It’s common for developers to skip this stage and move to the overall appearance of the website. This kind of thinking often assumes that the client doesn’t understand what wireframes are and moving to the next phase brings the development closer to the launch.
What Is a Wireframe?
A wireframe serves as the foundation on which a website or mobile application is built upon. It is a simple layout that stipulates the exact size and placement of site features, page elements, navigation, and conversion areas of your website.
The Importance of Wireframes
Wireframing is a very important stage of website development. Its main purpose is to act as a blueprint that deals with the structural elements of a website. Without a wireframe, it is difficult to see how the final product will look like. It also helps you to better plan for your content and its development strategies.
Here are 5 ways through which wireframing helps in better content planning:
1. It helps in putting content in a particular order
It is very easy to assume that you will plan about content later and jump into other areas such as choosing the color palette of your website. It doesn’t matter how powerful the technology you are using is, deciding about the type of content that will appear on your website is a must.
A wireframe forces you to critically think about the words to be used in your application or website. This means you need to start preparing early and come up with content that’s not only relevant but also optimized.
2. Helps you prioritize content
Think about people who will visit your website. How will you get them to focus on value proposition instead of social media links or recent blogs? This is where a wireframe comes in. A wireframe will help give you an idea of what information to prioritize on every page of the website.
3. A wireframe helps in determining the format of your content
Assuming that your website will just have any form of content is similar to starting to build a house and placing walls anywhere without a proper plan.
A wireframe will help you ask basic questions such as; will two paragraphs and one image serve for this content? Should I show this content in accordion or tabs? The good news is that you have several interface elements to use.
4. A wireframe gives you a chance to take stock of creative assets
A wireframe often serves as a wake-up call to developers. It helps you notice creative assets that need to be created, bought, or edited. The earlier you fix issues with your inventory, the more time you will have to refine them before placing them on your website.
5. A wireframe also helps you envisage content in an interface
As soon as you transfer content from a simple word document, a wireframe will be able to show you how this content operates in a graphical interface.
In general, a wireframe plays a big role in the planning and creation of better content. Ignore it at your own peril.
