{"id":6210,"date":"2023-02-14T16:29:24","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T16:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/?p=6210"},"modified":"2024-04-03T20:13:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T20:13:19","slug":"ui-ux-design-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/ui-ux-design-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"The ultimate guide to the best UX Design tools in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a UX designer, you need the right tools on hand to do your best work and build out efficient processes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, with so many options to choose from, how do you know which UX design tools are really worth adding to your toolkit?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be overwhelming, but we\u2019re here to help. In this guide, you\u2019ll find all the tools you need at each stage of the UX design process. We\u2019ll cover:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#ux-research-tools\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX research tools<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#ideation-and-workshopping-tools\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ideation and workshopping tools<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#wireframing-tools\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wireframing tools<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#prototyping-tools\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prototyping tools<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#ui-design-tools\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UI &amp; UX design tools<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#user-and-usability-testing-tools\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">User and usability testing tools<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#ux-documentation-tools\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX documentation tools<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For each tool, we\u2019ve outlined the key features and various price options. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it will provide a great starting point for further exploration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s begin with the most important step in the process: UX research.<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"promotion\" class=\"promotion-content-raw inlinepromo inlinepromo_professional-certificate-in-ui-designp-1 my-4\" style=\"\">\n\t<div class=\"w-container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 promotion-info\">\n                <a class=\"link-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/courses\/ui-design?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=blog_panel_text&utm_campaign=blog_promo\" style=\"\">\n                    <p>[GET CERTIFIED IN UI DESIGN]<\/p>\n                    <span>Take our Professional Certificate in UI Design course<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<h2 id=\"ux-research-tools\"><strong>UX research tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every UX project should start with research.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/ux-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> phase, the aim is to learn about your target users. In particular, you want to understand their motivations, behaviours, needs, and pain-points in relation to your design challenge. With these insights, you can design to solve the right user problems and meet specific user needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some common UX research methods include surveys, user interviews, focus groups and card sorting. Of course, there are lots of tools to help you organise, conduct and document your UX research.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are our top 3 UX research tools.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Optimal Workshop<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-11.29.03.png\" alt=\"Optimal workshop UX research tool website\" width=\"1141\" height=\"803\" title=\"\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimal Workshop<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is your all-in-one UX research toolbox, comprising 5 tools in total:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/optimalsort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OptimalSort<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a card sorting tool that shows you how your users categorise information. This helps you to plan the information architecture of the product you\u2019re designing\u2014for example, the structure of your website and how the content is organised.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/treejack\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Treejack<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a tree testing tool that helps you evaluate how people navigate and find information on your website. You can learn more in Optimal Workshop\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/learn\/101s\/tree-testing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tree testing 101 guide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/chalkmark\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chalkmark<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a first-click testing tool which shows you where on an interface people would click first in order to complete a certain task. This helps you to design interfaces that your users will understand straight away.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Questions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for creating and sending out online surveys. You can also include screening questions to make sure you\u2019re recruiting the right participants for your research.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/reframer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reframer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a note-taking and documentation tool to organise the insights gathered from qualitative research.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6101\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-11.33.07.png\" alt=\"optimal workshop research capabilities\" width=\"984\" height=\"675\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimal Workshop allows you to conduct both qualitative and quantitative research. Once you\u2019ve conducted your research, you\u2019ll get clear insights and data visualisations via the dashboard. This enables you to clearly see the results of your UX research, and to communicate your findings with others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Optimal Workshop offers a free plan with no credit card details required, and no pressure to upgrade at any point. Paid options include:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Starter plan for small-scale research projects at $99\/month (approx. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac88).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Pro plan for unlimited studies at $166\/month (approx. \u20ac150) for 1 user.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Team plan for unlimited studies at $153\/month per user (approx. \u20ac140) for up to 3 users.