Web design tools

What do I need? A shared place for UI mockups, components, and developer handoff — not a proprietary website host that owns your URL forever.

Use Figma as the mental baseline: that is what agencies, plugins, and “send me the file” still mean in 2026. Then choose an editor that fits your license, hosting, and export story.

Compare at a glance

Tool License / host Good for Watch out

Figma (baseline)

Proprietary SaaS; de facto industry standard

Partner libraries, design systems, agency deliverables, plugin ecosystem

Proprietary files; cloud account is the default source of truth

Penpot

Open source; self-host or Penpot cloud

Teams that want inspect/handoff with open formats; orgs that can run a design host in infra — ops detail

Not a site builder; motion pipelines stay separate (see Design & Brand Motion)

Lunacy (Icons8)

Proprietary app; free core editor on desktop

Desktop-first teams, opening .fig without Figma seats, offline-friendly editing

Not open source; paid Icons8 asset packs are optional upsells

Framer — avoid for primary sites

Closed platform; design + hosted runtime bundled

Quick marketing experiments when you accept full vendor lock-in

Closed source, export/hosting tied to Framer; poor fit when you need a durable, portable site on your domain and stack

Figma as the comparison anchor

When someone says “design file,” they usually mean Figma. Compare every alternative on the axes that matter to you:

  • Can you open what partners send (.fig, shared libraries)?

  • Where does the source of truth live (their cloud vs your host vs files on disk)?

  • What handoff looks like (CSS, components, tokens in git)?

  • Whether the tool is a canvas only or also a site host (see Framer below).

Stay on Figma when libraries, contractors, or grant reporting already assume it. Migrate when the cost of proprietary lock-in exceeds migration work — Penpot is the open default we document for greenfield product UI.

Penpot (open default)

Penpot is the open-source, Figma-class platform we treat as a first-class business resource: self-host or use Penpot cloud, open file format, design tokens and inspect paths aimed at real CSS/HTML/SVG.

Strategy and ops notes live in Business Bootstrap — Penpot explanation · Design area · Tools portal stub.

Lunacy (desktop Figma-class)

Lunacy is Icons8’s free desktop editor (Windows, macOS, Linux). It targets the same jobs as Figma — frames, components, prototyping — with strong Figma file import when you are not paying for Figma seats.

Pick Lunacy when:

  • The team wants a native app and local files without standing up Penpot.

  • You mainly need to view or edit agency .fig deliverables on a budget.

Lunacy is not our open-source default (the editor is proprietary). Pair it with exports and git-backed implementation; do not confuse it with a self-hosted open canvas.

Framer — name it so teams skip it

Framer is useful to mention as a counterexample, not a recommendation.

It is a closed-source platform that merges UI design with Framer-hosted publishing. That sounds fast until you need:

  • A marketing site that survives vendor pricing, account loss, or product changes

  • HTML/CSS you can audit, mirror, and put behind your own Access or CDN rules

  • A nonprofit story where the canonical site is your repo, not an export menu

For durable public sites, design in Penpot, Lunacy, or Figma and ship with static or app code you control (Astro, Next.js, SolidStart, etc.). Keep animated brand marks in portable formats (brand motion) — not locked inside a SaaS runtime.

We do not list Framer as a catalog default on Nonprofit Resources; the Web design tools guide there repeats this for operators.

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