We could argue that the ability to design shoes online is always free – it’s just the “buy the shoe” part that costs the money.
The way we dress has long been an indicator of social status, profession or position. Take, for example, the saying “well-heeled” as a reference to the upper class, or the abbreviated word “slip-shod” for poor craftsmanship. When you look at these phrases, you can see how our shoes and the status they bring have become a huge part of everyday fashion.
But where can you buy custom shoes? Or better yet, how can you design your own sneakers? Here are the best places to design your own shoes online.
SEE ALSO: 7 Best Design Apps To Customize Your Own T-Shirts
Zazzle is the perfect place to design your own sneakers online, from briefs to tops. With an easy-to-understand interface, Zazzle immediately energizes your creativity. This is especially true when you see all the ways you can make your own shoes from scratch.
With Zazzle, the possibilities for custom shoe design are endless. The website offers you a choice of styles of unisex shoes.
When you open the edit screen, you will be taken to a 3D model of your shoe. Here you can apply visuals to your favorite style.
Take for example this shoe that I draw. On the right side of the screen, you will see five expandable categories: Layers , Pictures , Icons , Text and Shapes . In the lower right corner, you can also see a preview window of your new custom shoes.
Thanks to Zazzle, you can change the color of your shoes, apply preset shapes, text and emoticons. You can also download a work of art and apply it, but it should be emphasized that you must first have permission to use that work.
Zazzle will show you how to make your own shoes from scratch, but it is very important to choose your shoe size before you start designing. Images will appear differently on different shoe sizes unless they are to scale.
Once you have finished designing your own shoes online, click the button Finished . Zazzle will return you to your order screen.
On your order screen, you will see a mockup of your new shoe design on all sides. You can then add the shoes to your shopping cart.
Note: These personalized slips would have cost me $ 74.90 plus applicable taxes, but there are different types of shoes on the website. As such, not all prices will be the same.
Nike By You is another place where you can design your own sneakers online. Brought to you by Nike, this website offers a simple and streamlined way to design your own sneakers to specific factory standards. The price is competitive and the app is easy to use.
In our opinion, Nike By You is one of the easiest ways to learn how to customize your shoes online. All you have to do is click the button Personalize , then choose a shoe from the list.
For this article, I’m going to design sneakers that are wider at the toe. Once I click on a design that I like best, I can choose a shoe from some predefined options or edit a design instead. I will click on Edit Design now:
While you cannot apply artwork or decals to these sneakers, you can change the colors of each part of the shoe. Every time you apply a new color, your preview shoe will update automatically.
You can also click on the arrows <> to scroll through the angles from different angles to see what the shoes look like on each side.
Once you have finished designing your custom shoes, you can click the button Finished to return to the operating screen. Here are the updated shoes I created:
Not bad if we don’t do it ourselves! With a price tag of $ 110.00, it’s not ridiculously expensive either. You can think of it as money well spent.
Now, at this point, we think it’s important to remember that we aim for quality websites instead of quantity when it comes to our recommendations. We want to make sure that the shoe stores we are talking about have a reputation for bringing you the best gear possible.
With that in mind, the last place we want to recommend is the Vans ‘Customs’ option, where you can customize shoes for men, women, and kids.
Like Nike By You, Vans Customs can be designed into a sleek and easy to use interface. You can choose between different colors, patterns and fabrics to decorate each part of your shoe:
It doesn’t seem like it’s possible to add personal artwork, but Vans makes up for it by having pre-designed art prints you can apply, ranging from abstract designs to animal prints. Just go to the section Patterns and you will find them.
What about the price? Each shoe varies (and the type of material you use can increase the price), but overall the vans are reasonably priced and comparable in quality to those from Nike By You. We highly recommend taking a look at this site.
READ ALSO: 10 Best Graphic Design Tools For Non-Designers
Design your own sneakers online
While buying custom-made shoes will never be 100% cheap, you can assume that you’re getting what you pay for, and you don’t want something super cheap anyway.
You will not only get something as individualistic as you are, but you will also be wearing something well made. Customizing your shoes online through these services can be very beneficial.
