When you are adding or redesigning a deck, you can go about it much differently than you would have been able to a decade ago.
With the new generation of deck design software, you can get an amazingly realistic view of not only what the deck will look like, but also how much it will cost you.
Like other kinds of software, the different types that deal with deck design vary greatly in price.
You can get very simple programs that don't have much more than a few canned templates for decks, but you can also get a very sophisticated program that will allow you to do design work on an almost professional level.
These kinds of differences in functionality will be the biggest determining factor in the price of program.
If you do not need all the bells and whistles, why pay for them? On the other hand, if you want to be able to really handle your design from top to bottom, you should think seriously about spending a few extra dollars and getting a top notch program.
The higher end programs can do some really neat little tricks that you may not be aware of.
For example, you can start a design and tell the program you want to use a particular type of component.
As you go on in your design, the program will assume you want to keep using that component and you will not have to keep selecting it.
The better programs will also have a library of branded items that you can select from to place around your deck.
This a great feature because as you design the deck you can see how these items will fit in with your design.
Of course, everything is to scale so you will be able to decide if your deck needs to have bigger spaces or you need a particular item to be a bit smaller.