When building a website meant to compete with others in the same niche, performance, UX, UI, and future-readiness matter just as much as the design itself, especially when deadlines are tight. To stay future-ready, designers must keep up with tool updates, compatibility between resources, and the influence of newer design trends, including AI and WooCommerce.
Finding the best essential tools and resources in any category can take a lot of time. That’s why we’ve created this filtered, highly curated list to help you work faster and smarter.
12 Essential Tools and Resources for Designers and Agencies are:
- Top all-in-one AI web design workflow for agencies: CSAI
- Top lightweight and flexible WordPress theme for designers: Blocksy
- Top AI-powered no-code website builder for fast prototypes: Mobirise AI
- Top creative WordPress theme for high-end custom websites: Uncode
- Top advanced slider and animation tool for WordPress: Slider Revolution
- Top WooCommerce theme for large and complex online stores: Woodmart
- Top font identification tool for designers and developers: WhatFontIs
- Top broken link checker for websites and SEO: Link Check
- Top resource for editable vector illustrations: GetIllustrations
- Top plugin for dynamic grids and portfolios: Essential Grid
- Top conversion-focused WooCommerce theme for high-performing stores: XStore
- Top AI-powered multipurpose WordPress theme for agencies: Crafto
CSAI + Pro + Cornerstone – Best tool for agencies for harnessing the power of AI across website projects
- Top tool for: WordPress agencies because it functions flawlessly when building any website type inside WordPress.
- Key CSAI strength: CSAI enables its users to bring any AI model and AI mockups directly into Cornerstone and WordPress-with no lock-in.
- What users like about it: CSAI provides system prompts and saved prompts for fast prototyping inside WordPress.
Click anywhere on the video to see this tool live.
The CSAI tool is one of an entire suite of the Cornerstone Builder that includes the Pro Theme plus an entire suite of integrated products and services for added functionality. This includes things like Cornerstone Charts for interactive charts, SiteDrive for creating cloud libraries, and more. CSAI is especially great for beginners in that it helps them leverage the power of AI in their design efforts.
Updates and Releases: New version releases are phased in.
Major qualities:
- Support for All Formats: Full support for Chat, Copy, Code, Image, Video generation, and Speech.
- Bring Your Own AI Model: When connecting to any AI model, users bring the power of that model’s tools into WordPress and Cornerstone-no lock-in.
- Prompts: A customizable system prompt plus saved prompts support fast prototyping and consistent output.
- Native Mask Editor: Built-in masking tools for precise image edits directly inside WordPress.
Average Client Rating: 5 out of 5
Client Feedback: “I want to express my deep gratitude for your outstanding work on Cornerstone. Your creations have been a lifeline in my professional journey, helping me bring my creative ideas to life. Thanks to you, I found the job of my dreams during a challenging phase.”
Blocksy – A fast and flexible theme that is ideal for designers
- Top tool for: Blocksy is the right choice for those seeking maximum speed and flexibility.
- Key Blocksy strength: Its modular features and developer-friendly foundation make Blocksy ideal for projects that evolve over time.
- What users like about it: It seems frictionless. Options are precisely where one expects them to be
Click anywhere on the video to see this template live.
Blocksy prioritizes flexibility and extensibility. The theme fully supports WooCommerce with its ability to create engaging online stores. Blocksy starter site demos like this Furniture example provides a great start for a client that values a no-frills website.
Major qualities:
- UI: Blocksy users never feel like they have to continually be “fighting” the theme.
- Content creation: Advanced post layouts, clean typography controls, and dynamic featured images help writers stay focused on content and presentation.
- Layouts: Content layouts including headers, footers, and sidebars can quickly and easily be adjusted without any need for added plugins or code.
Average Client Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 860+ reviews
Client Feedback: “Blocksy is my go-to theme for new websites. It’s flexible enough to create what you want, and the theme defaults are tasteful and well-designed. The Pro version gives you some helpful additions. Recommended if you want a great theme that uses the customizer.”
Mobirise AI – Top AI-powered builder for web designers and developers
- Top tool for: Fast and efficient AI-powered website design.
