessible support materials: Support manual, Facebook Group, YouTube videos

    See the Theme in action

    5. Mobirise AI Free Website Builder

    The product in one sentence: Easy-to-use free AI-powered website builder perfect for building a page, small website, or blog.

    Click anywhere on the video to see Mobirise AI live.

    Any system that enables you to accomplish a lot by doing very little is worth looking into. The Mobirise AI Website Builder’s best feature does exactly that with its ability to build a page or small website with a single prompt.

    The innovative use of AI is the secret. Give Mobirise a set of requirements for your website, follow up with a prompt, and it will produce a content-rich website. You will still have to do some adjustments or additions to attain perfection, but AI does most of the work.

    Mobirise AI’s extensive template library can also help in getting a project underway. Rather than submitting an initial list of requirements you can focus on customization through the use of prompts.

    AI saves you time, can be tailored to address your site’s overall message, ensures your content is engaging, and is SEO optimized.

    Note the builder’s ability to respond to prompts typed in any language, download your new website as a ZIP file, and edit content without any need for code.

    Readily accessible support materials: The User Forum, YouTube Videos, and Support manual.

    Explore the AI builder here.

    6. LayerSlider- WP Slider Plugin

    The product in one sentence: LayerSlider stands out as the premier choice among WordPress plugins to craft stunningly designed and animated web content.

    Click anywhere on the video to see LayerSlider live.

    LayerSlider is the WordPress plugin you should have in your web design tool kit to make sliders, slideshows, popups, or even full websites.

    This versatile tool can boast several remarkable features, the most important of which is its ability to seamlessly integrate spectacular animations, special effects, and graphics into your website to create a live connection between your content and the visitor.

    You may also want to take advantage of the pre-made, downloadable, and visually stunning professional templates. You can easily customize them by incorporating your own content.

    Among these features is LayerSlider’s scroll effect, which is certainly one of the most impressive and can be seen in the newer templates. Check out what happens as you scroll down the Parallax City website template.

    With LayerSlider, everything you need is at your fingertips, just where it should be. LayerSlider can be used with any website, regardless of its content.

    User review: “This slider plugin is amazing. It can do just about anything you can think of for slides. The dashboard is well designed and easy to use.”

    Readily accessible support materials: Email, Support Ticket System, and built-in help in the Project Editor.

    See the Plugin in action

    7. WhatFontis Free Font Finder  

    The product in one sentence: A free font finder that helps you to identify a font from the image you submit.

    Click anywhere on the video to see WhatFontis live.

    WhatFontis has many popular features. Its top feature could best be described as this: it is simply the best at doing what it has been designed to do, and that is to correctly and accurately identify uploaded font images. Whether a font is available for free or requires a commercial license, WhatFontis is the only system that can truly boast a 90%+ accuracy rate in font identification.

    Hits and misses happen and are mainly attributed to substandard image uploads.

    How WhatFontis works:

    1. Its AI-powered search engine provides quick answers to your queries.
    2. It has a database of 990K+ free and commercially licensed fonts (nearly 5 X greater than the database size of its nearest competitor).
    3. Additionally to identifying a submitted font image, WhatFontis gives you 60 close relatives and lets you know where you to download a free font or where to purchase a licensed one.

    User review: “I use it when I get some artwork to modify from clients but there is no source. The old designer left, and all the client has is the final product not the vectors or sources. Good product, saves me a lot of (unbillable) time.” 

    Readily accessible support materials: Font Identifier Forum

    Explore WhatFontis here.

    8. Essential Grid Gallery WordPress Plugin

    The product in one sentence: With Essential Grid, you can create any gallery design you can envision.

    Click anywhere on the video to see this plugin live.

    It should come as no surprise that Essential Grid’s best feature is its collection of 50+ unique grid skins, because that is what this gallery-building plugin is all about.

    Check out Essential Grid’s gallery skins and you’ll likely come across a grid format you’ve never seen before.

    The Denis Savard Portfolio Grid for WordPress is a logo-based image grid that reveals its imagery upon hover. What attracts people to this portfolio grid is its simple layout that nevertheless offers a new take on what a gallery layout might look like.

    You can find out from the Essential Grid’s users how much of a time saver it is, and how effective it has been in organizing their content streams.

    Gallery plugin rating: 4.7/5 on Trustpilot

    User review: “I use Essential Grid for two of my online stores and it plays an essential part since that’s how I present all of our products. I chose the EG for its flexibility and customization options. I had an issue with compatibility with another plugin. The developers figured it out and wrote a custom script for me to make it all work.”

    Readily accessible support materials: YouTube Videos, Support Manual

    See This Gallery Plugin in action

    9. Blocksy – Free WordPress Theme

    The product in one sentence: Blocksy is a fast, lightweight WordPress theme built with the latest web technologies.

    Click anywhere on the video to see this theme live. 

    Ask Blocksy clients what its best feature is, and you get a list. In other words, it really comes down to what’s important to you. Is it Blocksy’s White Label module? Maybe it’s Blocksy’s Advanced WooCommerce integration capability, or the Custom Blocks Module. How about the way in which Blocksy supports Custom Post Types and Dynamic Data, or that it is free?

