Website Wireframing & Why It’s Important
When designing a website, one of the most essential and first things to do is wireframe! Wireframing is the outlining and rough structural design of anything that will be later executed in a more complex and final product. In a wireframe, things like function, placement, and interactions are considered and physically planned out for later design. As with pretty much anything in life, it is always better to have a plan or outlook before immediately starting the final product. I have personally found that wireframing better conceptualizes my ideas and even sets a light bulb off in my head to new ideas. Notes, explanations, boxes, and more can be used to detail specific functions and point out key things needed in the product. There are plenty of advantages you can get out of doing so and there's nothing to lose! Whether it’s a complex, in-depth outline of an app or a simple layout of a website, wireframing is one of the best things to do in digital media and design.
The wireframe of a design is very much like the blueprint of the architecture of a skyscraper. Web designers wireframe before starting to design them because it gives them a better idea of how the design will look and a structure to where things will be. I honestly do not see why anyone would not take advantage of this useful thing to better improve the outcome of a design. It is not really practical or recommended to start writing code for a web layout or start creating images or vectors if you do not know how big/small or what size they need to be. Button, menu, and navigation behaviors are prime examples of some detailed things that can be planned-out in a wireframe. Web designers need to plan out the interface before designing the interface. Otherwise, too many changes will need to be made to the final product and it will fluster both the designer and the client. Wireframing beforehand generally produces a better final interface and user experience.
There are plenty of different ways of wireframing. To be honest, you can wireframe any way you want. As long as the outline speaks to YOU as the one who is designing, it can be executed later. However, let’s say you’re working for a startup fashion shop as their head digital designer and your boss asks you to turn into them a complete wireframe of an updated shopping site, featuring the products they want to launch for better marketing and more sales to the company. It is ALWAYS recommended to complete and hand in a wireframe DIGITALLY in cases such as that. Digital wireframes are ultimately the cleanest, most modern, and most organized types of wireframes (especially if it’s going to your boss!). Some people accept handwritten wireframes. I think handwritten wireframes are okay if you are handing it to someone closer to you who won’t really need that strong professionalism to get their design executed. But, I would try my best to only complete wireframes digitally from now on just because it is part of the reputation I would like to portray as a digital designer.
Numerous resources on the internet are available to help web designers, and you, get started with the wireframing process if it is new to you. One of the BEST wireframing tools I find useful and that I recommend is MockFlow. This amazingly detailed wireframing tool gives so many different frame options and throughout different platforms. I have to say that this is my favorite wireframing tool because of its various customization options for so many things- mobile apps, websites, desktop apps, and more. Wireframe.cc is another exceptional tool that is more on the mathematic side. It is really pencil and paper-like, without the embarrassment. It’s practical and can bring out your rough sketches. One of the fastest wireframing tools for those who need to turn in on a tight schedule is Balsamiq. With this, you can rapidly interpret your wireframe through literal sketches in a digital manner - how smart! This wireframe resource was the most creative and fun for me. Finally, the tool I recommend the most for doing this is LucidChart. This website allows you to create intricate and detailed wireframes and even collaborate with others. It offers a demo option to any clients you have and to me, seems the most useful and efficient.
Wireframing is essential and can make the work of a design easier to execute.
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