In many cases sketching a wireframe of an idea is the fastest way to share that idea with other people. A wireframe is also one of the best ways of developing/expanding your own thinking/understanding π of the idea at minimal cost (without having to write any code π©βπ»).
Wireframing is fancy way of saying "rough sketching" π¨βοΈ. The objective is not to have a pixel-perfect rendering of the idea but rather to draw the minimum necessary to communicate. A wireframe should be as simple as possible to convey the concept to the observer without clutter or confusion.
If you know how to draw a stick-person (and most 5 year olds can do this very well!) then you already know how to draw a wireframe.
This skill is for anyone who has an idea that they need/want to communicate with others. It's for everyone from primary school children wanting to share their first idea to budding Entrepreneurs hoping to change the world! If you have a spark β¨in your mind and want to capture it, keep reading! By the end of this 25 minute block you will be well on your way to creating wireframes for your ideas!
Our goal is to take people through "5 stages of wireframing" by dividing this tutorial/guide into two parts:
An example of a basic 'About Page' wireframe for desktop view:
An example of hand drawn login flow wireframes for mobile:
https://www.google.co.uk/slides/about/
The order of these tools is a personal preference but feel free to open an issue to let us know about better tools or your thoughts on any of the tools listed below.
MyDraft comes top of our list because it is both free and open-source. This is the only platform available online and still being maintained that we have come across (although please open an issue if you know of others :heart:). It is written in typescript, react and redux and uses the font awesome library for icons. It's available to use online. It has the basics of what's needed for building simple wireframes and being open source, you can create a PR if there are any new features you want to add! Here's a version of the first wireframe screen from above that was made with MyDraft:
A replica of the hand drawn wireframes above made using draw.io:
(A note on hand drawing vs. wireframing tools: hand drawing or using wireframing tools comes down to personal preference in terms of creative expression. However even if you choose to start with hand drawn notes, you can see that mocking things up using a computer programme can make your designs easier for other people to read.)
Built using the Google Drawings platform so offering the same benefits as the other tools (see below).
While Google Drawings and Google Slides are not wireframing applications, they can be used for simple screen mock-ups. The tools are fast, offer collaboration and are easy to use. Diagrams can be output to a range of file types and embedded within other Google Drive documents.
Wireframe.cc is an online wireframing tool that offers unlimited free use. It's a great option for people who want a simple, uncluttered user interface. Instead of toolbars, Wireframe.cc offers options that pop up when you need them and stay hidden when you donβt.
As the name suggests, this tool is custom built for creating mock ups and wireframe. Itβs fast, easy to use and works without a browser plug-in. Screens and buttons can be linked so you can publish a demonstration for your clients to view and use. Images can also be exported for specification diagrams.
Here's an example of a user sign up flow for https://www.clubsodaguide.com/ it made using draw.io. In this example a venue manager e.g. Pub landlord wants to have their venue listed on the Club Soda Guide. To do this they first go to 'List A Venue', they then add their email address along with the other details of their venue and then once they've finished adding details about the venue they must verify their email. Once they've clicked the link in the verification email they are then asked to create a password. Once this process is complete a user can then login again as they have successfully set up an account to add new details or edit existing ones about their venue.