Having a successful eCommerce website is hard work to satisfy the growing demands. It takes a couple of seconds to engage visitors, so you need to do everything possible to prevent them from leaving. How do you achieve that? Online retailers improve technical parameters, such as loading speed, image optimization, and mobile-friendliness.
UI/UX also plays a crucial role in converting shoppers into buyers. Store owners implement shopping cart UX best practices, customize user-friendly on-site search, and enhance product pages. Everything is to ensure an unparalleled experience.
When it comes to sales, visuals are winners over text. Instead of describing everything in words, you show something that remains in the people’s memories forever. The design unites numerous aspects under one roof: navigation, page layouts, color, font, imagery, etc. It delivers the right message to prospects, from a business logo to a mobile app interface.
Read our list of top 10 graphic design tools for online stores. These solutions will help you develop eye-catching visual content and resonate with target customers.
Table of Contents
10 Best Graphic Design Tools for Building User-Friendly Online Stores
1. Figma
Figma is a browser-based collaborative interface design tool. It’s free and easy to use from any OS, including Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebooks. All you need is to log in with the email account to unlock Figma features.
The tool also allows for real-time collaboration on the same document. Compare it to traditional offline solutions like Sketch and Photoshop, where you have first to export an image file and transmit it by email or instant message. You can forget about those times with Figma.
Instead of exporting static photos, you can simply send a link to the Figma file. The recipients will get access to the most recent file version in a browser. It saves time and inconvenience and ensures a deeper involvement in the work. For example, viewers can leave comments in the file. Below you can look at the Figma interface.
2. Canva
Canva is a graphic design tool with drag-and-drop functionality. There is an option to work in the browser, so you don’t have to install it on the computer. Or you can download the app for offline access. The tool is available after registering with a Facebook account or email. Then, you can start creating visuals for the eCommerce website.
Where will the tool assist you? Canva is great for making logos, social media posts, newsletters, and more. It has several pre-set templates and sizes. If there is no suitable template, Canva lets you build any dimensions to your liking.
The tool is free with premium elements like photos, videos, and graphics. Upload your image or choose a background, fonts, lines, and shapes. The solution automatically saves the project in the profile. When finished, you can download the work in PNG, JPG, and PDF and share it on social media with a couple of clicks.
3. Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor. It was first introduced in 1987 and continues to receive regular updates. It’s now part of the Adobe Creative Cloud in line with 20+ tools like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects, etc.
The tool helps graphic and web designers, visual artists, and professional illustrators to create high-quality artwork. For example, it’s suitable for developing logos, sketches, promotional or branded content, icons, and illustrations for mobile devices.
This application offers plug-ins to extend its functionality. These advanced drawing tools can save time on creating graphics. The Illustrator price starts from $20.99 a month. But there is a seven-day trial period to test the solution for free.
4. Inkscape
Inkscape is one of the most popular alternatives to Adobe Illustrator. It has many similar sketching, illustrating, and editing features, such as:
- color painting over objects;
- keys to move and rotate by screen pixels;
- gradient editing using handles;
- bitmap tracing.
At the same time, it’s free. Inkscape lets you create vectors, so the image quality won’t suffer after resizing. The solution goes with various tools, shapes, gradients, and transparency effects (alpha). Unlike some free tools, this one allows you to layer, group, and lock elements.
Inkscape is an excellent tool for web designers, working with SVG files as the primary format. It also supports PNG, PDF, AI, EPS, and PS.
5. Pixc
Pixc is an online photo editing service that helps eCommerce companies to gain a competitive advantage. Its goal is to provide clients with professional product images. How? Simply submit all photos to receive an upgraded snapshot with better quality in 24 hours. It’s straightforward because you have to make minimal effort. The service does everything for you, including:
- clearing the background;
- resizing and formatting;
- adding natural shadows;
- removing models while preserving the natural shapes of the product.
The primary purpose of Pixc is to transform any image into a retail-ready product. As a result, the store provides a better customer experience and engagement, resulting in more sales. Pricing depends on the number of submitted photos, beginning from 10 images at $20 and reaching $2000 for 1000 images. You can test this service for free to discover its capabilities.
The app is compatible with Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and other popular eCommerce platforms. To summarize, Pixc is for adapting images to any marketplace.
