In our opinion, wireframes are indispensable when creating a website or web application. After you have designed the site structure, wireframing is the next step in creating a good web design. Wireframing is the digital line sketching of the website. You could compare wireframing to a construction drawing, in which you visualise the components of a website.
What are wireframes?
Wireframes are sketches of a website. It is part of the user experience design and user interface design. In wireframing, the focus is mainly on the functionalities and layout. The site structure is already outlined at an earlier stage. In wireframing, the focus is therefore more on the layout and functionalities of the website. Later on in the web design process, you will focus more on the look and feel.
The focus of a wireframe is mainly on:
- Functionality
- Layout
- Navigation
- Structure
Why create wireframes?
Wireframing the pages of your website has the advantage that you can easily make adjustments to the layout. This way, you don’t have to spend hours on the details of the design. Because it is a visual process, you can also use it as a means of communication, creating interaction.
Before you start wireframing, it is important that you have worked out the site structure. This way, you know which navigation you need to take into account in the menu, for example. It also means you know which pages need to be designed. Next, you can start with the digital line sketching.
Ways of wireframing
There are several ways of wireframing. You can, as always, use pen and paper to draw lines, but you can also use one of the Adobe programmes for this purpose. For example, Photoshop, Sketch or Illustrator. Are you looking for a free alternative? You can find plenty of alternatives on Google!
The next step
Once the wireframes for your website have been approved, you start on the web design. Here, you focus more on the look and feel. In order to develop a rock-solid web design, you now have to bring back elements from your branding. In this process you will notice that most of the time is spent. If you want to get the process of developing a web design done right, we recommend you to let an experienced and professional web design agency do it for you.
