35 Inspirational Software and Application Websites

by Matt on April 2, 2009 · 34 comments

in Apps and Services,Resources

In web design, trends are very easy to spot, and they greatly impact us as designers because we are often inclined to follow those trends. You will notice many trends based on the type, or category, of site you are looking at. One category of websites that follow similar trends are software and application websites. This includes everything from Mac applications to web-based apps.

No matter what type of app, the trends are always visible.

One of those trends is the use of a strong and attractive introduction. The introductions welcome the user and provide a very brief but informative description of the software or app. Also, you will notice the use of screenshots, often placed within this introduction. Not only that, the screenshots for web-based applications all follow the trend of placing the screenshot with the browser, generally Safari. There are many software sites that don’t have screenshots though. Instead, you will see that they often include a detailed and vibrant illustration in the introduction.

Furthermore, you will notice trends in navigation. Most sites will use a very simple main navigation bar. The throughout the sites are often similar, too. Software sites usually include pages such as About, Support, Pricing, Features, Tour, and sometimes blog. Finally, you will notice throughout these pages strond use of icons. Icons are an excellent way to support text based elements within a content heavy design.

With all that in mind, take a look at these 35 excellent examples of well-designed software and application websites. To view the full page in further detail, follow the link of the screenshot. Pay attention to the numerous trends mentioned above, and how each one helps the overall usability and visual aspect of the website.

GoodBarry

An eCommerce CMS with many features including Email Marketing, Analytics, and CRM.

Warehouse

A web-based Suberversion browser.

Silverback App

A usability testing software for designers and developers.

Product Planner

This is an excellent web app which allows to plan the flow of web products by looking at other successful plans.

Quick Snapper

An execellent screenshot software for the Mac.

LittleSnapper

Another top screenshot application for Mac.

Postbox

This app offers ways to organize, find, and view mail in an easy manner.

Invoice Machine

This is a simple and easy invoicing service, which is excellent for all freelancers.

Checkout

An award winning sales software for running business. You can easily work with sales, orders, receipts, invoices, and much more.

Espionage

This is a folder protection and security software for Mac.

The Resumator

A very easy and pain free resume building software.

Onehub

A secure and easy way to share files, manage products, and collaborate online.

Invoy

One more invoicing software for the Mac.

Ronin

Yet another excellent invoicing application, but this one is web-based.

freckle

An excellent time management time tracking application.

EventBox

An easy way to organize social networking information from services including Twitter, Facebook, Reader, Flickr, RSS, and Reddit.

Coda

Coda is an award winning web development software. It is arguably the best web development software, competing with Adobe Dreamweaver.

Pixelmator

Pixelmator is one of the top image editing applications and specifically for the Mac.

Traffik

Traffik is a business and corporate CMS.

Things

Things is one of the best task management and productivity applications for Mac.

Socialcast

This is a powerful corporate social networking application.

280 Slides

A web-based presentation builder.

MailChimp is one of the top HTML email marketing solutions.

Present.ly

Another corporate communication tool/

Espresso

Another awesome development software for the Mac.

Gist

An organized and easy way to track clients in every aspect, from emails and links to news feeds.

Mint

Mint is the premier tool for budgeting and money management.

SousChef

Helps you organize, find, and store recipes with some awesome features.

Anxiety

This is a to-do management software that is easy to use.

Versions

This application helps you to work with Subversion on your Mac.

Evernote

An excellent application that helps you keep track of things by allowing your to create notes, voice notes, screenshots, and more.

WebNotes

Allows you to take notes and highlight content in a web page. You can then organize and share the notes.

ZenSender

A simple email marketing web application.

Miro

Miro is a great app that can play almost any internet video file, and brings access to HD TV shows and podcasts.

Icerberg

Iceberg is an application development software, and allows you to easily create costum applications, and access to an extensive application library.

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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }

Tim Reynolds April 2, 2009 at 8:00 am

I happen to notice most of this software is for Mac!! Do windows apps not have any nice websites.

Kelly April 2, 2009 at 11:18 am

Please separate what is for Mac and what is for Windows. You have a lot of Mac stuff on here…Macs are still only a tiny <10% of the market….

Tim Ngwena April 2, 2009 at 2:32 pm

I echo the call for more windows apps or clearer differentiation but nevertheless, this is a good list of apps. Personal fav is Evernote, works pretty much everywhere, from phone to pc and manages notes very well and it’s free!

aravind April 2, 2009 at 2:40 pm

Great collection of websites..
Mac wins again.. Mac app websites are the sexiest indeed!

Ryan Damico April 2, 2009 at 5:10 pm

Thanks for the mention!

This is a great list of web gems — I think we can learn a few things from the design and simplicity of some of these apps :)

Michael April 2, 2009 at 9:25 pm

You have a good eye for design! I’m glad you pointed out these similarities.

Ben April 3, 2009 at 1:43 am

First, the mac market share in the US is >10%, at least for new computers purchased.

Second, if you’d like windows software mentioned, at least link to a site for a piece of windows software that you think is good. I don’t know of one myself.

Lastly, I’d like to say that RAVE vfx (ravevfx.com) did the site for SousChef.

Danh ba web 2.0 April 3, 2009 at 5:26 am

Great list for Web Designer and me. Thanks a lot
But all soft and apps used Mac, i use Windown
Nice to meet you !

Jeff D April 3, 2009 at 5:13 pm

I saw this list and thought I’d share two web services/apps for Windows users since it seem a few of you seem left out. The first is Office Live Workspace from Microsoft. It allows users to store 5GB of files online for free and then collaborate on them with other users. You can also gather feedback, share notes, post schedules etc for your select group to see. Each Workspace also includes web app versions of popular Office programs meaning you do not have to have Office to work with the files. The second service with is Office Live Small Business, which lets users create a website, register a domain name, add e-mail, checkout carts etc for free as well. More info on both of these can be found in the links below.
Cheers Everyone,
Jeff
MSFT Office Live Outreach
http://workspace.officelive.com/LearnMore
http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/

Matt April 3, 2009 at 5:51 pm

To all reading this, this is not a list of best apps, it is a list of application and software websites. There seems to be a large amount of confusion about this.

David Leggett April 5, 2009 at 3:18 pm

Wow, lots of my favorites included here :) Silverback, Things, MailChimp, great collection!

Florida Carpet Flooring April 29, 2009 at 8:45 am

Great collection of software and applications. I bookmarked this post. Thanks for sharing good information.

Web Design Guy June 6, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Interesting..

David Williams July 2, 2009 at 11:34 am

Very nice information. Thanks for this. Hope you visit my site and post up some stuff :)

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Philadelphia workers compensation June 3, 2010 at 1:09 pm

Thanks for the collection, this is a round up of some very useful and very creative sites, that push the envelope of design.

IWT January 14, 2011 at 5:07 am

Thanks a lot for this useful and inspirational list.

raf January 17, 2011 at 7:15 am

raf

Thanks for article. It’s great.

motorlu panjur May 17, 2011 at 2:10 pm

Wow, lots of my favorites included here :) Silverback, Things, MailChimp, great collection!

raf May 24, 2011 at 10:42 am

impossebal :)

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