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can learn more about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optimalworkshop.com\/pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the different pricing options here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. SurveyMonkey<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6102\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-11.39.03.png\" alt=\"SurveyMonkey ux research tool website\" width=\"1791\" height=\"586\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surveys are one of the most popular and accessible UX research methods. You can reach a large audience and gather high volumes of data without investing too much time or money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SurveyMonkey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an all-in-one platform for creating and distributing surveys, quizzes and polls. You can choose from over 150 expert-written survey templates, or create your own from scratch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also make the most of SurveyMonkey\u2019s powerful analysis features and export the results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6103\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-11.41.49.png\" alt=\"webpage on how SurveyMonkey works\" width=\"1243\" height=\"632\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can use SurveyMonkey for free with a basic plan, or sign up for one of the paid plans:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Starter Annual plan costs <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac16\/month. This includes unlimited surveys with max. 10 questions per survey.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Advantage Annual plan costs \u20ac36\/month. This includes unlimited surveys and questions, plus additional features such as a custom logo and colours, data exports and A\/B testing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Standard Monthly plan costs \u20ac39\/month, including unlimited surveys and questions, up to 1,000 responses per month, and data exports.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">View all plans and prices here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Lookback\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6104\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-11.43.28.png\" alt=\"Lookback UX research tool website\" width=\"1394\" height=\"675\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lookback.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lookback<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a platform dedicated to conducting user research via video. You may be wondering why you can\u2019t just use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/zoom.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zoom<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014and technically, you can! But, if you want to keep your video research streamlined, organised and actionable, Lookback goes above and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what can UX designers and researchers do with Lookback?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conduct moderated user interviews via video call and capture time-stamped notes throughout.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set up virtual observation rooms to keep your team in the loop.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Run moderated and unmoderated usability tests to see how users experience your apps and websites.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Record and store all sessions in the cloud.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create highlight reels to capture and share the most important and insightful moments from your user research.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6105\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-11.45.05.png\" alt=\"Lookback moderated interviews section\" width=\"1037\" height=\"820\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can try Lookback for free with a 14-day trial. After that, you can choose from a range of paid plans:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Freelance: An affordable solo plan for $17\/month (approx. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac15). Includes 10 sessions\/year.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Team: $99\/month (approx. \u20ac90) for 100 sessions\/year.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Insights Hub: $229\/month (approx. \u20ac205) for 300 sessions\/year.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can compare all <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lookback.com\/pricing?hsLang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lookback pricing plans and features here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ideation-and-workshopping-tools\"><strong>UX ideation and workshopping tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another key step in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/ux-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX design process<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is ideation. Traditionally, you might do this in a meeting room with a physical whiteboard or flip chart. But, with remote work becoming the norm, it\u2019s essential that you\u2019re able to collaborate virtually, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fortunately, there\u2019s no shortage of virtual collaboration and workshopping tools out there. For us, there are 2 main tools dominating this space: Miro and FigJam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Miro<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6106\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-11.50.24.png\" alt=\"Miro ux ideation\/workshop tool&#039;s website\" width=\"1508\" height=\"630\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/miro.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miro<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one of the most versatile remote tools on the market\u2014and, as a UX designer, there\u2019s virtually no limit to what you can do with this user-friendly, feature-packed collaborative whiteboard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the main UX-specific uses of Miro include ideation sessions, design sprints, user journey mapping, UX research and data clustering, and rapid wireframing. You can set up your own collaborative whiteboard space, or browse <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/miro.com\/miroverse\/ideation-and-brainstorming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miro\u2019s extensive template library<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miro is great for both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration. Participants can chat and type in real-time, or share their ideas via sticky notes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some of our favourite ways to use Miro:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ideation and workshopping with digital sticky notes, live cursor tracking and voting sessions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating and sharing design concepts with drawings, diagrams and wireframes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Syncing annotated prototypes and Sketch files for feedback all in one place.