- Key Mobirise AI strength: The builder’s ability to generate a working website prototype with a single prompt.
- What users like about it: Mobirise operation is straightforward.
Click the video to see how this AI-powered website builder works in action.
With Mobirise AI a truly engaging website can be generated by following simple instructions and using a single prompt. The initial website will rarely be the finished product, but it can be easily customized to perfection.
Major qualities:
- AI Text or image to Website: It takes only a single prompt from textual instruction, screenshot, or sketch to generate a website prototype.
- AI Content: AI-generated content can experience high conversion rates. AI-generated images and videos are high quality and easily personalized.
- AI Customizing: Editing and customizing can be made via AI chat.
- Publishing: Domain and hosting are provided. You can also use your own.
- Free Plan: The plan allows for creation of 3 free AI websites each month
Client Feedback: “The AI website builder was astonishingly intuitive. What I appreciated the most was the seamless drag-and-drop interface which allowed me to position elements anywhere on my site. The AI’s design recommendations saved me hours of second-guessing my layout choices.”
Uncode – WordPress theme known for its wealth of options
- Top tool for: Agency, business, and eCommerce websites along with Portfolio, Business, and eCommerce websites:
- Key Uncode strength: Discovering more than expected when watching a demo.
- What users like about it: Uncode’s demos give them the foundation and inspiration they sometimes need to get a project off to a good start.
Click anywhere on the video to see this template live.
The Uncode creative theme has long been a top-seller. Even though there are always a host of design aids at the designer’s fingertips, they often go to a demo first to get a project underway. Scrolling through Uncode’s highly downloaded Creative Prototype demo could provide some good ideas.
Updates and Releases: Updates and releases are in accordance with customer demands.
Major qualities:
- Design Options: A wealth of creativity-supporting design options.
- Page Builder: Uncode’s Frontend Page Builder is accompanied by an assortment of 85 design modules.
- Wireframes plugin: This prototyping tool comes with 750+ wireframe templates.
Average Client Rating: 4.89 out of 5 based on 3,430 reviews
Client Feedback: “From the complexity and flexibility to the ease of use and minimal back-end, I love this theme. The support team is always responsive when I get stuck. I have used it on over 20 sites so far and plan to for as long as I can!”
Slider Revolution – Top animation and cutting-edge slider creating tool
- Top tool for: Creating unique website layouts that often utilize special effects.
- Key Slider Revolution strength: Slider Revolution promotes future readiness in websites.
- What users like about it: Instant access to Slider Revolution’s ultra-modern templates together with its other design-oriented tools.
Click the video to see Slider Revolution in action.
Designing a future ready website is not always easy. The right tools to make that happen need to be at the designer’s fingertips. With Slider Revolution, the right tools include ultra-modern templates like this amusing and engaging WordPress Slider example.
Updates and Releases: Demos are released monthly.
Major qualities:
- Web Designers: Slider Revolution’s flexibility and creativity make attaining innovative solutions easier.
- Web Developers: Slider Revolution’s ultra-modern, responsive, and fully-loaded templates are easily put to good use.
- Marketers: Make full use of Slider Revolution’s control marketing content along with the animations and visual effects.
- Business Owners: The ability to create sensational designs that will make a business stand out.
Client Feedback: “Slider Revolution is so much fun to use and allows you to create a really professional-looking website in minutes with no coding necessary – Fantastic!”
WoodMart – Best WooCommerce store-building theme when size is not an issue
- Top tool for: Creating online stores of any size or complexity.
- Key WoodMart strength: Because Woodmart is a WooCommerce theme there is no need to acquire additional plugins to build a store.
- What users like about it: Whether the objective is to create a small store, a high-volume store, or a huge multivendor marketplace, WoodMart will get the job done.
Click anywhere on the video to see this template live.
Woodmart’s standout feature is its WooCommerce shop layout builder that, when used with a WPBakery or Elementor page builder, can create highly customized layouts for shop and single product pages. A Woodmart demo can also be used to aid in the design of any website type or niche. This Furniture 2 demo could for example be customized for use a store selling almost any product type.