6. Promo.com
Promo.com was once known as Promo by Slidely. It’s now a B2B video creation platform to market anything you want with the help of unique visual content. The service provides access to over 14 million quality video clips and photos, ready-made templates, licensed music, and an easy-to-use editor.
Slidely debuted its B2B video service, Promo, in July 2016. It swiftly became the world’s leading video creation platform for SMBs in over 200 countries, from freelancers to Fortune 500 companies.
The tool lets you generate videos of various formats: vertical, horizontal, square, and banners. You can use them on social media as ads to promote an event or deals, introduce new products, etc.
The best part is the free version with more than 15,000,000 assets. You can sign in by email or Facebook and edit video elements:
- text styles, position, alignment, and color;
- font;
- color filter;
- video length.
More features will open when you pay a premium plan from $291 to $1853 annually. When you’re ready to save the project, you can download it, copy a link to share with others, or publish it on social platforms.
7. Plotagraph
Plotagraph is a technology similar to Cinemagraph. In short, it helps you craft images with some elements moving while others are still. Cinemagraph uses videos as a source. It freezes an image part while leaving the rest to play. Plotagraph, however, uses an animation technique to make still images move. The service costs $19.99 a month or $99.99 annually with a seven-day trial.
How do you animate images? First, you need to upload a picture. Then, select the animation tool to draw arrows and regulate movement. The arrow length determines the speed of animating the part. The longer it is, the faster the object will change. Choose the elements that will stay still. Now you have looping animation.
8. Adobe Express
Another graphic design tool under consideration is Adobe Express. And this one is also owned by Adobe. Formerly known as Adobe Spark Post, Express is a free service with an advanced plan for $9.99 to create business logos, flyers, banners, and more. The service automatically updates on various devices, so you can launch it on a desktop and finish the project on a smartphone.
Adobe Creative Cloud Express isn’t a copy of other Adobe products. However, it has some similar features. One of the advantages is the intuitive Canva-like interface with some ready-made templates for faster content creation. But you can be more creative and change an existing design template.
The tool suggests taking quick action without going to a dedicated project page. Let’s take the option to remove a background. The functionality works in a pop-up and lets you quickly download the result or customize it in the editor.
Below you can see the interface with the available options: templates, text, photos, shapes, etc.
9. Pixlr
Pixlr is another graphic design tool for eCommerce websites. This solution comes in three forms: Pixlr E, Pixlr X, and Photomash Studio depending on the creator’s proficiency level. Pixlr is Flash-based, so you need to install and activate the Flash plug-in.
The tool is free, works in the browser, and is user-friendly to quickly change the photo, remove background, retouch, and apply many other options without making an account. Editing becomes even more effortless. You can crop photographs or use the lasso function to modify a particular image section manually.
When you open Pixlr, the pop-up appears to download the image from the desktop or create a new one from scratch. You can choose dimensions and proceed to numerous tools. Below is the Pixlr E interface, looking pretty much like Photoshop.
10. Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor from the UK company Serif Labs that can replace Adobe Illustrator. Serif emerged in the 1990s. The company provided low-cost PC/Windows desktop publishing software for beginners and now caters to Mac users. Affinity Designer costs $54.99 on Windows or Mac or $21.99 on iPad.
The tool enables users to work with raster and vector and easily switch between the two. It also offers a contour tool, infinite zooming, a pixel preview, and many more features to create any content.
Who is the target audience of this solution? Affinity Designer serves professional graphic and web designers, game developers, and illustrators to produce UI/UX designs, typography, icons, and concept art.
Final Thoughts
Retailers generate hundreds of visuals and bombard prospects through social media, emails, and ads. How do you stand out from the crowd and grab the attention with your graphic? As the competition grows, online stores need to provide clients with unique content, engaging videos, and unforgettable images.
It takes hours of analytical work, creativity, and experience. That’s where graphic design tools help online store owners streamline content generation. We’ve looked at the top ten graphic design tools for eCommerce websites. They differ in price, available functions, and the required proficiency level.
Evaluate your needs and the needed capabilities. Do you need advanced software? Do you want to work offline, or is it essential to share the link to the project with other stakeholders? Once you’ve picked the tool, good luck with flexing your creative muscles!