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6107\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-11.55.42.png\" alt=\"webpage explaining how Miro works\" width=\"1160\" height=\"655\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miro is a must-have tool in 2023, especially if you\u2019re working collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can try Miro for free, with access to 3 editable boards, premade templates, and core integrations\u2014with an unlimited number of users. Not bad! If you want to unlock the full power of Miro, pricing options include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Team plan at $8\/member per month (about <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7)\u2014for more collaborative power for teams of 2+ people.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Business plan at $16\/member per month (about <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">14)\u2014for advanced collaboration and security capabilities for teams and companies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can learn more about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/miro.com\/pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miro\u2019s price plans and features here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. FigJam<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6112\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.02.03.png\" alt=\"FigJam ideation tool main website\" width=\"1866\" height=\"707\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Launched in 2021, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.figma.com\/figjam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FigJam<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a relative newcomer to the field. Nevertheless, it\u2019s already gained the attention of UX designers and remote workers everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powered by Figma (which we\u2019ll look at when we get to wireframing tools), FigJam is an online whiteboarding tool made for brainstorming, virtually sketching out early ideas and concepts, mapping out user flows and processes, and running workshops and design sprints.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll notice that FigJam and Miro have lots in common when it comes to core features and functions. FigJam also includes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virtual sticky notes, markers, shapes and connecters to visually organise your thoughts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Audio and cursor chat which allows you to type quick notes anywhere on the whiteboard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A library of ready-made templates.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Widgets and plug-ins to extend your FigJam capabilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.04.01.png\" alt=\"FigJam explainer video on their website\" width=\"1320\" height=\"784\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re not sure whether to choose Miro or FigJam, you\u2019ll find <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/belovdigital.agency\/blog\/figjam-vs-miro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a comprehensive review and comparison of both here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can use FigJam for free, or upgrade for $3\/user per month. FigJam has put together <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.figma.com\/pricing-faq\/#figjam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a pricing FAQ page here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with more information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more collaborative whiteboard tools, check out:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mural.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mural<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invisionapp.com\/freehand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">InVision Freehand<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lucidspark.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lucidspark<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"wireframing-tools\"><strong>Wireframing tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A wireframe is a bare-bones blueprint of a design, mapping out the basic layout of a digital interface. Wireframes depict where different elements will sit on the page, and are usually devoid of any colour or visual design input (that all comes later).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wireframing tools enable you to quickly and easily create these blueprints, usually with the help of drag-and-drop functionality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re new to wireframing tools, check out our top 3. Bear in mind that many wireframing tools also double up as prototyping tools.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Figma<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6114\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.10.08.png\" alt=\"Figma wireframing tool homepage\" width=\"1229\" height=\"639\" title=\"\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.figma.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Figma<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a browser-based UX design tool with lots of capabilities\u2014including wireframing. Figma has component-based wireframing kits with a drag-and-drop interface, allowing you to easily insert, customise, and organise the different elements of your interface.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can share your wireframes with others by simply copying and pasting a URL. This will open your wireframe in the browser, ready for collaboration. Figma also enables you to convert your wireframes into clickable prototypes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6115\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.12.55.png\" alt=\"Figma&#039;s wireframing capabilities \" width=\"1320\" height=\"774\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Figma is an excellent all-in-one tool. In addition to wireframing, you can design with the Vector Networks pen tool, build out design libraries, create presentation decks to pitch your work, and of course, run collaborative workshops and ideation sessions with FigJam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Figma is free to use with the Starter plan, which will give you 3 Figma and FigJam files, as well as unlimited personal files and collaborators. Paid plans include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Figma Professional for $12 per editor\/month (approx. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac10<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Figma Organization for $45 per editor\/month (approx. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac40<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.figma.com\/pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">view Figma\u2019s full pricing details here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Balsamiq<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6116\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.14.32.png\" alt=\"Balsamiq UX wireframing tool&#039;s homepage\" width=\"1141\" height=\"608\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As one of the oldest wireframing tools on the market, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/balsamiq.