We’re living in a truly historic time. The way we used to do many things is rapidly changing thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).
While some people try to resist the AI revolution (and ignore or dismiss the benefits it brings), it’s much better to embrace changes and learn how we can use AI technology to make our work more efficient.
Take creating a website, for example. AI tools can be used in almost any part of web design from research and planning to coding and SEO optimization.
Before AI, when someone wanted to build a website, they typically hired a web developer to do this job. But today, it’s relatively easy to create a website using AI-powered no-code web builder tools.
No-code web builders are ideal for beginners! These tools can generate layouts optimized for fast loading time, with user-friendly design and built-in accessibility.
However, with so many different tools to choose from, how can you decide which one you should use for your website project? In this article, we will review essential AI tools you can use to create a website.
The Future of AI in Website Development
The field of AI is constantly evolving, and its impact on website development is only going to grow stronger. In the future, we can expect to see:
- More sophisticated AI design tools: AI will be able to generate even more personalized and visually stunning website designs.
- More advanced AI content generation: AI will be able to generate longer and more complex content, such as blog posts, articles, and even entire ebooks.
- More seamless integration of AI into website platforms: AI features will become more deeply integrated into website builders and other platforms, making them even easier to use.
- Increased use of AI for website personalization: AI will enable even more granular personalization, creating truly unique and engaging experiences for each user.
- AI-powered website testing and debugging: AI will be able to automatically test and debug websites, finding and fixing errors more efficiently.
Human creativity versus artificial intelligence
You might ask, “Will AI eventually replace human creators?”
Well, it’s complicated… AI can indeed improve the efficiency of web design activities, but it can never completely replace human creators.
Design is all about creating for humans by humans. No matter how efficient the tools we use are, they are ultimately just tools we use to solve human problems. And the result that tools generate should be evaluated by humans.
Even today, you can use AI tools to generate an entire website. However, most of the time, you’ll need to invest time and energy into refining the outcome that AI generates.
Product design is a specialization that has evolved over a few decades. People who have worked in this domain for years have a lot of expertise that you can rely on when building your product.
Using AI for website creation
Follow these steps when using AI to help create your website:
- Conduct user research
- Plan your website
- Select your website-building platform
- Generate content
1. Conduct user research
User and market research is an integral part of the product design process. The better you understand your target audience and their problems, the higher your chances of creating the right solution for them.
However, collecting and analyzing this information is one of the significant challenges in research. AI tools can help you overcome this challenge.
AI tools can be used during almost all phases of the web design process, from the very beginning (when the team conducts initial research analysis of users and market) to later stages (when a team has a working prototype of a website and needs to validate it).
During the early steps of design, you can use AI to create a user persona (the archetype of an ideal user). And you don’t need any specific tools for that. It’s possible to use chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude for this task.
Pro tip: Remember, you cannot rely on AI-generated research without validation. You still need to fact-check the output information through multiple reliable sources.
2. Plan your website
AI tools can be very effective during the planning phase of your future website. They can speed up key planning activities and help you establish an effective foundation for your future design.
As with any other project, when it comes to a website, you typically start with foundational elements like site mapping, content planning, and the design of key pages.
# Site mapping
A site map will help you outline the structure of your website. This enables you to see what pages you will have and what content you will need for those pages. When it comes to the design of individual pages, it’s recommended to start with low-fidelity wireframes rather than go straight to high-fidelity pixel-perfect mock-ups.
Both site mapping and wireframing can be done using a tool called Relume. With this tool, all you need to do is provide a text description of what you want to build, and the tool will do the rest! AI will generate a sitemap with specific pages that match your intention and turn them into wireframes.
You can also easily modify the design in real-time. For example, you can introduce both global changes (such as altering the prompt you provide to AI) or fine-tune the design of individual elements (such as the design of sections in a wireframe generated by AI).
# Content planning
Once you are done with a sitemap and wireframes, you need to focus on content. This is obviously a key element of a web design. Indeed, your content is the primary reason why people visit your website!
While sitemaps and wireframes generated by tools like Relume can outline key sections, the content in the sections is generic. This is why you need to invest in a content marketing plan that will help you make the most of your design.
Shaping solid content strategy is both an art and a science. It will likely require a few iterations, as you will need to test to see what works and what doesn’t.
ChatGPT is an ideal tool for making broad strokes for your content strategy. Submit a prompt like “Content strategy for a site for selling bikes” to get the initial version of your content strategy. And refine it manually with insights you have about your project.
A general outline of a content strategy for a website. Outline generated by ChatGPT
# Design strategy
Once you finish with content strategy, you need to invest in design elements.
Visual elements such as logos, icons, and graphic patterns, as well as images (see next section), are integral to your site’s success. They are the first things that users notice when they land on a new page. Also, they typically stay in human memory long after they leave your website.
