There are a LOT of free resources out there for creating websites and generating content. There are so many that sometimes it’s hard to remember them all.
You’re in luck.
We’ve compiled a list of our favorite tools for designing websites – although most are great tools for design in general.
01) Thousands of Free Icons
Icons are a great way of adding visual interest to your website. Using icons to divide or call attention to sections of copy is helpful to your website’s visitors. It also provides visual anchors for helping users navigate your content.
For this, our #1 free resource is Flaticon: https://flaticon.com
With over 948,500 vector icons grouped in 18,819 packs, you’ll find any sort of icon your could possibly need. In addition to having a massive library, you can search by icon author so that all of the icons you use on your site will have a consistent look.
02) Color Palette Inspiration
Color is one of the most powerful tools designers have. Picking the right colors for your website’s color palette is crucial for telling your brand’s story. Here at Dunn Allen, we created the first in a series of color palette inspiration blogs based on popular photographs.
View the article here: https://dunnallen.com/20-stunning-color-palette-inspirations/
Not only did we have a lot of fun putting these images together, we’ve used a few of them for our own projects. Be sure to like us on Facebook for even more color palette posts!
03) Free Stock Photos For Everyone
We have paid subscriptions to the “big” stock photo websites. However, I find less and less usable images from these sites. While there’s nothing technically wrong with photos from these sites, the overly-polished smiles and staged interactions don’t feel genuine. Even the lifestyle photos seem ‘plastic’.
The solution? https://www.pexels.com/
This is a website full of 100% Free photos for commercial or personal use. Not only are the photos free, the quality is top notch! Everything I find on the site feels real. No plastic smiles, or families in perfectly white t-shirts posing for the camera.
There are a few other sites worth mentioning, however, you’ll need to be sure and check the licensing for each image as opposed to Pexels, where everything shares common usage guidelines.
04) Finding The Perfect Font Pairings
We’re not going to list all of the free font websites out there. A quick Google Search will give you everything you need. What we are talking about is pairing fonts together to make your headlines stand out more. Making head tags larger is good, but using a different font altogether can add character to your website.
We give you, the Font Combinations generator by Canva: https://www.canva.com/font-combinations/
While the results are always what we’d consider perfect, it does a great job of presenting you with new fonts that you may not be familiar with.
05) Creative Headline Idea Generator
You have the perfect idea for an article, but you’re not happy with the headline. We’ve all been there. Luckily we’ve found a tool that has helped us with creating fun and unique headlines.
For our creative block, we turn to the Portent Content Idea Generator: https://www.portent.com/tools/title-maker
Some of what it gives you is downright outrageous. But that’s probably the point. The purpose is to jump-start your creative juices. Give you ideas – not do all the thinking for you. We still love and use it constantly. Have fun. Plug in a random keyword just to see what it spits out!
06) Finding The Right Inspiration
The struggle is real. You’re on a deadline and the ideas just aren’t happening. Google isn’t giving you what you seek and you’re wondering how to pull this off.
For jump starting creativity, we turn to Dribble: https://dribbble.com/
UI design, layouts, color schemes – they have it all! Even if you’re not under pressure, it’s nice to take a look at work from other designers. Take the best parts of what you see and create something unique and beautiful.
07) Amazingly Free Graphics
We all like free stuff right? I mean, that’s why you’re here. Well we do too and that brings us to our final free resource.
Creative Market’s Free Section: https://creativemarket.com/free-goods
Every week, Creative Market posts 6 items available to download for absolutely free. Mockups, fonts, photos, graphics – if you’re patient, you can build up a pretty extensive library.