Why I Stopped Using Dribbble for Design Inspiration — and What I Use Instead
May 7, 2025
For years, Dribbble was my go-to for design inspiration.
You know the drill: bold UI shots, juicy color palettes, slick gradients, and animations that made you think, “Damn, I want to build that.”
But over time, I started to notice a problem.
The stuff I was saving on Dribbble looked amazing...
But it rarely translated into real product design work.
Eventually, I made a big shift:
I stopped using Dribbble for inspiration.
And I’ve never been more confident when working with our Webflow developers and building real websites.
Here’s why I changed — and the five resources I now use instead.
🎨 The Problem With Dribbble: Concept Over Reality
Dribbble is a beautiful place. The visual creativity is unmatched.
But here’s the thing:
Most of the designs on Dribbble are just concepts.
No code. No real user logic. No responsive behavior.
Just pixel-perfect screens in a vacuum.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing — concepts can spark ideas.
But when I’m working on actual SaaS websites or conversion-driven landing pages, I need inspiration that:
Reflects real-world structure
Is live and interactive
Works across devices
Has actual content hierarchy and UX decisions baked in
Dribbble doesn’t give me that.
And worse — it often leads to over-designed, impractical layouts that don’t scale.
🧠 Why Real Websites Are Better Sources of Inspiration
Once I switched to using real websites as inspiration, everything changed.
Here’s what I gained:
Faster design-to-dev handoff: I could literally show devs what I meant — “like this live site,” not “this mockup that only exists as a PNG.”
Stronger structure: I learned more about how real SaaS products organize navigation, CTAs, testimonials, pricing, and so on.
Confidence in execution: I wasn’t guessing if an idea was buildable. I had proof it was already out there — and working.
Designing in the real world means thinking about constraints, responsiveness, and load time.
It means building things that don’t just look good — but convert.
That’s where these new resources come in.
🛠️ My Go-To Resources for Real Design Inspiration
These 5 tools give me live, functional inspiration from real websites — not isolated visuals.
1. Landbook
Landbook is a massive collection of beautiful websites, updated regularly.
You can filter by categories like SaaS, portfolios, ecommerce, agencies, and more.
Why I love it:
Clean UI with tons of screenshots per site
Focused on real-world use cases
Helpful when looking for full-page inspiration (not just sections)
2. Landings
This one’s a gem. Landings is a curated collection of startup landing pages — sorted by industry and design trends.
Why I love it:
It focuses specifically on startup-level execution
You can filter by stack (e.g., Webflow, Tailwind, etc.)
It’s not just design — it’s about conversion
Great if you want a modern, fast-loading, CTA-heavy page that looks sharp and works hard.
3. SaaS Frame
This one’s built for product folks, marketers, and SaaS founders. It breaks down design patterns by component — like navbars, hero sections, pricing, dashboards, testimonials, etc.
Why I love it:
Super useful for dissecting specific UI sections
You can browse real SaaS websites by component type
The library updates frequently with modern examples
If you ever think, “What should our pricing section look like?” — this is where you go.
4. Landing Folio
This one’s got a massive database of website components, layouts, and full pages. It even has copy inspiration, which is a bonus.
Why I love it:
The UI patterns are high quality
You can explore by industry or component type
Great resource for marketing teams as well as designers
Perfect for teams building across multiple pages — not just the homepage.
5. SaaS Landing Page
This site is exactly what it says it is — a growing collection of SaaS landing pages, with links to live pages and screenshots of full scrolls.
Why I love it:
Easy to scroll through for a big-picture view
Good mix of early-stage and mature SaaS design
You can compare structure, CTAs, and copy in context
It’s fast to browse and ideal for spotting patterns that convert.
🚀 What This Shift Changed for Me
Since I made this change:
My designs get built faster — no miscommunication with devs
My work performs better — because it’s grounded in real, tested structures
I feel more confident — presenting ideas that are already proven in the wild
Dribbble still has a place — especially for visual exploration or branding ideas.
But when it comes to shipping websites, I want reference points that are live, responsive, and user-tested.
✅ TL;DR — Ditch the Dribbble Daydreams
If you’re building websites — especially for SaaS, marketing, or product-led growth — you need more than just pretty pixels.
You need:
Real-world structure
UI that converts
Components that devs can build
Confidence in what you ship
Start using tools like Landbook, Landings.dev, SaaS Frame, Landing Folio, and SaaS Landing Page.
Your workflow will thank you.
Your developers will thank you.
And honestly, your users will too.
