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Awwwards has established itself as THE global benchmark for excellence in web design, a true showcase for trends and innovation. But in 2025, with the acceleration of technology and the emergence of new approaches, is it still the essential monitoring tool, or simply an aesthetic gallery? I have explored Awwwards for years, for Easy Web and our clients, scrutinizing its simplicity, features, and limitations. I am sharing my feedback and my objective opinion on its real usefulness for your specific needs.
My experience with Awwwards
I've been using Awwwards since I started at Easy Web, which shows how much the platform has influenced my vision. It has become my go-to reference for anticipating trends. What I appreciate most is the creative and technical excellence that constantly pushes our teams to excel.
For us, Awwwards is not just a gallery. It's a barometer of innovation. When we want to understand where interactive design is headed, or see the boundaries being pushed in UI/UX, that's where we draw inspiration. It's essential for steering our projects toward the cutting edge.
Despite everything, the excellence on display has its limits. Awwwards often presents projects with budgets that are unrealistic for our clients, creating a disconnect. The reliance on "wow" effects can also mask shortcomings in accessibility or actual performance, which are crucial criteria.
Is Awwwards really useful for my needs?
The real question to ask yourself before using Awwwards is: what is my goal? Because the relevance of Awwwards depends greatly on how you use it. For creative monitoring and UI/UX inspiration, it's the ultimate tool. Looking to push the boundaries of current web design? Awwwards shows you exactly where those boundaries are being pushed every day.
Whether you're a UI/UX designer, art director, or freelancer, Awwwards is a gold mine. Need to design a radically new user experience? You'll find original animations, bold navigation, and ways to tell a story visually. It's the spark that ignites your ideas.
Another strong point is the depth of analysis behind each award-winning project. It's not just a gallery: each site is dissected and rated by experts. You gain a concrete understanding of the factors that make a design successful and learn from the best. A real plus.
Is Awwwards suitable for beginners?
Are you new to web design? Awwwards is, in my opinion, a gold mine for positioning yourself. Just imagine: every day, you're presented with amazing projects—not just pretty pictures, but real case studies. You can dissect the "Site of the Day" or the "Developer Site" to understand the latest trends in UX, motion design, or even how a well-thought-out CSS animation can change everything. It's a constant visual benchmark, an endless source of concrete inspiration.
The advantage is that you also get to see the judges' critiques. This forces you to sharpen your eye, to understand what makes a good design, the pitfalls to avoid, the value of a subtle micro-interaction or intuitive navigation. For a beginner, it's like having virtual mentors who show you the way, without even knowing it. It's a total immersion in the excellence of today's web, and that's priceless for making rapid progress.
How much does Awwwards cost?
Let's talk about the cost of Awwwards. Is it worth the investment? In my opinion, yes, if you know what you want to get out of it.
Submitting a website: expect to pay €150-200. Ideal for freelancers or small agencies. You gain visibility and feedback from expert judges, as well as unique exposure. It's your first step towards recognition.
Forpremium access to the Academy or conferences: expect to pay €300-600 per year. This is for established agencies and senior designers. You get access to exclusive content, masterclasses, and a network. At Easy Web, we consider this a real catalyst for growth for our teams and our skills. It's a cost, of course, but a tangible return on investment in terms of added value.
What are the key features of Awwwards?
When we talk about creative monitoring at Easy Web, the first feature of Awwwards that comes to mind is their impeccable curation. The "Sites of the Day," "Sites of the Month," and "Awards" are not just labels; they are a living gallery of the most cutting-edge UI/UX trends and innovations that are redefining the web experience. For us, it's an invaluable source of inspiration for anticipating what's going to be buzzworthy and pushing our own boundaries in terms of interactive design and aesthetics.
But beyond visual inspiration, what makes Awwwards so valuable is the rigor of its evaluation process. Their jury system, composed of world-renowned designers and developers, analyzes each submission according to clear criteria: Design, Usability, Creativity, and Content. This structured approach provides a concrete understanding of what makes a website excellent and encourages us, as professionals, to dissect each element in order to refine our own projects and strive for this level of perfection.
What's fascinating about Awwwards is that it's about much more than just the beauty of websites. Their evaluation criteria are unusually thorough. They don't just judge aesthetics, but also technical design, user experience (UX), creativity, and even content quality. It's a truly granular analysis, a real audit that pushes you to rethink every pixel, every interaction. For us designers, it's a gold mine for sharpening our eye.
And let's not even mention the jury! Having your work validated by iconic figures in global design, seasoned professionals who live and breathe the web, is priceless. It's not just a simple "like," it's recognition of excellence, a label that attests to technical and artistic mastery. It pushes us, and you, to aim ever higher.
As inspiring as it may be, Awwwards is not a toolkit. Forget editable Figma or Sketch files, real ready-to-use UI kits. It's a showcase, not a direct resource for your workflow. You won't build your next interface directly here.
For concrete resources, platforms such as UI8 or the Figma community are more relevant. Awwwards is not there for that. Its value lies elsewhere: it is a gold standard, a source of pure inspiration that drives excellence. It shows the way, without providing the tools.
In summary, here is what I take away from this:
Advantages:
- High-flying inspiration
- Trend detection
- Clear criteria for excellence
- Community recognition
Disadvantages:
- No editable files
- Few practical resources
- Aesthetic focus sometimes at the expense of UX
FAQ
Is it reliable and secure?
Absolutely reliable. Their long-standing presence in the web ecosystem is solid proof of their stability and the trust placed in them by the community. In terms of security, Awwwards uses standard encryption protocols to protect user data and project submissions. I have always appreciated their rigor in this regard. The quality of moderation, moreover, ensures a safe and professional environment for all creatives. It is a platform you can count on.
Is it compatible with my other tools?
Awwwards is not a design software, but a platform for showcasing your work. The question of compatibility therefore arises differently. You use your usual tools—Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD for design; Webflow, WordPress, development frameworks for production—and it is the finished projects, the websites online, that you submit. In this sense, it is fully compatible with all workflows. It showcases the results of your efforts, regardless of the technical or software stack used to design them.
Is there responsive customer support?
Customer support as one might imagine for a transactional SaaS tool is not the core of Awwwards. It is primarily a showcase of web excellence, with an emphasis on community and recognition.
If you have questions about the submission process or rules, their FAQ section is comprehensive and covers the basics. For more specific issues or discussions, the community is very active, particularly on their forums and social media. At Easy Web, we have rarely needed direct support; the interface is quite intuitive. It is more of an ecosystem than a traditional customer service.
What do other users think?
The feedback is unanimous: Awwwards is the gold standard for design professionals. What I hear most often is praise for the exceptional quality of the award-winning projects—an endless source of inspiration. It's a platform where peers recognize each other, valuing innovation and technical excellence. Yes, the standard is very high, which can be intimidating, but it is precisely this high bar that pushes the community to exceed its limits. It is a barometer of trends and best practices.
Can I easily change later?
Absolutely. Awwwards is a great source of inspiration, I'm the first to say so. But be careful, it's never a rigid roadmap. Digital trends are moving at breakneck speed in 2025. If your design is well thought out from the outset—we're talking about a flexible design system, for example—then yes, you have complete freedom to evolve. Never limit yourself to "chasing awards." Your agility and ability to iterate remain your greatest assets in this business.
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Specializing in business creation, sales and digital marketing, he puts his expertise at the service of users to help them identify the solutions best suited to their needs. Passionate about digital innovation and online performance optimization, Alexis is committed to providing detailed, transparent and unbiased comparisons.
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