Design inspiration plays a practical role in daily work. Designers frequently revisit sites of reference when there is a lack of clarity on a solution, confirmation of patterning is required, or more than simply using “gut” instinct on making a choice is necessary. The primary intention is typically not to discover something new, but rather to learn how different products and/or environments resolve similar problems, using various approaches.

Over time, a small group of websites proves consistently useful. They help designers observe structure, compare approaches, and recognize patterns that appear across industries. Below are five design inspiration sites that are widely used for this reason, each supporting a different stage of the design process.

PageFlows

PageFlows is centered on how digital products actually function. Instead of presenting isolated screens, it documents complete user flows taken from real products. These include onboarding sequences, checkout processes, pricing flows, and account management paths.

This structure makes PageFlows valuable for analytical work. Designers can follow how users move from one step to another and observe how products handle decisions, errors, confirmations, and optional actions. Seeing these moments in sequence provides context that static galleries often lack.

PageFlows is frequently used when designing complex interactions or auditing existing flows. It helps identify common patterns across products and reveals where teams choose clarity over flexibility. Because the examples come from live products, the insights feel grounded and applicable.

The platform is also helpful during collaboration. Referencing an existing flow from a known product can clarify discussions with stakeholders and support design decisions without relying on abstract arguments. PageFlows stays focused on function, which makes it both reliable and easy to use.

Behance

Behance allows designers to explore the process of a design through case studies. Designers can see how their projects developed over time as opposed to looking at them as just an image of the completed project. By using Behance as a way to study a designer’s process, designers can gain insight on how limitations affect the outcome of a project and how teams explain their decisions. It is not possible to gain this type of insight using a gallery with only completed projects.

Behance also serves as a reference for communication. Examining how others explain their work can improve how designers document projects or present ideas to clients and teams. The platform requires time and selective browsing, but strong projects often provide insight beyond visual style.

Awwwards

Awwards identifies the boundaries of website design and technology by finding websites that create unique designs through advanced animations, interactions and layouts that are not normal or average.

For Branding websites, and Marketing pages, Awwards allows Designers the ability to explore everything that can be done technically with a website design. It promotes the idea of Designers trying new things and not sticking to the traditional layout and movement that is expected.

From a comparative perspective, Awwards is a reference point for Designers to review projects relative to one another, and how the techniques being used change how a user interacts with a product in the real world. While some of the techniques used in Awwards projects can improve user engagement and storytelling, they could potentially create issues or friction for users of a typical/average product. Designers will use the projects featured within Awwards as a basis to measure the pros and cons of various techniques.Practical Solutions vs Theoretical Solutions.

Muzli

Muzli acts similarly to an inspiration site for designers, gathering various sources together to provide inspiration through social media networks such as Instagram and Pinterest, and has become the go-to place for general design inspiration. Muzli gives designers an easy way to quickly browse design inspiration from multiple sources without needing to do searches.

While it does not cover every single current trend in detail, it does give designers insight into what trends are emerging and can help guide designers on additional research. It is most valuable because it is a broad source of inspiration rather than an in-depth search for information on particular trends. Therefore, designers should use it to discover subjects they can delve deeper into later through other channels.

Siteinspire

Siteinspire is a collection of outstanding quality examples of websites that focus on strong web design elements (such as Layout, Typography, Structure). When compared with other less focused platforms, this site focuses strongly on web design.

In the design process, designers have been known to use this site to examine hierarchy, spacing, composition, etc. Website examples on this site place an emphasis on balance and clarity in the way they present their work, rather than using over-the-top visual effects, making them ideal for real life applications.

Siteinspire is especially helpful when working on marketing pages, editorial layouts, or brand websites. It supports analytical observation of structure and proportion, offering references that feel refined without being overly experimental.

How designers use inspiration sites in practice

Typically, designers utilize multiple platforms, rather than focusing their efforts solely upon one. This is due to the fact that each platform encourages a different perspective of design thinking. For instance, some platforms help designers better understand user behavior, while others allow them to visually explore designs and compare their structures. To get maximum use from their exploration and evaluation of design ideas; designers must leverage the best platform at the correct moment.

Typical situations where different platforms are used by designers include:

• Comparing patterns across similar products
• Validating flow structure and sequencing
• Studying layout and hierarchy
• Supporting design discussions with concrete examples

When used deliberately, inspiration sites strengthen decision making rather than replacing it.

A practical conclusion

As designers gain experience, inspiration becomes less about novelty and more about understanding. Familiar patterns start to matter because they reveal shared solutions to recurring problems.

Platforms that document real behavior and real decisions tend to remain useful over time. PageFlows fits this role particularly well. It is convenient, easy to navigate, and consistently focused on how products actually work.

That combination makes PageFlows both useful and practical. It supports analysis, comparison, and communication without unnecessary noise, which is why many designers consider it a dependable part of their workflow rather than a source of fleeting inspiration.