    There’s a lot to like so select your favorite. Either way, Blocksy is fast, easy to use, and features granular controls designed to give you access control over different aspects of your final design or product.

    Blocksy’s stunning demos make great website building aids. The Smile Dent demo, one of the 5 most popular demos, will give you a head start whether you have a business or personal website solution in mind as the layout  lends itself to a variety of uses.

    Theme rating: 5/5 on WordPress.org

    User review: “Blocksy, is amazing. Easy to configure and really fast. Even the free version with the free templates has all the basic options that you will need, no hidden settings or pay this to unlock that!”

    Readily accessible support materials: Facebook Group, YouTube videos, and Support manual documentation section.

    See the Blocksy in action.

     10. Slider Revolution Responsive WordPress Plugin

    The product in one sentence: Use this versatile WordPress plugin to create stunning visuals you can use to build responsive sliders, carousels, hero sections and more.

    Click anywhere on the video to see this slider plugin live.

    Slider Revolution’s top feature is the ability it gives you to easily design stunning website content sections and home pages, highlight special products, and more. You can either create your own designs, borrow from other sources or your favorite content inventories, or both.

    At one time, the Slider Revolution plugin was limited to the simple creation of sliders. That’s no longer the case. With this plugin in your design toolkit, you can:

    • create home pages that grab and hold a viewer’s attention.
    • create eye-catching portfolios that cannot be unseen.
    • design jaw-dropping sections on any website page you choose.

    Do you like chocolate? Whether you do or not, imagine what you could do with the Chocolate Bar Product template.

    Slider Revolution is especially well tailored for web shops, small agencies, and individual web designers.

    Plugin rating: 4.65/5 on Trustpilot

    User review: “There was a steep learning curve, but, once you clear those hurdles, the plugin is a pleasure to work with. There is a great amount of flexibility with the creation, formatting, and placement of content. Did encounter occasional bugs.” 

    Readily accessible support materials: Support Manual and YouTube Videos

    See the slider plugin in action

    11. GetIllustrations- Comprehensive Stock Illustrations Library

    The product in one sentence: The ideal resource if you are looking for top quality stock and custom illustrations.

    Click anywhere on the video to see this pack live.

    Every one of GetIllustrations’ stock illustrations packs is a must – have for someone. You would agree after having reviewed a few. The packs contain more than 23,000 creative illustrations in 43 categories that range from Animals and Pets to Utilities and Tools.

    Since each vector illustration you select includes the original vector design files and is fully editable, you can customize it to fit your brand’s colors or needs.

    The graphics are spot-on as far as carrying their intended messages and are ideal for everything from motivational and educational content to corporate presentations, and beyond. The Team Illustrations pack of 60 illustrations elements is teamwork and customer support oriented (not sports oriented). The elements feature a minimal flat style with a simple color pallet.

    Every illustration you purchase includes a standard commercial license and is yours to keep forever.

    If you have an idea for an illustration and you cannot find it in the illustration library, you can contact GetIllustrations for a quote and receive a response within 24 hours.

    User review: “Great product and I like the alternative as opposed to just using adobe stock for illustrations for my app. Really like the illustrations you have to offer!”

    Readily accessible support materials: check out RamyWafaa on Twitter.

    See GetIllustrations in action

    12. XStore – The Most Complete WooCommerce WordPress Theme

    The product in one sentence: With XStore you can build websites that positively rock!

    Click anywhere on the video to see this WooCommerce theme live.

    XStore is famous for its selection of pre-built online stores. A relatively new feature has however replaced the pre-built online store selection as XStore’s top feature, and that is its selection of Sales Booster Features.

    XStore has the highest number of sales booster features on the marketplace. They include Frequently Bought Together, Cross sells after “Add to Cart,” a sticky ad to cart bar, a Free Shipping progress bar, and more. Each of these customer-centric features was selected to make shopping quicker and increase a store’s conversion rate.

    XStore also features a Single Product Builder, an Archive Products Builder, a Checkout Builder, and a Cart Builder for shop owners.

    The XStore Builders Panel and XStore Control Panel are simple to work with and you will find the aforementioned Booster Sales fun to incorporate as well. The online stores (demos) are made to get your project off to a rapid start. The Elementor Niche Market store is one of the most frequently used and can be put to a wide variety of uses.

    Theme rating: 4.88/5

    User review: “XStore is such a great theme, it makes it hard to choose the main reason for the rating. Excellent support, great features, built in wishlist and compare functions to name a few, a lot of beautiful demos to choose from and very useful extensions for Elementor.”

    Readily accessible support materials: Support Manual, YouTube Videos

    See the theme in action

    13. WoodMart – Multipurpose WooCommerce Theme

    The product in one sentence: WoodMart is your premium WordPress theme for creating fast and responsive WooCommerce stores.

    Click anywhere on the video to see this WooCommerce theme live.

