Wireframes – A costly Blueprint for Websites and Mobile Apps?
A design process makes headway with articulate and in-depth wireframes. Metaphorically, a wireframe for a website or app is like a blueprint of the house. It helps set out a foundation to design and build anything from an app to a web page enabling you to have a foresight into what’s going to work and what’s not going to work at all.
But, creating a wireframe is not a walk in the park – it costs not only time but budget as well. This also depends on the type of wireframe that you wish to create for your website or mobile app project.
But there are ways that you can streamline the cost and make wireframing more efficient for your website or mobile app project.
Let’s see what they are in the next section.
6 Tips for Making Wireframing Streamlined and Efficient
1. Always Think for Flow – It’s Inevitable
Figuratively, user experience is a constant journey. Technically, it’s part science and part art. All-in-all, the ultimate goal of product design is to empathize with users. And, it can come true only if you’ll think for flow because it’s inevitable.
Wireframes should be designed in terms of ease-of-use. That’s why, when you design for flow, you’ll fix expectations broadly and will look for various possibilities to decide on a reliable solution. So you should ask following questions to yourself while creating wireframes:
- How do you want your users to interact with your app or a web page?
- What is the focal point on the screen when a web page or app is being displayed?
- What type of experience should visitors get out of your product design?
2. Put your Ideas on Paper First
Putting your wireframing ideas on a paper first enables you to unfold the design process in the right direction to achieve your user experience and product design targets. Ideate, demonstrate, and iterate your ideas on paper to figure ins-and-outs of your ideas and identify areas of improvement.
3. Wireframe Should be Functional NOT just Eye-Catching
Perfectionist-mindset doesn’t work in wireframing because you have to brainstorm, create, and iterate. Possibly, what you create first-hand might look eye-catching but it doesn’t mean at all that it will function very well ultimately. No doubt – aesthetics play an important role but it should not overlook the key purpose of wireframing – to validate ideas for impeccable communication.
Wireframing happens to be a quick ideation process where you have to come up with as many ideas to create wireframes as possible. So don’t look for enticing and eye-catching design, but functionality for comfortable user experience.
4. Begin with the End in Mind
‘Begin with the end in mind’ is habit number 2 from the most-popular self-help and business book ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey (An American author, businessman and keynote speaker) published in 1989. It says, ‘to perceive consequences of an action beforehand.’
Likewise, when you’re about to start off the wireframing process, ask yourself questions about what you want to achieve. A wireframe will fail to bring value and functionality without clearly defined goals.
5. Consistency and Collaboration
Consistency and collaboration turn wireframing into a successful user experience. Consistency + collaboration optimizes product design so that UI elements could work consistently. From a design perspective, buttons, tabs, and labels on each screen build collaborative design.
6. Grid out Before Wireframing
A grid is the best way to wireframe in a record time. Technically, a grid method helps you capitalize on different elements. Therefore, every element in a wireframe will be easily scalable, quickly adjustable and freely interchangeable.
Hire a Team for Cost Effective Wireframing
It is always a good idea to hire professionals when it comes to building the blueprint/wireframe for your website or mobile app. With professionals, it becomes easier to just let them bring your ideas to life with proper tools which are easier, efficient, and cost effective at the same time.
