A wireframe works similar to how a floor plan is in engineering and construction. Before anything is built, the team must first know where everything will be placed or installed. It’s a key step in the web design and development process, no matter how large or small that said project is.
The wireframing process shares the same concept but for apps and websites. UX designers commonly use it to outline the product’s design and functionalities. This provides stakeholders an opportunity to connect architecture and visual design. Hence, helping the team get on the same page and provide relevant feedback.
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What is the Purpose of Wireframing?
Defines functionality
Creating wireframes can help in outlining features, structures, and hierarchy.
This initial design is also used to lay out the content and functionality of a page while taking into account how users may interact with these elements. Additionally, this step helps inform or explain hierarchy and structure within the web page.
Improves design decisions
Wireframing takes place during the product development process, which is mostly driven by collaboration and experimentation. During this phase, product managers and UX designers aim to bring ideas together and integrate business requirements.
Encourages collaboration and feedback
Low fidelity wireframes, or basic wireframes, are more than enough to keep conversations relevant about design and functionality. Having a visual tool that everyone can refer to can increase input from stakeholders and improve collaboration.
Highlights user experience
User experience benefits most from the wireframing process since it allows more opportunities to test and validate ideas on user flows, navigation, and user-friendliness of the initial design.
From a business perspective, wireframes also make it easier to accommodate business needs and set expectations.
A cost-effective way to identify potential issues
Wireframe tools are reasonably priced or even free. Thus, it’s reasonable to expect at least a page layout in any digital project, especially those targeted for mobile devices and websites.
These projects tend to have many layers and will surely benefit from identifying issues early in the design process, not to mention alignment between all stakeholders.
Why Wireframe Is Required?
SEO web designers often create wireframes to initiate an iterative process. Iterative design, for that matter, is a methodology that positions mobile apps and web pages as an ongoing, incremental process that can be adjusted according to user experience.
Clients, on the other hand, are able to provide more reasonable feedback or instructions with the added visibility provided by wireframes. Hence, wireframes are important for collaboration and progress of any design project.
Speaking of wireframes, there are three types of wireframe fidelity used in the design process. With fidelity, in this case, alludes to the level of detail provided in each design. Additionally, each stage may use wireframing tools to best deliver on their respective priorities.
Low-fidelity wireframe
Low-fidelity wireframes or basic wireframes focus on the basic functionality and design of the app or website. During this phase, simple shapes are used to showcase the placement and structure of general content elements.
The purpose of this basic wireframe is to quickly put together ideas and concepts, and initiate collaboration with stakeholders. You can expect to see the overall layout and structure of the web or app without going into too much detail in each section.
Mid-fidelity wireframe
Mid-fidelity wireframes add more detail to the template. During this phase, the UI design and elements are more refined. There is also more input on the functionality and structure of these elements, as well as how they interact with users.
In general, you can expect interactive features, clearer content layout, and more specific styling and design choices added to this stage.
High-fidelity wireframe
High-fidelity wireframes are meant to resemble the final design closely. They are more detailed and will normally have a placeholder text or image on their respective design elements to deliver a more refined visual representation.
More importantly, this version of the wireframe showcases the ideas and design concepts that were elevated from the previous phases of the design process. As a result, there are specific high-fidelity wireframe tools used at this stage to make the prototype interactive for some internal user testing and user feedback.
What Makes a Good Website Wireframe?
The wireframe should have all the content and design elements that are expected to be on a website of its kind. On that note, it should also be easy to understand for all stakeholders.
Clear visual representation
For basic wireframe designs, you may see hand-drawn drafts at the start of the project. During this stage, a clear outline is more important, which often requires simpler tools.
As the project progresses, the designer will use vector design shapes to showcase elements and screen templates much clearer and closer to the final product.
Focus on user experience
An excellent design should always have user experience in every page, element, or interaction.
Some projects require simpler design mechanics, as long the navigation is intuitive for users and business goals are successfully met. Likewise, the page layouts and elements must be consistent in order to provide users with a uniform experience.
Scalable function and design
A good wireframe must be ready to scale for expansion, additional features, or content.
In addition, it should account for different platforms and screen sizes to enable a fully responsive or mobile-friendly design, which is significant not just for user experience, but also for SEO due to mobile-first indexing.
How Do I Wireframe an Existing Website?
Wireframing an existing website requires a bit of tweaking on your approach. Although, the general concept and execution are familiar.
For starters, you will need a clear visual blueprint that reflects the layout and structure of the website or app. In turn, this will help determine the customer’s journey and current level of user experience.
In doing so, you should also be clear about the purpose of the project. You may need to shift priorities depending on whether you’re redesigning the website or just a particular stage of the user experience.
Is Wireframing Part of UX or UI?
Wireframing mostly works to improve user experience, but it should also touch on the user interface.
On balance, wireframes are most utilised to plan the structure and organise the flow of a website or mobile application. Likewise, the journey of the user. But in some cases, wireframing can inform how certain visual styles are decided and where some elements are placed in the UI design.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What tools can I use for wireframing?
The most popular and high-rated tools you can use for wireframing are Figma, Adobe XD, MockFlow, Sketch, UXPin, and Miro. Most of these tools also enable real-time collaboration, which is most valuable when working with various stakeholders.
What design elements are included in the wireframe?
The design elements may vary, but navigation systems, headers, logos, buttons, and footers are some elements you’ll often find in different wireframe fidelities.
Do I need to create a wireframe for every page of an app or website?
You don’t necessarily need to create wireframes for all pages of your website or app. However, certain areas like the homepage and product pages will benefit from having a simple visual draft to kick off the project.
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