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balsamiq<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has become something of a staple in the UX world. It won\u2019t bowl you over with its interface or fancy features, but this no-frills wireframing tool certainly gets the job done.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compatible with both Mac and PC, Balsamiq recreates the experience of sketching on a notepad or whiteboard. By keeping features and add-ons to a minimum, Balsamiq ensures that you focus on what really matters when creating a wireframe: structure and content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6117\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.17.00.png\" alt=\"Balsamiq&#039;s low fidelity UI wireframing tool\" width=\"1903\" height=\"599\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s great about Balsamiq is that there\u2019s almost no learning curve. With hundreds of built-in components and drag-and-drop functionality, it\u2019s extremely easy to use. And, if you\u2019re not sure where to start, you\u2019ll find plenty of guides and resources in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/balsamiq.com\/learn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balsamiq Wireframing Academy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All versions of Balsamiq come with a 30-day free trial, so you\u2019ve got plenty of time to try before you buy. After that, paid options include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balsamiq Cloud for $9\/month\u2014ideal for teams, agencies and consultants.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balsamiq for Desktop (runs on Windows or Mac) at $89\/user, with multiple user discounts available\u2014best for those who prefer to work offline.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balsamiq for Google Drive at $5\/month or $50\/year\u2014ideal for Google Workspace users and those on a smaller budget.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll find more information on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/balsamiq.com\/buy\/#cloud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balsamiq\u2019s pricing page<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Wireframe.cc<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6118\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.21.10.png\" alt=\"Wireframe.cc wireframing tool&#039;s homepage\" width=\"877\" height=\"633\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wireframe.cc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wireframe.cc<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is another simple yet effective wireframing tool. You can choose a web, mobile, or custom screen template depending on the device you\u2019re designing for, and then simply click and drag on the canvas to create an element.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This web-based tool has everything you need to create rudimentary wireframes\u2014and nothing more. A great option if you don\u2019t want to get bogged down in the details and just want quick, low-fidelity results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can use the basic version of wireframe.cc for free, with some limitations. If you want to unlock extra capabilities such as private or multi-page wireframes, or the option to export your wireframes, you\u2019ll need to upgrade. Options include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Solo: $16\/month (1 user)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trio: $39\/month (3 users)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enterprise: $99\/month (unlimited users)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<section id=\"promotion\" class=\"promotion-content-raw inlinepromo inlinepromo_professional-diploma-in-ux-designp-1 my-4\" style=\"\">\n\t<div class=\"w-container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 promotion-info\">\n                <a class=\"link-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/courses\/ux-design?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog_panel_pdux&amp;utm_campaign=blog_promo\" style=\"\">\n                    <p>[GET CERTIFIED IN UX]<\/p>\n                    <span>Take our Professional Diploma in UX Design course<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<h2 id=\"prototyping-tools\"><strong>Prototyping tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After wireframes, UX designers create prototypes. You can think of prototypes as advanced wireframes, with more detail filled in. Depending on whether they\u2019re low, mid, or high-fidelity, prototypes can include colours, text, and interactive elements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When creating prototypes, you want to build a more accurate representation of how the final design will look and function. It\u2019s therefore important to work with a good prototyping tool.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some of the most popular prototyping tools used by UX designers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Justinmind<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6119\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.26.36.png\" alt=\"Justinmind prototyping tool main website\" width=\"1130\" height=\"957\" title=\"\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justinmind.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justinmind<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a versatile design and prototyping tool for mobile and web apps. It\u2019s perhaps not the most well-known tool out there, but it does have plenty of features on offer\u2014and an intuitive, user-friendly interface to boot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some of the key features you\u2019ll get with Justinmind:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mobile gestures (e.g. rotate, scroll, swipe, pinch) to create life-like app prototypes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powerful tools to design advanced interactions, such as conditions, sequences, transitions and effects.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simulations to review your design\u2019s functionality and test it on real users.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liquid layouts and auto-resize components for responsive design.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ready-made form components with built-in interactions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart templates.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6120\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.27.31.png\" alt=\"Justinmind prototyping capabilities\" width=\"1370\" height=\"800\" title=\"\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019re happy with your prototypes, you can export them into interactive HTML, ready to be handed off to the developers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justinmind hits the sweet spot between user-friendliness for beginners and feature-richness for those seeking more powerful functionality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can use Justinmind for free, with unlimited projects and many of the core features. For full functionality and extras, you can opt for one of the following pricing plans:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Standard: $9\/user per month\u2014advanced interaction design for individuals and teams.