    Just glance at the WoodMart website and its top feature (realism) will jump right out at you and invite you to start shopping –  right now!

    You will first have to put WoodMart to work building a store for other shoppers to visit. With WoodMart’s exceptional set of design tools at your fingertips it should not take long once you have your content in place.

    You will find plenty to like about WoodMart, including:

    • popular customer-centric features such as “Dynamic Discounts”, “Frequently Bought Together”, and the social integrations options.
    • the Theme Settings Search capability and Theme Settings performance optimization features.
    • the ease in layout customizing.

    WoodMart also features a White Label option that is worth giving some serious thought to if you are a developer, Marketers will find the social integrations functionality useful.

    Most of the demos enjoy plenty of usage. Demo Tools is one of the most popular. You can easily see its possibilities.

    Theme rating: 4.93/5

    User review:  “Everything the theme has a variety of customisation and the support is just amazing they have wonderful people to support. You really happy and satisfied choosing woodmart!”

    Readily accessible support materials: Support Manual, YouTube Videos

    See the theme in action

    14. Hongo – Modern & Multipurpose Shopify Theme

    The product in one sentence: Hongo is a modern, multi-purpose and highly flexible Shopify theme for creating Shopify online stores, websites, and blogs.

    Click anywhere on the video to check out this template live.

    Hongo’s design quality is its most outstanding feature. When that quality is passed on to the Shopify-type websites you can create, the value of this theme becomes clear, as is the money you will save by using Hongo’s custom eCommerce features instead of Shopify apps.

    You’ll find that Hongo is built for speed, with excellent performance on mobile, and even better on desktops. Its carefully crafted 19 demo stores (with more to come) address a variety of popular eCommerce niches, together with 150+ sections, and 100+ pre-built pages to work with.

    Hongo is built with the latest design trends but it is still user-friendly and easy to navigate, which will attract users to remain on the eCommerce store for more time and hence increase the chances of more buy.

    Give the Jewelry Demo a look. It could serve admirably as a starter site. Demos can also be mixed and matched.

    Theme rating: 4.87/5

    User review: “Awesome design with a lot of customizable features and works with any store and field! Loved the customer service too!”

    Readily accessible support materials: Support Manual, YouTube Videos, and 150+ online articles

    See the theme in action

    15. Litho – the Multipurpose Elementor WordPress Theme

    The product in one sentence: Litho is a creative business, portfolio, blog, and eCommerce multipurpose Elementor WordPress theme.

    Click anywhere on the video to see this Elementor WordPress theme live.

    Litho’s top feature is its close ties with Elementor, ties that give it remarkable page building options and capabilities. Litho serves a variety of user types that include freelancers, artists, shop owners, digital agencies, bloggers, and writers.

    You will find it easy to make excellent use of Litho’s capabilities. You can customize most of page items using Elementor-like header, footer, mini header, archive page / post template, page title and promo popups. Note also what the demos have to offer. They can be imported individually or en masse and mixed and matched.

    Litho’s Interior Design demo is one of its most popular. Its scrolling and special visual effects used will work well for almost any product-oriented website as will the layout in general.

    Theme rating: 4.94/5

    User review: “Overall, this is an amazing product with more amazing customer service. They are very good at communication, addressing the need and attentively making sure the customer is fully supported wherever they need the assistance. Their products rock from get go. I’m very happy with this purchase.”

    Readily accessible support materials: Support manual, YouTube videos, One to one support ticket system, and the Litho support portal

    See the theme in action

    Our objective was to compile a list of lesser-known but excellent web design resources and tools that you may utilize to produce persuasive websites for visitors through aesthetically superior design and visuals. Ecommerce sites that can effectively convert visitors into clients, and high demand website functionalities.

    We think the objective has been achieved, and we’ve given you the important information you need to decide whether to test a tool or resource or not.

    Among this listing of great website resources and tools you will find:

    • several excellent free and premium WordPress themes.
    • a promising free AI page and website builder
    • two appointment booking plugins that are easy to use and will do an excellent job. And another plugin that makes managing complex data less stressful.
    • tools for building ecommerce stores. Including a Shopify theme and a selection of WooCommerce-oriented themes.
    • dynamic animation tools to help your website charm its visitors into making purchases and are fun to work with.

    Most are free or have a free version, all are of high quality, and some of them can be used to turn a bland website or page into one that is downright exciting.

    Join The Logo Community

    We hope you enjoyed the Top 15 Tools and Resources You Need and Their Cool Features.

    If you would like more personal tips, advice, insights, and access to our community threads and other goodies, join us in our community.

    You can comment directly on posts, access our community threads, have a discussion and ask questions with our founder Andrew.

    If you’re looking to learn more about brand strategy, we highly recommend eRESONAID with our friend and acclaimed brand strategist and author Fabian Geyrhalter, it’s packed full of knowledge and insights you will need to learn to become a brand strategist or apply what you learn within your own business.

    eRESONAID - The Brand Strategy Framework - Online Course by Fabien Geyrhalter