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Wireframing is a blueprint of a website that represents its skeletal framework. It provides the designing team with the schematics and arrangement of the content, making it easier to plan user experience. It outlines the placements, page elements, and their size, site features, and conversion area. If you have ever felt tempted to skip this vital step to speed up the process, it is not a smart choice. Wireframing is an essential part of your website design, and not only has it enhanced the UX but it helps you save a lot of time as well. Now that we’ve answered the #1 question, “what is wireframing?” let’s have a look at a few reasons that make it an important part of the website design process.
It is a Visual Representation of Site’s Architecture
A sitemap can be non-representational and does not give you a clear picture of the website. Especially the bigger sitemaps are not at all abstract. Wireframing is the first step towards providing a visual shape to the project. It converts the flow chart like sitemap into something tangible that can be easily observed. Its purpose is to help all the involved parties, including clients, to get on the same page.
Clarifies Website’s Features
Communicating with a client is tricky for a web design team, as it is impossible to get their approval without any visual representation. You cannot directly discuss terms like product filtering, hero image, lightboxes, etc. with them as they would not be able to understand it. With wireframing, you make it easier for the client to understand the semantics of the features. Wireframing also helps you decide whether a feature will practically fill in the website or not. This also takes out any distractions that can be caused by the creative content allowing the designers and client to focus more on the structure and placement of the features.
Prepares You for Future Updates
Another benefit of wireframing is that it lets you see the bigger picture. You need to know whether your website will be able to handle content growth or not. For sites that have been purchased on a content management system, it has always been an issue. You may have a dozen products right now on your website but might have to add more in the future, and for that, you need to make sure your website will easily handle more content. Wireframes help you identify how much more content your website can integrate in the future, saving you a lot of hassle in the long term.
It Saves You Time
Wireframing can also help you save a lot of time on your project as it speeds up the process and makes it more accurate by reducing the room for errors. Web design experts at Adobe XD acknowledge, “the speed of creation is the major advantage of wireframing, and it makes it an extremely valuable tool during brainstorming sessions. It saves you time in the following ways:
- By allowing you to build more calculated designs.
- By letting the development team know what they are building and how to approach it.
- It provides clear guidelines for content creation.