Major qualities:
- Settings: Easily find options in Theme Settings
- Client specific features: These include social integrations for Marketers and a White Label option for developers,
- Elementor: Elementor Pro is not needed. The free version can be used with WoodMart.
Average Client Rating: 4.91 out of 5
Client Feedback: “Amazing Support. Always fast replying and amazing forums. Literally everything has been answered already. Keep it up!”
WhatFontIs – Best font finding and identification tool
- Top tool for: Top tool for accurately identifying fonts.
- Key WhatFontIs strength: Anyone can upload an image and instantly identify the font and/or its closest alternatives.
- What users like about it: This tool saves its users hours of manual font searching. It also integrates nicely into real-world workflows.
Click the video to see how WhatFontIs works in action.
WhatFontIs is preferred by web designers and developers because it enables them to upload an image and instantly identify the exact font being used or its closest alternatives. The tool’s AI feature analyzes shapes and other image details and returns font matches, licensing info, and font downloading links.
Major qualities:
- Fast and frictionless workflow: There is no need for setups or complicated steps. It is simply a matter of uploading an image to get matches in seconds.
- What developers and marketers like: They like many things including font naming and font-family information and easy handoff for CSS implementation. The tool provides logo/font identification to support brand consistency and competitor analysis.
- Management of imperfect images: WhatFontIs can usually correctly identify cropped or low-resolution images where most other font-finding tools cannot.
Client Feedback: “Gotta say, @WhatFontis is the best Font Finder I’ve used. Bookmark it!”
Dr. Link Check – Best tool for locating and repairing inoperative links
- Top tool for: Locating and repairing broken or inoperative website links.
- Key Dr. Link Check asset: The tool is fast, effective, and extremely easy to work with.
- What users like about it: Dr. Link Check focuses on one job and one job only and it does it well.
Click anywhere on the video to see Dr. Link Check in action.
What users love about Dr. Link Check is they don’t need to be constantly monitoring their websites to discover broken links. Dr. Link Check can save them a great deal of time and prevent situations where a broken link would negatively impact a site’s users or its SEO.
Major qualities:
- Dr. Link Check is dedicated: Dr. Link Check finds those broken links you would look for manually, and in addition it locates broken links in asset files or meta data that you could easily miss.
- Client Features: Dr. Link Check works the same for site owners, agencies and marketers, and anyone else.
- Website Project Types: Website type or size is never an issue. Nor is the number of links.
Client Feedback: “I actually really loved using your tool. We are just a small .gov site though and just wanted to check things before and after we made some global changes. The tool worked well for that. Good job.”
Getillustrations – Top source for editable vector illustrations
- Top tool for: Website and presentation illustrations.
- Key Getillustrations strength: Its huge and well-categorized selection of illustrations for a wide variety of uses.
- What users like about it: Hand-made vector illustrations are royalty-free and editable.
Click the video to see how this illustration library can be used in your designs.
Getillustrations is by far the largest comprehensive collection of unique human-made illustrations on the market. Its customers can choose from 30,000+ neatly categorized illustrations. These illustrations have been specifically designed for web and digital products.
Humano Chapter 1 is a typical selection. Its 50 elements are illustrated in a minimal outline style and focus on different genders, ethnicities, body types, and lifestyles
Updates and Releases: New illustrations are released weekly.
Major qualities:
- Concepts are based on perceived needs: Each package of illustrations addresses a specific context. Individual illustrations are hand-crafted and ready to use.
- Wide audience: GetIllustrations is not a favorite resource of web designers alone, it is a favorite of creative types in general.
- Downloadable formats: These formats include SVG, PNG, and Adobe Illustrator source files.
Average Client Rating: 4.9 out of 5
Client Feedback: “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!”
Essential Grid – Best for creating engaging grids and portfolios
- Top tool for: The design of unique and engaging grids and portfolios.
- Key Essential Grid strength: Essential Grid saves its users time
- What users like about it: Their galleries are engaging, load quickly, and display perfectly on all devices.
Click the video to see how the Essential Grid plugin works in action.
