As a busy business owner, you’re always looking for ways to squeeze more time out of the day. (We know, because we are, too.) Every minute counts, and that means keeping processes and costs efficient is a must. So when it comes to needing a new website or a website refresh, why not use AI to create one for you? When an AI website builder can save you valuable time and money, it’s hard to ignore. But how you use it can make all the difference in the success of your online presence.
In this blog, we list our favorite AI web design tools and how we use them to save our clients time and money, while still building them a professionally designed website that doesn’t just look good, but actually brings in business.
Understand This First: What to Know Before Using AI for Website Design
Before you can use AI effectively, you should set your expectations.
First, AI cannot build your website start-to-finish on its own. That is to say, it’s not a replacement for an actual web designer, but more of a creative partner. It’s also going to need a lot of input from you and/or your designer to fully flesh out your concept. And It should only be used to produce the ideas, not finalize them. So make sure you’re being realistic with your time budgeting.
Second, AI can’t produce anything new, creatively speaking. The nature of AI is to pull from a massive pile of existing work that it’s already seen. It can’t invent anything new. This is a problem for small businesses using solely AI website builders because they won’t be able to design to solve a specific problem for your unique brand. That takes professional judgment to refine, customize, and elevate the work.
So, you may be wondering, “Why are we even talking about AI at all?” Well, although it can’t do the creative work, it can save you time (and thus, money) by skipping the blank page stage.
Here’s what it can do:
- AI gives you a starting point for a designer to branch off of.
- AI web design is a great brainstorming partner and can give you some inspiration.
- It helps you nail down your vision, so you can easily communicate it to a designer.
Now, let’s take a look at our favorite AI tools we use to help us build websites.
AI Tools for Web Design and Branding
Figma
How to use it: Figma’s AI wireframe generator in Figma Make helps you visualize your ideas for your website before real design work starts. Simply type in a rough idea, and get a layout back. It works because it gives you something to react to, a starting point.
Use it to: Kick off the conversation with a client or team
Don’t use it to: Hand off a finished site structure to your web development team. It’s a sketch, not a blueprint.
Canva
How to use it: Canva’s Magic Design™ is a generative AI that gives you the power to take your ideas from your imagination to your screen in seconds. Get fast graphics that work especially well for social media, where volume and speed matter more than pixel-perfect polish. Give it a prompt, and it gives you content you can then edit within the platform.
Use it to: Get unstuck on a slow content day
Don’t use it to: Replace a designer building out real brand assets
Midjourney
How to use it: Midjourney is a generative AI tool similar to others in that it takes a prompt and spits out an image. What makes it different (according to many of its users) is that it uses its AI training to create more original, abstract images, rather than stitch together existing images found online. Use Midjourney to conceptualize your logo, as it specializes in standalone images, rather than complex designs.
Use it to: Build a mood board for your brand, or draft a concept for your logo that you can hand a designer
Don’t use it to: Generate a final logo. Your logo needs to be clean, scalable, and trademark safe. No AI tool can do all that.
How to Write an AI Prompt for Web Design
The more context you give AI, the more useful its starting point will be. Instead of asking it to simply “design a website,” include details about your business, audience, goals, services and brand personality.
Here’s an example:
Create a homepage wireframe for a [type of business] serving [audience/location]. The primary goal of the website is [conversion goal]. Include sections for [services/features], trust signals, FAQs and a clear call to action. The brand should feel [brand attributes]. Prioritize a simple user journey and mobile-friendly layout.
Think of your first prompt as the beginning of a conversation, not a one-and-done request. Review what AI gives you, identify what works and what doesn’t, and refine your prompts from there. The goal isn’t to have AI make the final design decisions—it’s to get to a useful concept faster. The better your direction, the better your starting point. From there, a designer can apply the strategy, creativity and brand expertise needed to turn that concept into a website that works for your business.
Generative AI Web Design Is the New Blank Page
Instead of starting from scratch, small business owners and web designers alike are using AI to skip the blank page and go straight to feedback. In this sense, AI is incredibly valuable for saving time and money. It can serve as a brainstorming partner, help you bring your ideas to the screen and give you something to react to. But AI cannot deliver a finished product.
When you hire a designer, you gain the strategic thinking, years of industry knowledge, professionalism, and personal attentiveness that AI will never have. Are you ready to take your designs from concepts to conversions with a real designer? We’re just a chat away.
