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Why Use Wireframes?

Whether you are a large or small business, your website is one of the hardest working components of your business.
When it comes to creating your website you will often have a clear idea of how you want the end product to look, but are you providing a great user experience alongside that stylish design? It is vital that your website is built on strong foundations that allow easy navigation of your website. This is where wireframes come in.

Your wireframe can range from a rudimentary plan, sketched out by hand to a high-fidelity, digitally created document. When collaborating with clients, a well-designed and presented wireframe can be a vital element within your winning pitch. 

When to Wireframe

Think of the wireframe as the blueprint for your website. Working with a wireframe allows you, and your team, to plan and review all elements of your website, much like a first draft, before formal design and development work begins. Working with a wireframe at this early stage allows you to more easily map out and understand the user journey. A wireframe will allow you to collate and organise your site content in one place with a real focus on user interface and interactive components. A well thought out wireframe will allow you to really perfect your website’s structure.

Using a wireframe as your starting block will help to ensure that your website is being structured efficiently. The primary benefit of using a wireframe during your planning process is that early focus on how the finished website will function effectively for the final user. During these primary stages, a wireframe allows you to explore ideas with ease. A change of direction or adjusting elements at this stage will not impact any styling or development work. Using a Wireframe will provide a clear roadmap for developers when the project enters its design phase. The development team should be able to refer to the wireframe as a source of reference throughout the project, and overall aid in streamlining the design process.

Wireframes play a key role in planning and ensuring your website’s responsiveness. How a website performs when being viewed via tablet and mobile plays a huge role in its success. Ensuring thorough, granular planning has gone into the different user experiences will ultimately aid your site in performing to its best and achieving your goals.

Wireframing to streamline communication

When building websites a wireframe will prove an invaluable tool in communicating the early-stage plans and processes, to both your team and client. A well thought out wireframe should enable your team to identify any potential user or navigational issues before moving onto the design and development stages. You will be able to use the wireframe to take your clients through their website’s user experience journey before the site is even built. A great wireframe will aid your clients in visualising the end result, and, hopefully, assist with a swift sign-off before moving the project into its next phase.

Hopefully, this article has highlighted some of the great benefits of using wireframing as part of your website planning process. A wireframe is a fun, creative starting block to building a seamlessly, well-structured website.