What is wireframing in design?

Wireframing is a way to design a website service at the structural level. A wireframe is commonly used to lay out content and functionality on a page which takes into account user needs and user journeys.

What is wireframing in UX?

A wireframe is a visual representation of a user interface, stripped of any visual design or branding elements. It is used by UX Designers to define the hierarchy of items on a screen and communicate what the items on that page should be based on user needs.

What is a wireframe and who uses them?

A wireframe is a two-dimensional skeletal outline of a webpage or app. Wireframes provide a clear overview of the page structure, layout, information architecture, user flow, functionality, and intended behaviors. As a wireframe usually represents the initial product concept, styling, color, and graphics are kept to a minimum. Wireframes can be drawn by hand or created digitally, depending on how much detail is required. Wireframing is a practice most commonly used by UX designers. This process allows all stakeholders to agree on where the information will be placed before the developers build the interface out with code.

When does wireframing take place?

The wireframing process tends to take place during the exploratory phase of the product life cycle. During this phase, the designers are testing the scope of the product, collaborating on ideas, and identifying business requirements. A wireframe is usually the initial iteration of a webpage, used as a jumping-off point for the product’s design. Armed with the valuable insights gathered from the user feedback, designers can build on the next, more detailed iteration of the product’s design—such as the prototype or mockup.

What is included in a wireframe?

As we touched on earlier, how many features are included in a wireframe depends largely on whether the wireframe is low, mid or high fidelity. However, elements that are typically found in wireframes include logos, search fields, headers, share buttons, and pseudo-Latin (Lorem Ipsum) placeholder text. High-fidelity wireframes may also include navigation systems, contact information, and footers. Typography and imagery should not be part of a low or mid-fidelity wireframe—but designers often play with the sizing of the text to represent the information hierarchy or indicate a header. Wireframes are traditionally created in greyscale, so designers often play around with shading—using lighter shades of grey to represent light colors, and darker shading to represent bolder colors. In high-fidelity wireframes, designers may throw in the occasional color; such as red to indicate a warning or error message, or dark blue to represent an active link. As wireframes are two-dimensional, it’s important to bear in mind that they don’t do well with showing interactive features of the interface like drop-downs, hover states, or accordions that implement show-hide functionality.

Website wireframes vs. Mobile wireframes

When we think of wireframes, we often cast our minds to desktop website wireframes. But mobile wireframes require special considerations. So what are the core differences between the two? Size Due to the size differences between mobile apps and desktop websites, layouts have to be thought about very carefully. Due to the screen width on a desktop website, for example, your website wireframe might feature a layout that spreads over multiple columns. On a mobile app, the number of columns is usually restricted to one or two columns maximum. You’ll need to decide whether they see an infinite scroll, or whether you want to decrease the number of items per page in order to display other content beneath. Behaviour The second core difference is the behavior of the mobile app or website. On a website, the user will use a mouse or trackpad to navigate the page. The user can also click on certain features to reveal additional pieces of information, or even hover over certain interactions to reveal menus. On a mobile app, however, users will have to tap the screen to open a feature. When wireframing for mobile apps, this means thinking more carefully about how you will encourage your users to tap a specific button to reach a specific goal. Interaction The way that users interact with mobile apps differs vastly from how they interact on a desktop. The app may pull content and data from the Internet in a similar fashion to a website, but many apps also offer the user the option to download content for offline use. These “offline modes” specific to mobile applications should be reflected in your wireframe.

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