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional: $19\/user per month\u2014co-editing and advanced sharing options to facilitate teamwork.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">View the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justinmind.com\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pricing overview<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more information.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Framer<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6121\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.30.06.png\" alt=\"Framer UX prototyping tool&#039;s main website\" width=\"1873\" height=\"964\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another design tool all-rounder, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.framer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Framer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has powerful prototyping capabilities. In fact, Framer markets itself as \u201cthe only prototyping software built on web technologies\u201d, enabling you to create immersive, true-to-life prototypes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Framer is a browser-based tool with drag-and-drop functionality. You start with a blank canvas and add in pre-made components and interactive elements to build out your prototypes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key features and functions include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Magic Motion transitions between layers for interactive effects.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thousands of ready-made interactive design elements.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In-tool commenting for collaborative prototyping, feedback, and input from copywriters and developers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Integration with UserTesting, Lookback and UserZoom for seamless user testing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6122\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.34.30.png\" alt=\"Framer prototyping capabilites explained\" width=\"1335\" height=\"601\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Framer also has a large community of over 7,000 members. You can get feedback on your projects, chat with other designers, and attend meetups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> You can try Framer for free with up to 3 projects and 2 users. For the full Framer experience, paid options include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pro: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac19 per user\/month<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014for teams that want to manage users and work with developers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enterprise: Custom price\u2014for organisations with 20+ users.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can compare <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.framer.com\/pricing\/#comparison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">all pricing plans and features here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Proto.io\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6123\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.39.15.png\" alt=\"Proto.io UX prototyping tool&#039;s website\" width=\"1109\" height=\"942\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/proto.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proto.io<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a feature-packed prototyping tool that enables you to bring your designs to life, right in your browser.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s no need to start from scratch: you can select from over 1,000 customisable templates for both web and mobile, 250+ UI components, and over 6,000 digital assets. Other features include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Animated icons, sound effects, and video components.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plugins for Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD and Photoshop, allowing you to import existing files.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A range of interactions and animations, including touch events, gestures and screen transitions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Web, mobile and offline preview modes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sharing and commenting function for seamless feedback.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6124\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.40.18.png\" alt=\"Proto.io ability to add life to your designs through prototyping\" width=\"1291\" height=\"565\" title=\"\"><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can try Proto.io for free for 15 days. From there, you can upgrade to one of the following plans:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Freelancer: $24\/month (1 user)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Startup: $40\/month (2 users)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agency: $80\/month (5 users)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Corporate: $160\/month (10 users)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Students and nonprofits can benefit from a 50% discount. Check out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/proto.io\/en\/pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the full pricing plans here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ui-design-tools\"><strong>UI &amp; UX design tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many tools that combine <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/whats-the-difference-between-ui-and-ux-design\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">both UX and UI design<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> functionality, enabling you to complete your designs from early concept all the way through to the final visual touches. Some tools we\u2019ve already looked at could also be included in this category (like Figma).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some of the most popular all-encompassing UX and UI tools to consider.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Sketch<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6126 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.45.10.png\" alt=\"Sketch UI &amp; UX design tool\" width=\"1250\" height=\"562\" title=\"\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sketch.com\/home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sketch<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a household name in the design world, and for good reason. It has all the tools you need for a collaborative design process\u2014from early ideation to developer handoff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A flexible vector graphics editor, Sketch enables you to create pixel-perfect interfaces. Some of the most noteworthy features include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intuitive vector editing tools and editable boolean operations for easy iteration at any stage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Infinite canvas, flexible Artboards and presets, and customisable grids to adapt your designs to any screen size.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Variable and OpenType fonts for full control over your interface\u2019s typography.