
Ways to build a web wireframe: 4 awesome hacks
Want to build a web wireframe but not sure where to start? These 4 different methodologies, from free web wireframe templates to prototyping tools, will get you started.
The perfect web wireframe. Does it even exist? Short answer is, no. And yes. While there’s no pinnacle of wireframe excellence (because that would be weird), there is a rule of thumb to follow if you want to create successful, useful web wireframes time and again — build the most suitable wireframe for the job in hand. Not always the best looking, or the quickest and dirtiest, but the right one for the moment.
The right web wireframe for the job is one that fits the objectives of the eventual software or app, that drives creative conversations and that creates spaces for innovation and experimentation, all within a framework open to rapid iteration. The actual look of the final wireframe will vary hugely — an enterprise intranet wireframe will look a lot different to a dating website wireframe, after all.
Whatever kind of website or browser software you’re working on, wireframing allows you to define the design’s information architecture, to map core navigation flows and even to test out how users interact with your wireframe interface.
From web wireframe templates through to coded prototypes, with a look at presentation programs and prototyping tools along the way, we look at 4 awesome hacks to make sure you stay on track to build the best web wireframe for the project in hand.