Essential Grid can be used with any website-building project in which a sortable grid listing of items is required. Users can create their own grid layouts or select from 50+ customizable grid skins. Either way enables them to complete projects quickly.
The ease of putting a grid skin to good use is illustrated in this Haven Portfolio Grid for WordPress example with its powerful hover effects.
Major qualities:
- Grid types: The Essential Grid library features 50+ grid skins, users also have a choice of cobble, even, and masonry grids, as well as the option to build their own grid designs.
- Responsiveness: Galleries load quickly and are 100% responsive.
- Social media content: Instagram and Facebook content can easily be uploaded to Essential Grid-created galleries and portfolios.
Average Client Rating: 4.8 out of 5 on TrustPilot
Client Feedback: “The plugin looks fantastic, which anyone can see, but when IG changed their login process the guys at ThemePunch jumped right in to write a customized patch to ensure that everything was back up and running in no time.”
XStore – Best theme for building conversion centered websites
- Top tool for: Creating WooCommerce stores ranging from small shops to large, high-traffic multivendor projects.
- Key XStore strength: Customers like the fact that whenever WordPress or WooCommerce updates their stores continue to function normally and do not suffer drops in performance.
- What users like about it: Users note how efficiently Gutenberg and Elementor work with XStore. The drag-and-drop editor is fast and responsive, even on highly complex WooCommerce pages.
Click anywhere on the video to see this template live.
XStore excels in virtually any store-building project including WooCommerce online stores of any size or niche. This is especially important for conversion-focused eCommerce websites where top performance is critical. Many, if not most XStore users, relay on the use of demos such as this Dark Moden Furniture example.
Major qualities:
- For Designers and Developers: The deep Gutenberg and Elementor integration provides pixel-perfect control.
- For Businesses: XStore’s ready-made store designs are popular design aides for businesses and store owners as are the product, cart, and checkout, and checkout pages.
Average Client Rating: 4.88 out of 5
Client Feedback: “I really like this theme; I found it very stable on another store and it has some great design options and modules. Have just bought a second license for a new project and when I needed support today I was impressed by how quickly I received a reply and then a follow up reply.”
Crafto – Best AI Powered theme for startup and agency design teams.
- Top tool for: Agencies and developers who constantly deal with quick project turnarounds.
- Key strength: Popular AI-powered features are seamlessly integrated into WordPress.
- What users like about it: Although AI does much of the initial work, users retain full control over the look and feel of the final product.
Click anywhere on the video to see this template live.
Notwithstanding the attention Craft’s impressive AI capabilities receive, its top feature is its collection of 52+ creative and interactive full website demos that include this engaging Branding and Design Agency example together with 1450+ fully editable templates and 325+ inner pages.
Major qualities:
- Theme Builder: This feature allows Crafto users to expertly design key areas of their website.
- Performance management: In-built management features include options often needed for website loading speed optimization.
- Website building wizard: Crafto’s website building wizard activates the theme’s license, installs plugins, and imports desired demo websites.
Average Client Rating: 4.81 out of 5
Client Feedback: “I love the customization options provided in all the custom widgets and also AI image and text generator was really helpful. I would love to use it for my other clients as well in the future.”
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Frequently Asked Questions
What tools or resources are best for creating large or very complex online stores?
- Blocksy is fast, flexible, and ideal for projects that start small and grow over time. For bigger, more complex stores, WoodMart is a WooCommerce-focused theme that lets you build large shops without needing extra plugins.
Which design tools are best for those serving multiple clients?
- Cornerstone with CSAI is a great option for fast turnaround projects, thanks to its AI-driven workflow. Crafto offers similar AI advantages, plus a large library of templates and inner pages, making it ideal for agencies and multi-client teams.
What are the best resources for creating engaging designs?
- Slider Revolution is perfect for creating striking animations and modern layouts. Essential Grid is best for building engaging portfolios and grid-based galleries, while GetIllustrations offers a huge library of customizable, hand-drawn vector illustrations.
Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.
His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.
He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008. Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients. His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8. He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.
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