Tips for Creating Credible & Attractive Website Wireframes

April 24, 2021 by Staff Writer

When it comes to having an idea of a website's overall structure and navigation flow, a wireframe leads the front. Also known as the website's skeleton, a wireframe lets you identify usability issues at the very beginning of the design process. Not just that, a wireframe also talks about the page interface, element/content placement, how users will interact with the website while drawing the relationship between various pages of a website.

For any web designer, wireframing is one of the most important tasks. Wireframing helps the designer map the overall structure of the website and lay the foundation for critical web elements such as content section, navigations & forms. Moreover, wireframe acts as a test drive for the website's page layouts & user flows since it provides the look and feel of a live website.

Why Are Wireframes Important?
A wireframe showcases the high-level layout of the website and its elements without any aesthetics. It does not talk about website elements like imagery, colors, typography, or fonts. Once a wireframe is finalized, it is then a designer goes ahead and flourishes the website with color schemes, visuals, themes & logos.

Just like without a blueprint, one can't make a house! A wireframe is a convenient website mockup tool that acts as the building block for a website in development. It talks about content prioritization, available functions, features, space distribution & intended actions. The wireframe also-

Displays the website's architecture
Makes the design process iterative and calculated
Pushes site elements usability to the front
Addresses website's ease of update and scalability
Provides clarification on the website's features

Now that we have understood what a website wireframe is, the purpose it serves, let's move ahead & know how we can create an effective website wireframe.

1. Articulate: Get Clarity & Direction
Before you jump to creating a website's wireframe, you must take a few moments and think about the problem you're trying to solve. The priority should be to address the larger goal,, coming up with an intuitive, compelling & efficient user interface (UI).

Creating a wireframe is not only about delivering the site's high-level structure. The wireframe should make it seamless for viewers to navigate across the pages and analyze site elements at a glance. You must seek clarity from the stakeholders and collect information such as key project needs, end-users, preferences, design trends, and competitor analysis.

2. Define The User Flow
While creating a wireframe, the ultimate goal is to come up with an excellent user experience. For that, paying attention to the user flow is important! Today, the UX market is growing at a tremendous CAGR of 9.4% and is expected to surpass a market value of $13.6 Billion by FY 2027, thus one can't simply ignore it.

Defining the user flow involves identifying the audience, presenting them with an easy-to-use website, and creating a relevant user experience. Further, the user flow must allow the audience to apply their common sense to explore the website as they progress.

3. Start Building The Wireframe
Now that you have accumulated ample wireframe inputs and successfully mapped the user flows to address end-user needs, it's time you move the brush and start churning out your website layout ideas. The step involves creating the basic structure of the website, deciding element placement, what tabs will be included, etc. Now, you can create a wireframe manually through pen and paper, or you can also do the same online through background PPT templates.

To digitally transform your design ideas into reality and generating engaging, compelling wireframes, you may consider using readymade templates from SlideModel.com. Both- designers and non-designing professionals can create superior, pixel-perfect wireframes through popular wireframe templates like Editable WordPress Mockup, Flat Website Mockup Toolkit, Classic Website Wireframe Template & more.

4. Seek Feedback
Once you arrive at the solution and generate a wireframe, the work isn't over. You must effectively communicate the design and gather feedback on the created design. For this, you may get in touch with your team, design experts or perhaps, stakeholders.

Seeking feedback is critical as designers often get caught up in the creative design process and lose sight of the original challenge. Once received, it can be decided whether the design is worth building or not. This is how wireframes help you catch the gaps, mistakes at the very beginning of the development process.

Wrapping It Up:
Wireframing is one of the important practices for effective and iterative site designing. Wireframe lets you practice ideas, validate decisions and fulfill the end goals of the users. It is how the designers can make sure the final website design triggers delight and aid business use-case.