A Road Map To Mobile App Wireframes
Developers are continuously bombarded with questions like, “Why is the button here?”, “Why this functionality is not placed at the decided place?”, “Why the picture doesn’t fit in the frame?” and so on….
We know these questions are possibly headaches for the developer team. But what if you have a plan already designed before developing an app? Phew… The work becomes a lot easier right!
Only a few things like, “Friends” and the Internet is here to stay for long. And when the internet is in the race, the mobile app development requirement will only continue to grow. Apps, nowadays are specifically designed for mobile-first, making it much easier for the world to connect, work and stay updated.
An app idea should now, not just be a vague thought, instead, it should be a well-thought-out app so that it has the potential to attract the user and increase the brand value.
A well-thought-out app has to go through many mock trials and then goes to the final UI. The whole process begins with a wire-frame or you can say a blueprint or a page schematic. A wire-frame is a rough sketch that helps you visualize the layout of the app.
This skeletal framework helps developers to grasp the app’s functionality and also the designers to take forward the UI process. It helps in defining the user journey at the earliest and gives an idea of which features to be included and their interaction further.
Whether you are designing an app for yourself or your business client, it would be best for the team to design a wire-frame in tandem with the client and the design team.
You can start making a wire-frame using the below-mentioned roadmap:
Use Familiar Tools:
You can start drafting a wire-frame on a paper initially. Jot down the scope of the project but later, carry these foundational ideas on a strong ground which can be shared with the designers, developers and the team.
The wire-frame can also be used to pitch your app to the stakeholders. Always remember the document should never get lost or deleted accidentally.
You can use Photoshop as the main designing tool. It has some best features for UI designing but lacks in giving UX designing features.
Recently, Sketch desktop app is used to share the ideas easily within the team. Sketch has some really quick and easily accessible UI and UX tools. It can easily handle the design system, icon assets and export the file to the prototyping platform.
You can also you any other third-party app to share the designs within the organization. The only motive behind using the wireframe is to achieve full transparency before starting the app development.
The right tools help you focus on simplicity and also allows other team members to be in the loop. It gives an opportunity for the members to give real-time feedback.
Being a novice in designing the wireframe, here are the basics that you should know.
1. Define your working limits:
The wireframe differs for the iOS app development and android app. You need to use the standard iOS fonts and that too correct and readable size. There should not arise a situation where you have to cut the necessary text.
Everything designed on the wire-frame should conform with the platform standards you choose.
2. Keep into consideration the choice of every user:
Once the core sections are designed, make sure you make the wire-frame interactive where the team can know which action will take the user next.
It may be difficult initially to figure out the success and the failure at the initial stage but this is what wire-frames are designed for.
3. Do not worry about the principles set in the wire-frames:
It’s pretty okay that the things you have planned may not go in the same flow. Changes are imperative. A wire-frame is approximate for app development. So even if you design a “perfect” wire-frame, minor and sometimes major changes are bound to happen.
We human beings may miss out on some key aspects while framing which is realized later and changes are made. So do not worry, it is only for the betterment.
Wire-framing should initially be done in grey-scale. Picking up some bold brand colors is time-consuming and is not advisable at this early stage.
You can use black for an important task and 50% black for defining the call to the action tab. Wire-framing should not get much expensive, so don’t spend much on custom fonts.
The whole purpose of defining a wire-frame is to lay down the foundation of the app development, and user experience. Other things can be saved for later. By using different and branding colors do not make the wire-frame look more complex.
4. Know the requirements of small and big businesses:
The approach towards wireframing is different for small and big organizations. Big organizations will have the business plan, user base, and strategy already in place. Their only focus will be to develop an app that delivers great ROI.
A wireframe for such organizations should thus be designed meeting the list of demands, expectations, and services.
For the startups and small organizations, you can take a simpler approach for wireframing and launch frequent updates later. Here we can interact with different concepts. The efforts in wireframing should not be less here as this is also used to lay the foundation of the app.
You can adopt a personalized approach for every client to define the wireframe and avoid using one-size-fits-all methodology.
Presenting the wire-frames to the client:
Once you are aware of the user journey, it is very much easy to represent it to the client. You will be able to articulate the wire-frame clearly and give reasons for making a particular choice. The team that is responsible should know every nitty-gritty details of the wire-frame.
You can look out at different places for getting inspiration for designing a wire-frame. A well-designed wire-frame helps in estimating the budget of the android app development services.
Improvements in the development stage are continual and may impact the drafted wire-frame. It gives you a glimpse of how your app would look like and about the functionality.
