by eDesk HUB
A wireframe is a blue-print of a website or a mobile application. It encompasses the layout and navigation placement of the website/app without design and graphics. It can be considered as just a page with simple sketches that represent the placement of navigations, headers, logos etc. in an application. Designers and developers gather the requirements and present proposed functions, graphic elements, structure, and content of a website to the client to make sure that both are in sync of what is required. Wireframes do not have color, graphics, design elements or typography; it almost looks like a rough sketch. Here is a sample of how wireframes would look like with respect to a mobile app and a website.
Mobile Application Wireframe — Img Source: CareerFoundry
Developing a mobile App without Wireframes is like building architecture without blue print. There would be no planning and space to implement last minute changes. Wireframes are considered as the skeletal system of an application. It diminishes a lot of effort and time taken to implement changes that crop up after the design phase. Wireframes do not concentrate on the appearance of tools in the website. It rather concentrates on the placement of tools and its size in the screen. Wireframes are usually confused with mockups but the truth is that mockups are built on top of the Wireframes and it includes how the design and color will look like on the website. Mockup gives the client an idea onhow exactly the end product delivered will look like along with the design.
Img Source https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com
Top Mobile App Development Companies have always realized the need for Wireframing in their Mobile App development projects. In this post, let’s discuss on Why You Should Never Develop an App without Wireframes.
- Simple visual representation of app structure:
Wireframes provide you with a simple visualization of how the app would look like and where the tools would be placed in each page and how the website layout would look like. It is so simple that any layman can understand it. Like someone said “A picture is worth than 100 words”, Wireframes communicate in a more effective way than a communicating what is expected. Wireframes reduces communication errors as it is represented pictorially. This helps the client understand if all the requirements put forth were recorded and reproduced accurately. It allows the designers and developers understand what they must make or what is expected from them.
- Provides clarity.
Mobile app development is always subjected to constant refinement and changes in its whole lifecycle. Changes in later stages are always expensive and time consuming. If the app is complex, the changes made at the end would be pain staking to the developer. This can be avoided by using wireframes as it gives the changes before hand by evaluating if the app developed will be accepted by the target audience.
Wireframes provide a clear picture on the main functionalities the app would contain and how it will be displayed in each page. It puts a light on the on the main elements of navigation and content in the app. Clients can see the wireframes and ask themselves if the website does what they intend it to do and how the users would interact with the website and where the important information would be displayed. The black and white structure of the wireframes helps to view how the information and contents are laid out in the app. This lets you implement or remove any functionality from the app in compliance with your goals.
3. Wireframes helps create usable and responsive app.
Wireframes give you a picture of how the app would look at the culmination without graphics. This lets you think about the app about the usability perspective.
There are certain tools available in the market like InVision that helps designers visualize the app and create clickable prototypes of their wireframes. This can let you and your target customers to run through the app and identify usability issues in an early stage. Wireframes lets the developers anticipate any UX issues by identifying design patterns that do not follow design guidelines.
Wireframes lets you focus on usability, functionality and user experience with its plain basic structure format. With the lack of color, graphics and other flashy details of the app, it is easier to focus more about the functionality of elements in each page of the app focusing on the User experience UX part alone. You can focus on how easy the website is to use and fluidity of navigation, placement of main functions rendering seamless transition between pages, conversion paths etc.
Related: Factors that Affects the Mobile App Development Cost & Proces
4. Easier to make changes
Wireframes let changes and brain storming of ideas at an early stage and includes them in it. Adding a new functionality or modifying functionality or even a page layout at the design and development stage or in the worst case after the product release would be a waste of labor and time. Imagine that you are building a house and find that the kitchen is not kept where it should have been, suggesting to change the room is still possible but with a lot of man-hours, time and a lot of money.
The same is true when client rejects or modifies a finished project. Hours of work that was put into that design and development phase would be nullified and there would again be a substantial cost in starting again according to the change.
Since the wireframes are hand-drawn, they are quick and easy to produce and easy to change with no cost. Even though wireframes do take time to create, it is far lesser compared to the changes made in later stages.
5.Verifying the abstract idea
Before wireframes, you have an abstract idea on what you want. Wireframes give structure to that idea. But there are situations that sometimes when you look at the structure of the app and realize that it may not have a future in the current market trend or may be.
Wireframes also helps the client realize if anything was missed while the requirements were communicated. A wireframe in hand also helps the client to suggest new ideas on the functionalities of the application. This also increases communication between client and the software team paving way to more and more ideas.
Related: Why iOS Application Development is preferred for Business Applications
6.Cost effective and saves time.
Wireframes saves time in a horde of ways. It minimizes the last-minute rejection of the project. It lets the client see his brainchild in advance rather than after the design or development phase just to avoid any miscommunication. It makes the app more responsive which is required for the modern technology trends. The designer and developer understand what is expected and can design quickly without any confusion or doubt. This saves designing and developing time to a larger extent. The content creation also gets clearer and easier due to wireframes. Since the client, team and customers are all in the same page due to wireframes, there is a transparency which makes it easier to deduce how the app is going to function in real time and suggest necessary additions.
Conclusion
Yes, creating wireframes may be considered as time-consuming and cost surging but the truth is that it is easier to modify or include a change in wireframe phase than in the design phase or may be development phase. Wireframes gives clarity if the client expectation meets what the designer and developer has in mind. Top android app development companies have always realized the requirement of wireframes in their mobile app development lifecycle. If you are a client or a business that are looking forward to develop an app, do approach the Mobile App Development Companies who construct wireframes as a part of Mobile App development. This will help you cut down a lot of superfluous cost in later stages. How to find a good mobile app developer from the list of top mobile app development companies for your mobile app project? Potential app clients search for top iPhone mobile app development or Android app development companies on search engines but you come across gazillion companies listed in Google SERPs. To help small businesses & aspiring entrepreneurs to find the best suited app making company from top mobile development companies, eDesk HUB has prepared a LIST of top app developers that provides dynamic mobile development solutions as per your requirement & budgdet.
Author Bio : Hamad Almuraikhi is the Founder and CEO of eDesk HUB, a research and review platform that offers vetted and verified references and reviews on high quality web and mobile app development companies with varied experience. eDesk HUB helps the firms to select the top performing IT service providers for Middle East.
