Every artist, whether they like to admit it or not, is inspired by others around them. Musicians, filmmakers, painters ... all look to either their own contemporaries or those who've come before them. Even if it's to think that they can do a better job of things, web designers looking to others as their muse is completely accepted in this day and age; you're really only shooting yourself in the foot if you refuse to see anyone else's work.

Before we launch into where to find motivation, it's worth mentioning that for modern web designers, keeping track of relevant trends in your industry is paramount to managing a website. After all, a site should always be looking its best and making use of cutting edge options. So without further ado, take a look at what we believe are unmissable sources of stimulation for designers.

CSS Design Awards

When you're trying to find inspiration, why not check out the very best to begin with? Along with the Awwwards, CSS Design Awards actively promotes work from some of the best up and coming designers. "Website of the Day" is a useful little section to visit regularly, as it gives the winning site a score out of 10, which is based on parameters like code and function, UX and content, and overall creative design.

One prize that you may well hope to win one day is either "Website of the Year" or "Designer of the Year" as this is a huge accolade to accomplish and will no doubt boost your reputation tenfold. What's more, there are many articles on web design, interviews with industry leaders, as well as job postings - particularly valuable when you're trying to make web design your career.

FlatDSGN

FlatDSGN is an interesting place for stimulus because it is one that embraces the notion of minimalism, as opposed to throwing everything but the kitchen sink into your website. This is a great site to visit when you feel like you want to go back to basics and eschew anything flashy. Designs can be submitted on FlatDSGN, and there is also a section on discovering the latest bundles and deals to assist web designers.

Dribbble

Although it's a somewhat strange name, it is memorable nonetheless. Dribbble is fairly similar to that of Behance, insofar that as soon as you load the site, you're confronted with dozens and dozens of fantastic web design work from the community. The designs come in all shapes and sizes, for mobile apps all the way to ecommerce stores. And it's not just web designers who can showcase their work either, as graphic designers, illustrators, and font artists are all able to upload their work and receive solid and useful feedback from concurring people in the industry.