Website galleries, aka CSS galleries: they're a great source of ideas, as well as keeping us abreast of the latest web design trends (opens in new tab). We all have our go-to web design gallery for quick inspiration when the brief drops on your desk - but are there other sites you might not know about, that could be even more useful?
Galleries come in all shapes and sizes with hundreds popping up every day it's hard to sift through the low-quality ones to find the real gems. Here's 13 that are definitely worth considering to bookmark...
01. Awwwards (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @awwwards (opens in new tab)
Awwwards is a little different to most website galleries because sites are selected by a jury rather than a single curator. If you sign up to the site you can curate your own choices and create your own favourites list, which very handy if you're looking for a certain niche of website.
02. The FWA (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @fwa (opens in new tab)
The FWA (Favorite Website Awards) is considered the crème de la crème of galleries within the web design industry. Like Awwwards it has its own vibrant community.
03. HTML Inspiration (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @htmlinspiration (opens in new tab)
In contrast with the first two web design galleries on our list, HTML Inspiration takes a minimalist approach to its design, letting the work speak for itself. The selection on this website is brilliant and the featured website is nice and big so you don't even need to click on it to appreciate its design.
04. Site Inspire (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @siteinspire (opens in new tab)
Site Inspire is another web design gallery that combines minimal design with finely-honed selection of great sites. It's curated by Daniel Howell, who tends to favour minimal, clean and responsive websites.
05. Admire the Web (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @admiretheweb (opens in new tab)
Admire the Web is another web design gallery that features large inspirational screengrabs so you don't have to click on every one. Clear categories and tags make finding what you're looking for a piece of cake.
06. Unmatched Style (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @unmatchedstyle (opens in new tab)
Unmatched Style is a little busier than 3, 4 and 5 on our list, but they do offer some handy extra design resources. The piece de resistance is the colour chart, enabling you to find inspiration via colour.
07. Styleboost (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @styleboost (opens in new tab)
At 1,439 sites and rising, there's plenty of inspiration to be found here. A nice bonus Styleboost offers is a little summary against each inspiration. Nice and clear web design gallery, this.
08. Make Better Websites (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @lovelywebsites (opens in new tab)
Make Better Websites offers a superb browsing experience. Nice big images accompany submissions and a brilliant refine function makes the site simple and rewarding to use.
09. CSSDSGN (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @cssdsgn (opens in new tab)
We're not hugely certain where the difference lies between CSS galleries and web galleries - not many websites are made without CSS these days! But besides that, we love the clean and clear design of this simple (in a good way) web design gallery.
10. One Page Love (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @onepagelove (opens in new tab)
One Page Love, as you can imagine, specialises in one page websites, and it's the best we've come across in this niche. Selections are made by Rob Hope, who has great taste. He's also curator/owner of www.mmminimal.com (opens in new tab).
11. Siiimple (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @siiimple (opens in new tab)
Siiimple specialises in minimalist web designs. A nice clean website gallery, its heart ratings are a great little touch.
12. The Best Designs (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @thebestdesigns (opens in new tab)
Although this site doesn't have the cleanest design and is non-responsive, its legacy alone makes it deserving of inclusion on this list. It's been running since 2001, but the curators' taste is far from vintage, with brilliantly modern web design inspirations getting uploaded daily.
13. Web Crème (opens in new tab)
- Gallery updates: @webcreme (opens in new tab)
Web Crème has also been about for some time as you can see by their very slim left-aligned website. But if you think the design might be due for update, that's more than made up for by the brilliant selection of inspiring websites.
Have we missed out your favourite source of web design inspiration? Let us know about it in the comments!
Words: Tom Hopcraft (opens in new tab)
Tom Hopcraft is a web designer and front-end developer from Northampton, UK. Follow him on Twitter at @CHEWX (opens in new tab)