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reusable smart components for design consistency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cross-platform tools for real-time collaboration and feedback.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6127\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.46.15.png\" alt=\"Sketch&#039;s multiple powerful UX tools\" width=\"1407\" height=\"809\" title=\"\"><br \/>\nThere\u2019s virtually nothing you can\u2019t do with Sketch, but it does have one drawback: it\u2019s only available on Mac. Still, if you\u2019re already a Mac user, you\u2019ll feel instantly at home in the Sketch user interface.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can start with a 30-day free trial. If you like what you see, you can sign up to use Sketch for $9\/user per month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Adobe XD<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6128\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.49.02.png\" alt=\"Adobe XD UX design tool\" width=\"1516\" height=\"795\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s impossible to talk about the best UX design tools without mentioning <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/ie\/products\/xd.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adobe XD<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, XD is a vector-based tool bursting with functions and features to bring your designs to life. Some stand-out features on the UI design side include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/xd\/features\/ui-kits.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UI kits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Apple Design, Google Material Design, Amazon Alexa, and more.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/xd\/features\/3d-transforms.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3D Transforms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, enabling you to add depth and perspective to your designs (think AR and VR).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/xd\/features\/components.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Components and states<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for rapid, scalable design. Essentially, you can design a UI element and turn it into a Component to have it updated across your entire interface\u2014no need for manual duplicating.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powerful animation functionality, including video and Lottie playback, micro-animations and motion effects, scroll groups and anchor links.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Voice prototyping, enabling you to create voice commands, build in speech playback, and integrate voice-enabled features.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6129\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.50.59.png\" alt=\"Adobe XD UX tool website\" width=\"1488\" height=\"689\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">XD is a seriously powerful UX and UI tool, especially if you want to venture into voice design and animation. And, being part of the Creative Cloud, it integrates seamlessly with Photoshop and Illustrator. Unlike Sketch, it works with both Windows and Mac.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can use Adobe XD for free with the XD Starter plan. For full functionality, pricing options include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adobe XD as a standalone tool: $9.99\/month<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Access to the full Creative Cloud suite (20+ apps, including Adobe XD): $52.99\/month<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/xd\/pricing\/individual.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">compare what\u2019s included in each plan here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. UXPin<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6130\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.55.53.png\" alt=\"UXPin UX design tool\" width=\"1179\" height=\"598\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxpin.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UXPin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a wireframing, prototyping, and UI design tool all in one. It\u2019s a browser-based app made for real-time collaboration, and while it might not be as powerful as Sketch and Adobe XD, it does have everything you need to design beautiful, detailed user interfaces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some of UXPin\u2019s most useful features at a glance:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Built-in contrast checker and colour blindness simulator to help you ensure your designs are as accessible and inclusive as possible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Icon libraries with hundreds of ready-to-use UI elements.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-installed component libraries for iOS, Google Material Design and Bootstrap.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Videos, GIFs and audio for life-like prototypes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Streamlined developer handoff with downloadable specs (including CSS code).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6131\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.56.40.png\" alt=\"UXPin website explaining its accessibility tools \" width=\"1234\" height=\"528\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UXPin is a great all-in-one UX and UI tool for both beginners and advanced designers alike.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> You can use a limited version of UXPin for free, or upgrade to a paid plan:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Basic: $19\/editor per month\u2014for beginners with standard design needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Advanced: $29\/editor per month\u2014for designers and small companies looking for advanced prototyping in a classic design workflow.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Professional: $69\/editor per month\u2014for midsize companies that want to improve design consistency.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll find <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxpin.com\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an overview of all plan features here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"user-and-usability-testing-tools\"><strong>User and usability testing tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a UX designer, it\u2019s essential to test your designs on real users. This enables you to identify areas for improvement and to keep iterating towards a flawless user experience. As they say: UX design is never finished!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">User and usability testing tools make it easy to test your designs and get useful, actionable feedback. So what are the best testing tools for UX designers? Here are our top 3.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. UsabilityHub<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6132\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-12.58.48.png\" alt=\"UsabilityHub usability test tool&#039;s website\" width=\"1191\" height=\"595\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/usabilityhub.