7 places to look for inspiration for your next web project

Research of inspirational designs and creative websites helps in developing a sense of aesthetics and being more aware of current trends. If you are a marketer or business owner who intends to commission the construction of a new website, be sure to read my article and see where you can look for inspiration.

Being inspired by the world-class projects has many benefits: 

• you will quickly find a common language with developers,
• you will be able to delegate the implementation of inspiring ideas or solutions,
• you will more easily judge the quality of the projects graphics,
• you will be able to make sure that your website is in compliance with current trends,
• you will be able to better predict whether your website will hit a chord with the audience.

The following list contains sources of inspiration that are worth browsing through before you start working on website development. There is nothing wrong with checking out what others are doing and working with the best, trusted solutions. Thanks to that you will be able to create an effective products that will be well received by consumers. However, it has to be an inspiration, not plagiarism!

Awwwards

This is one of the most prestigious professional web design and development competition body for website creators. Awwwards mission is to discover, recognize and promote the talent and effort of web developers. The jury distinguished work of designers and programmers, which is characterized by its usability, innovation, intuitiveness and beauty. We can proudly say that we are members of this prestigious group of evaluators, which is composed of experts from around the world, such as Davy Rudolph - Interactive Art Director at Apple and Tobias van Schneider - Art Director at Spotify.

Websites that are submitted to the competition are assessed after the preliminary verification. Every day one website with the highest score given by the Jury is distinguished. Both the winner and few other sites that were well received are promoted on awwwards.com. What's more, Awwwards is awarding the websites of the month and the best site of the year.

It’s truly a gold mine of inspirations that will allow you quickly gather many great ideas. It is also very user-friendly - thanks to intuitive categories you can easily find websites that are corresponding to your requirements.

CSS Design Awards

International web design and development awards platform for web designers and developers. CSS Design Awards rewards the best work of freelancers and agencies who raise the bar high in areas such as creativity, functionality and usability. The best projects of the day, month and year are highlighted by an international jury and displayed on the website. One of the awards, which our software house have previously won, was Special Kudos for Back to the Frontend, the interior project that presents our experience and skills in working with HTML5.

With the ability to filter projects by color, features or industry, you can see only those projects that meet your criteria. Both the latest publications and archives of CSS Design Awards can be a great inspiration for those involved in development of their own website.

FWA

Favourite Website Awards is a website and competition for creative artists launched in 2000. "FWA Site Of The Year" is one of the most prestigious awards for creators of web pages. It is also worth mentioning that the FWA program was the first online contest of this type which exceeded the number of 200 million visitors.

The jury selects the best website of the day, month and year. Awarded projects are also displayed on the website, which has a wide audience and is very important for admirers of great design who are looking for inspiration. Published work, due to their high creativity, can be a good inspiration to see before you start working on your own website.

Behance

Behance is a website owned by Adobe that allows users to publish and develop their portfolio. It is one of the most popular online platforms dedicated to presenting and discovering the particularly interesting projects. Behance users can publish their own work and thus make it seen by a wider audience.

Because top designers of the world are displaying their own work on Behance, it is a bottomless pit of great inspirations. Simply enter the suitable keyword or select a category to browse through the top rated projects from around the world. What’s interesting, you can add particular works to your favorites, thanks to what you can easily come back to the projects you’ve found most interesting. Any person who intends to assign development of their new website should browse Behance first.

Dribbble

Dribbble is a social networking site for enthusiasts of web design. Web, graphic or logo designers, illustrators, masters of typography and many others people representing the graphic arts share the results of their work here. Dribbble is a place of discussion, promotion, discovery, and exploration of the world of design. This website is one of the most important places where designers from around the world can communicate with each other. 

Those hungry for aesthetic experience will be happy to browse the unique materials on Dribble. By scrolling through the best graphic works you can certainly broaden your horizons in the matter of design.

Smashing Magazine

Smashing Magazine is an independent source of information about innovations in the world of web design and development. The aim of the website is to inform readers about the latest trends and techniques of Web Development, Web Design and User Experience.

Those looking to learn about innovative solutions and latest web technologies check out what Smashing Magazine has to offer. It’s created especially for those who are searching for new solutions and ideas of Front End Development. With acquired knowledge you will be easily inspired to implement amazing ideas in your website. We also had the opportunity to publish articles in this popular portal, such as the one where Tomek and Mikołaj shared their knowledge of game design HTML5. Check it out and have a find out for yourself what articles on Smashing Magazine look like! https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/09/principles-of-html5-game-design/

Your competition

If, being a marketer or entrepreneur, you decided to refresh your company’s website, in addition to the sources of inspiration mentioned above you should definitely take a peek at websites of your competitors. It is possible that one of them has introduced on its website a unique solution that closely relates to your industry. Do not be afraid to be inspired by ideas of your competition - there is nothing wrong with that! BUT, Of course, the big mistake would be to copy their work - remember about being moderate and reasonable in your actions. Not only you would be seen as a black sheep in the industry, but you would harm your image in the eyes of your clients. Keep in mind however that a well-adapted concept or idea will always be a success.

Summary

Being responsible for the implementation of the new website, it is worth taking the time to look for inspiration for your project. This will pay off in good cooperation with the software house and, as a result, will help in creating website that is meeting your needs. Thanks to this research you can have a broader horizons when it comes to graphic design, develop a sense of aesthetics and will be able to influence the creation of an appealing, functional and useful website.