77 Essential Websites for Designers: Free and Premium Resources

77 essential websites are key to staying inspired and efficient as a designer. Whether it’s curating the perfect color palette, finding the ideal font, or sourcing high-quality mockups, having the right resources at your fingertips can elevate your work. This curated list of 77 must-bookmark websites will help you find everything you need, from stock images and PNGs to fonts and design inspiration.

Each section below highlights the top websites in specific categories, allowing designers to focus on creativity rather than searching for tools and resources.

Websites for PNGs

For design work, transparent PNGs are critical. They seamlessly blend into layouts, adding depth and flow without additional background noise. So, I will share 10 great websites for high-quality PNG resources.

1. toppng.com: It provides free PNGs for all designs, creative backgrounds, vectors, and templates; millions of things are free.
2. pngtree.com is one of the biggest repositories of royalty-free PNGs, vectors, and backgrounds for personal and professional projects.
3. icons8.com: Quality icons, illustrations, and PNG-based elements with consistent designs to match various themes.
4. pikpng.com: Offers free high-resolution PNGs, such as clipart and graphics, for non-commercial use.
5. pixabay.com: A massive collection of royalty-free images and transparent PNGs contributed by creative folks.
6. pngegg.com: A platform for graphic designers who wish to create transparent PNGs in various unique categories.
7. freepng.com: A reliable source for transparent PNGs that are available for personal use and have high-resolution downloads.
8. kindpng.com: Features user-uploaded PNGs for every theme imaginable, available for free download.
9. pngmart.com: Curates collections of high-quality PNG images for commercial design projects.
10. pngplay.com: Another small PNG platform that is especially good for social media and web design.

Websites for Stock Images

Stock photos are the bread and butter of design projects, from website banners to ad creatives. These are the best sites for high-quality, often royalty-free stock images.

1. unsplash.com: Free, high-resolution photos contributed by talented photographers. 
2. pexels.com: Thousands of curated stock images and videos are available for unlimited free downloads.
3. pixabay.com: An extensive library of user-uploaded royalty-free content, including free photos and illustrations.
4. freepik.com: Some unique premium and free assets, including photos, vectors, and illustrations for creative use.
5. burst.shopify.com: Great for entrepreneurs, providing free stock photos for business branding.
6. stocksnap.io: Quality stock images, adds about new images every week.
7. deathtothestockphoto.com: Only premium stocks.
8. pikwizard.com: Free, no-attribution-required photos, lots of business and travel-related images.
9. isorepublic.com: Professional-grade free stock images focused on business and technology niches. 
10. kaboompics.com: Sorted images with color palettes to help design projects come together.

Websites for Mockups

Mockups help designers present their work correctly and are an excellent asset when displaying it in an online portfolio. So, I will share 10 great websites for finding mockups.

1. mockupworld.co: A significant source of free design mockups for many categories.
2. smartmockups.com: Simple mockup generator with modern templates for everything from clothing to technology.
3. placeit.net: A one-of-a-kind drag-and-drop branding platform with lifestyle-themed mockups for logos, videos, and brand promotion.
4. freepik.com: Free mockups and other design assets for commercial and personal use.
5. mockupbro.com: An excellent mockup tool for custom branding, straightforward and intuitive.
6. ls.graphics/mockups: High-quality mockups with super-detailed templates perfect for perfectionists.
7. mockupmark.com: A free mock-up generator focusing on social media visuals and branding materials.
8. graphberry.com: Free graphic resources with high-quality PSD templates for mockups. 
9. mockuuups.studio: A pro app for creating presentation-ready mockups in seconds.
10. goodmockups.com: The site aggregates quality free PSD mockups curated from worldwide contributors.

Websites for Illustrations

Custom illustrations can make any design stand out. Whether you need hand-drawn elements, vector graphics, or animated visuals, these platforms provide diverse styles for creative projects. So, I will share 10 great websites for high-quality illustrations.

1. Undraw.co: Clean, customisable SVG illustrations perfect for user interfaces and websites. 
2. drawkit.com: Hand-drawn style illustrations categorized by tech, business, wellness, etc.
3. stories.freepik.com – Freepik’s collection of beautiful, animated storytelling-inspired illustrations.
4. icons8.com/illustrations: Free illustrations with stunning themes created by graphic design experts. 
5. Blush.design: An online tool for generating unique illustrations from themed art packs.
6. openpeeps.com: Quick and easy to edit illustrations with a modular “hand-drawn people” library.
7. vecteezy.com: Free vector illustrations, search & customization for quality results.
8. iradesign.io: Features gradient-styled illustrations specifically for web and app designers.
9. absurd.design: A collection of quirky, hand-drawn illustrations perfect for standing out. 
10. illustrations.co: A budget-friendly premium library of fresh vector illustrations.