There are many different tools you can use to generate visual elements, but Canva is by far the easiest tool for that. Whenever you need a certain visual element, you can either choose a ready-to-use element in Canva’s massive library of graphic assets or generate it in real-time, using the Canva AI generator.
Pro tip: Canva’s ready-to-use design is fully editable. For example, if you decide to use one particular image for your logo, but the text doesn’t work for you, you can click on the logo and change it.
# Fast-tracking your design
The design process described in this section is a conventional one. You start with an idea and gradually add details and refine your design. However, sometimes you need to get to the final design much faster.
For example, during brainstorming sessions, you might want to have a tool that enables you to turn your prompt into a ready-to-use high-fidelity design that you can show to other team members and discuss right in the meeting.
When you want to fast-track to an initial design, you can use an AI tool called Uizard. All you need to do is provide a prompt, and the tool will turn it into a final design.
Pro tip: Although this approach will very quickly give you an initial design, it shouldn’t be used as a replacement for the regular design process. The design generated by Uizard is good for quick exploration. However, the AI-generated page mock-ups are typically created from pre-made building blocks, and, as a result, such a design might look generic.
3. Select your website-building platform
Many popular website-building platforms offer AI tools for their clients. These AI tools can vary from narrow-focussed AI features such as AI-powered background removers to entire page (or full site) design.
Here are two platforms that deserve your attention.
# Wix Studio
Wix Studio is a comprehensive web creation platform tailored for freelancers and agencies. It combines intuitive design tools with flexible development capabilities that help streamline the web design process.
When it comes to AI tools, Wix allows you to generate images right from the tool. You can also upscale existing images, and generate content and meta information for your website. Instead of navigating to tools like Midjourney and ChatGPT, you can complete the image-generation or copywriting tasks without leaving the tool.
# Elementor for WordPress
Elementor for WordPress (one of the most popular content management systems in the world) is another very useful website builder. Elementor uses AI for the same cases as Wix. However, it can also understand the context and generate copy that aligns with the voice and tone of your brand.
Once you define the voice and tone, you can submit a content sample to the Elementor AI Context tool so it can be analyzed. It will then generate a copy that aligns with the voice and tone of your organization.
4. Generate content
Now it’s time to start considering the content that will appear on your website. This includes the images, video, and copy.
# Image generation
Humans are visual learners; images help communicate ideas faster than plain words. Before the AI revolution, we used to hunt for the perfect visuals on stock image platforms such as Shutterstock: that said, Shutterstock is leading the way in incorporating AI into its platform.
Now, however, we can easily generate any visual that we want using tools like Midjourney or DALL-E 3. All you need to do is provide a text prompt to summarize your idea and refine the AI tool’s output.
Mountain bike image generated using Midjourney
It’s vital to understand not only the benefits but also the downsides of AI image generators. AI tools still have a few issues when it comes to images of people. The problem with extra fingers on a human hand in generated images is less frequent now. However, most AI-generated images still have a plastic effect so that people with a trained eye can easily spot them.
Another important thing that requires mentioning is copyrights. US Copyright Law states that images generated by AI tools like Midjourney are not ‘works of authorship‘ because they have no human authors. It means that images created by AI belong to the public domain and cannot be protected by copyright.
# Video generation
Videos have become an integral part of modern web design, adding dynamic visual elements that can captivate and engage visitors far more effectively than static images alone.
When it comes to video generation, Pikalabs and Runway are two AI tools that can generate videos based on either a text prompt or a static image. Creating a short video from a static image is particularly useful.
You can transform a static image of a breathtaking mountain range into a short video clip, adding subtle animations like flowing clouds, swaying trees, or the gentle movement of a river.
Pro tip: If you have any specific requirements for UI copy, such as character limit or specific voice and tone, include these in the prompt to the AI tool.
If you want to see text up to 100 words, write a prompt like “Write for the hero section for a mountain bike shop in under 100 words” to give ChatGPT clear instructions for the content length.
Depending on your goal, you can use different AI tools that better align with your intention and content style. Popular options are ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini.
Examples of AI Performance and Security Tools:
- Cloudflare: Cloudflare uses AI to protect websites from cyberattacks and improve performance.
- Akamai: Akamai offers a suite of AI-powered security and performance solutions for websites.
- Google Analytics 4: Google Analytics 4 uses machine learning to provide more insightful data and predictions about user behaviour.
Conclusion
The wide range of AI tools available today streamline website creation in many areas from initial design exploration to UI design, content writing, and image generation. AI tools help achieve professional results without investing a significant amount of time. However, the role of humans remains crucial in the design process. The human touch defines the vision and ensures that the final product truly resonates with the audience it was originally intended for.