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UsabilityHub<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a remote user testing platform that puts your designs in front of real people. You can invite your own users to participate in user tests, or recruit from the UsabilityHub panel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">User testing options include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prototype tests to assess how user-friendly your designs are in their current form.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First-click tests to evaluate your information architecture and how easy it is to complete desired tasks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surveys to gather qualitative feedback.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preference tests to see which designs users prefer and why.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Five-second tests to evaluate users\u2019 first impressions when interacting with your designs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6133\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.00.55.png\" alt=\"UsabilityHub&#039;s navigation test tool explained\" width=\"1192\" height=\"564\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UsabilityHub can double up as both a user research tool at the beginning of the design process, and as a testing tool to iterate on existing designs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For occasional user testing, you can use UsabilityHub for free. For more frequent and extensive testing, there are two paid options:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Basic: $79\/month\u2014for solo researchers conducting basic user tests.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pro: $199\/user per month\u2014for teams conducting frequent research and tests.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/usabilityhub.com\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">learn more about UsabilityHub\u2019s pricing plans here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Hotjar<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6134\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.06.33.png\" alt=\"Hotjar&#039;s usability testing tool \" width=\"1480\" height=\"796\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotjar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hotjar<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an intuitive user testing and behaviour analytics tool that places big emphasis on visual insights. That is: you can really step into your users\u2019 shoes and see your designs from their perspective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hotjar boasts a range of powerful testing features, including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotjar.com\/product\/heatmaps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heatmaps<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which visually depict where users click, move and scroll on your site. This allows you to see which aspects of your design are being overlooked and to identify any sticking points in the user experience.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotjar.com\/product\/recordings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Screen recordings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of people using your site, allowing you to map the user journey across different cohorts, spot user pain-points and bugs, and verify that new features are working as they should.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real-time feedback via a suggestion box on your site. This gives you access to direct user feedback right as the user is experiencing your product. <\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6135\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.07.29.png\" alt=\"Explanation of how Hotjar works\" width=\"1629\" height=\"732\" title=\"\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hotjar promises powerful insights into user behaviour without compromising on end-user privacy and data protection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hotjar offers a comprehensive free plan, with no requirement to upgrade at any time. If you need more than what the free plan can offer, paid options include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plus: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac31\/month<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014ideal for small teams.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac79\/month<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014for growing companies and websites.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scale: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u20ac311\/month<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014for large companies and websites.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotjar.com\/pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hotjar\u2019s price overview<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more information.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. UserTesting<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6136\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.12.56.png\" alt=\"UserTesting usability testing tool website\" width=\"1530\" height=\"633\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usertesting.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UserTesting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> describes itself as a \u201chuman insight platform\u201d which helps you to \u201cclose the empathy gap.\u201d UserTesting connects you to target users and provides insights into how they interact with your designs, allowing you to fix any UX problems before moving to the development stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s how UserTesting works:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can create a test plan to ask certain questions or get users to perform specific tasks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Run tests with your own users or recruit testers from the UserTesting Contributor Network.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can run tests via video recordings or live sessions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get user testing insights in the form of visualisations, transcripts and key metrics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create highlight reels to compile the most insightful moments from your user tests.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6137\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.13.53.png\" alt=\"how UserTesting works\" width=\"1201\" height=\"537\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UserTesting allows you to test your designs on any device, and promises results in just hours\u2014great if you\u2019re looking for a quick turnaround.