Websites for Fonts

The right typography sets the tone for any design. From elegant serifs to modern sans-serif fonts, these sites offer a vast collection of free and premium typefaces to enhance branding, UI/UX, and print designs. So, I will share 10 great websites for finding amazing fonts.

1. dafont.com: A massive collection of free fonts grouped by categories.
2. fonts.google.com:  Google Fonts is a web-safe collection of fonts for designers.
3. fontspace.com: Clean lines, designed type perfect for UX/UI creatives.
4. 1001fonts.com: From decorative to professional, free for personal use.
5. befonts.com: Premium-oriented fonts are available for much lower prices or are free.
6. fontfabric.com: Clean, high-quality fonts designed for  web developers and graphic designers.
7. myfonts.com: A comprehensive directory of paid digital fonts. 
8. abstractfonts.com: Trendy, edgy fonts for branding projects.
9. fontsquirrel.com: Free, commercially licensed typefaces, with featured fonts easy to find.
10. cufonfonts.com: Font styles made for medium-scale company branding with flyers.

Websites for Colors

Colors define the mood and impact of a design. These tools help designers generate stunning color palettes, experiment with combinations, and find the perfect shades for web, branding, and digital artwork. So, I will share 10 great websites for exploring color palettes.

1. coolors.co: Fast and intuitive palette generator. Hit the spacebar for endless creative options!
2. colorhunt.co: The tool helps create user-curated color palettes that are updated daily.
3. colormind.io: AI designers color tools for UI and branding
4. paletton.com: The official website for creating skilled color combinations.
5. colorsupplyyy.com: Instantly preview complementary and analogous palettes applied to multiple mockups.
6. mycolor.space: Generate gradients and hex codes to create pretty backgrounds.
7. color.adobe.com: The industry standard in palette generation and professional-based tools.
8. khroma.co: Customize your palette based on the “liked” combos.
9. pigment.shapefactory.co: A minimalist source for singular gradients and plant-based pastels.
10. flatuicolors.com: Ideal for flat design or UI designs.

Websites for Icons

Icons improve user experience by adding clarity and visual appeal. These resources provide thousands of free and premium icon sets, covering everything from UI elements to social media and business graphics. So, I will share 10 great websites for downloading icons.

1. flaticon.com: Over 8 million free and premium vector icons with customisable colors. 
2. icons8.com: Offers icons in harmonious styles designed by professionals worldwide. 
3. thenounproject.com: Ideal for simple SVG designs or building your icon packs.
4. iconfinder.com: Marketplace premium and royalty-free collections for download
5. freeicons.io: Unlimited downloads without attribution.
6. streamlinehq.com: contemporary minimalist theme-based icon packs featuring modern UX.
7. iconmonstr.com: Like the better Duck-ights, a jack is best for the simple web image.
8. iconscout.com: Full-time community with assets for web apps and UI projects.
9. lordicon.com: Provides animated Lottie-ready icons. 
10. svgrepo.com: Community-based SVG resource with over 3 million assets for free.

Websites for Design Inspiration

Creativity thrives on inspiration. Explore these platforms to discover award-winning designs, innovative UI/UX trends, and stunning portfolios from top designers worldwide. So, I will share 7 great websites for design inspiration.

1. dribbble.com: Top-notch collection of curated design concepts shared by professionals
2. Behance.net: A Creative Portfolio Design Website Showcase.
3. awwwards.com: All the inspirational innovation with fantastic web design projects.
4. designspiration.com: Cared-for imagery, interiors, and UI arrangements.
5. land-book.com: Selected examples of landing pages for web developers with clean and modern designs.
6. Bestwebsite.gallery: Recognizes award-winning websites. 
7. fiveelements.org.in: A professional portfolio solution in the context of live community discussions.

Make Your Design Workflow Seamless

By bookmarking this collection of 50 essential websites, you’re set to elevate your creative output and streamline your workflow. Explore each platform to discover the perfect tools and inspiration for your unique projects. 

Looking for more guidance? Visit Five Elements to uncover additional resources to optimize your workflow and creativity. 

Related Post: Top 10 Free Design Resources Every Designer Should Bookmark – Discover additional free resources that can help elevate your design projects.

Explore More Resources on Freepik – A top site for finding high-quality design assets including stock images, vectors, and illustrations to enhance your creative work.