A wireframe is a map of screens that shows navigation between them and contains minimal detail.
Wireframes have limited visual characteristics, as most design elements (such as images, videos, colors, real text, etc.) are not included in this tool. Instead of specific elements, designers use placeholders. For example, a square with a cross represents an image. This technique is important — object placeholders and a gray palette help you focus on the layout and structure of the page rather than the visual aspects of the design.
Sometimes customers may not understand what “main image,” “Google map integration,” “product filtering,” and hundreds of other terms mean. Wireframing specific features gives the customer clear information about how they will work, where they will be located, and how useful they can actually be.
Sometimes, when looking at a wireframe, the customer or team realizes that it is better to abandon some features. When we look at features without the influence of colors and images, we see how they work in their pure form and how well they correspond to the goals and objectives of the product. At this stage, it is easier and faster to make changes. At the same time, the budget for such work is quite small — the screens are made without detail, which significantly reduces the cost of the artifact.
Advantages of wireframes
One of the big advantages of wireframes is that they provide early visualization that can be used for review with the client.
From a practical standpoint, wireframes ensure the correct placement of content and page functions in accordance with user and business needs. And as the project progresses, they can be used as a useful dialogue within the team to align the vision and scope of the project.
Wireframes and prototypes: not the same thing
Many people use the terms wireframe and prototype interchangeably, but there are significant differences between them: they look different, they communicate different things, and they serve different purposes.
Prototyping is the process of creating an interactive experience. A prototype is the final product, including modeling of user interface interactions.
Unlike wireframes, which often look the same, prototypes can vary significantly. They can be simple artifacts that reflect basic interactions, or clickable tools that look and work almost like the real product.
Prototypes serve as a bridge to the real product. The purpose of prototyping is to show the connection between screens through user experience and their purpose. This makes it convenient for testing with real users — prototypes allow participants to interact with the design in the same way they interact with the finished product.
How to use wireframes in development
You can suggest creating wireframes during the discovery phase to work out the screens of a mobile or web application.
Then, the wireframes describe the purpose of the screen and schematically draw the elements that are planned to be placed there. From my own experience, I can say that it is good to work on this tool in parallel with a BPMN diagram. Once the wireframes have been drawn and agreed upon with the customer, and the diagram has been worked out, we combine these artifacts into one. This allows us to see which screens are missing from the process diagram, or which processes we did not take into account when working out the BPMN.
Thus, wireframes and BPMN diagrams ensure the integrity of the business processes of the future application. Wireframes also significantly save time and money during the testing and correction stages in the later stages of the project.