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UserTesting offers a fully flexible, customisable price model rather than fixed plans. You can build your own plan based on the features you want to use and how much testing capacity you need access to. You can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usertesting.com\/plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">learn more here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ux-documentation-tools\"><strong>UX documentation tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you know, there are lots of moving parts to the UX and product development process. As such, UX designers need to stay organised. Ideally, you\u2019ll have everything documented in one place and easily accessible for all stakeholders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the tools we\u2019ve already mentioned in this post can double up as UX documentation tools (like Miro). Alternatively, you can use tools like Google Drive and Airtable to organise your UX work. Those are our favourites, so let\u2019s take a look at them now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Google Drive<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6138\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.17.47.png\" alt=\"Google Drive - UX documentation tool\" width=\"1389\" height=\"671\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you use gmail, you\u2019re probably already familiar with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/drive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Drive<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Google Drive is a cloud-based solution that allows you to store, share and collaborate on documents from any device.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With Google Drive, you can:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create and share text files via Google Docs. Google Docs is essentially a browser-based word processor with handy commenting, suggesting, and version history functionality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use Google Sheets, a free, web-based spreadsheet program that enables you to compile data, apply formulas, and create simple charts and visualisations (similar to Excel Spreadsheet).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create and share presentation decks via Google Slides. With Google Slides, you can integrate text, video clips, images, and annotations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6139\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.18.36.png\" alt=\"Collaborate in the cloud with Google Drive\" width=\"1396\" height=\"700\" title=\"\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Drive is a simple yet powerful documentation tool, allowing you to keep everything in one place and collaborate with others in real-time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Drive is completely free, and it\u2019s extremely easy to set up and use. To access Google Drive, you just need to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/accounts.google.com\/signup\/v2\/webcreateaccount?hl=en&amp;flowName=GlifWebSignIn&amp;flowEntry=SignUp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">create a Google account<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. From there, you can invite other Google account users to access your files and folders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Airtable<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.20.32.png\" alt=\"Airtable - UX documentation tool\" width=\"1489\" height=\"661\" title=\"\"><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airtable.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Airtable<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a cloud collaboration platform. At its core, Airtable allows you to easily create a database that stores all the information and content that matters for your work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To give you an idea of how Airtable works, here are the main components at a glance:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bases: These are like folders, with each Base representing a new project. You can build Bases from scratch, or choose from existing templates. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Workspace: This is where all your Bases (projects) are stored. Through your Workspace, you have an overview of all the different Bases you\u2019ve created to date. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tables: These sit within your Bases, and they store the actual data and content you\u2019re working with. Tables are similar to spreadsheets, with columns, rows and fields.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6141\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Screenshot-2022-02-11-at-13.22.15.png\" alt=\"Airtable allows you to unite every stream of work\" width=\"1347\" height=\"677\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The great thing about Airtable is that you can really configure it to work for you. There are a range of design-specific templates to work from, too, if you\u2019re not sure where to start. Check out the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airtable.com\/templates\/software-development\/expZJgLA5YjprHz55\/project-tracker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">project tracker template<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airtable.com\/templates\/product-design-and-ux\/exppd6pbxsQEo4zx2\/design-project-pipeline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">design project pipeline template<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airtable.com\/templates\/product-design-and-ux\/expoiiRjvXfMHtXtC\/user-feedback\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">user feedback template<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for inspiration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Price: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can use Airtable for free with unlimited bases and 1200 records per base. For more space and advanced features, you can upgrade to one of the following paid plans:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plus: $12\/seat per month<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pro: $20\/seat per month<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">View <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airtable.com\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">all prices and features here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That just about concludes our guide to UX design tools. There\u2019s no need to try every single tool on the list; start with one or two and introduce additional tools if you feel like you\u2019re missing certain features or functionality. The good news is that most UX design tools offer a free trial, so you should be able to try them on for size before committing to a subscription.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New to UX? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-starting-your-career-in-ux-design\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are 5 tips for starting your career in UX design<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a UX designer, you need the right tools on hand to do your best work and but the choices can be overwhelming. We put this handy guide together so you can build out the best stack for your work process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":10191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[289],"class_list":["post-6210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ux-tools","tag-ux-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6210"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8439,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6210\/revisions\/8439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}