I’ve been fortunate to work as a creative web designer for many years, and it’s a very rewarding and exciting time to be one. Design keeps the brain engaged and constantly challenges you — which is exactly why most of us love it, even if it’s not without its difficulties.

Updated September 2022

How do you stay inspired?

That’s one of the big questions. Usual advice includes going for a walk, trying something new, making something with your hands, stepping away from the screen, reading books or blogs — and of course, travelling.

Another huge part of staying inspired is sharing your work with others. Putting it out there on platforms like Dribbble or Behance (among many others) lets you get real feedback from peers who know the craft. Good or bad, that feedback is invaluable — it’s how industry standards evolve. Client praise is great, but it’s peer critique that really keeps you sharp.

Which brings me to the point of this post: to share a few (top 12) websites that inspired me this year. These aren’t in any particular order, but each one pushed me to raise my own bar and serve my clients better.

So without further ado…

1. Squareup

2. CakeSweetCake (as of 2022 it pivoted into a wedding planning site — sadly not as good)

3. Focus Lab

4. Peugeot Hybrid 4 (site no longer live as of Sep 2022)

One of the best parallax scrolling product promo sites I’ve seen. If you like graphic novels, cars, and speed — this was a gem.

5. Loft City Church

6. Little Lines

7. Agentur Loop

8. Wallmob (doesn’t seem to work as of Sep 2022)

9. Home on Earth

10. FiftyThree

11. Tradestone Confections (doesn’t seem to work as of Sep 2022)

12. Mutual Trust