Wireframing is a critical aspect of the web designing process and just like web designers use designing tools, here are ten best wireframing tools that every web designer and web design agency must use to actualize the idea of the product screen, customer journey and the features added in the product. Wireframing tools offer a great opportunity to test the website or the app in terms of style, aesthetics, screen flow and CTAs and have a bird’s eye view of the layout in real-time. In short, web designers can easily plan, test and assess the flow of the information and user interaction of the web or mobile products through the wireframe tools and software.
WIREFRAME TOOLS THAT EASE-UP THE DESIGNING PROCESS
There are numerous free and paid tools that web designers can use to strengthen the product flow and features before getting it developed. In this blog, we have included the eight best wireframing tools that are available online and can be accessed easily.
- SKETCH
Sketch is thought to be a home to creatives, designers and developers together. With a collaborative design approach and features, it allows the product to cover its complete journey on a singular interface. Having a futuristic user interface and latest designing features, Sketch is a decent tool that can be used for present-day design integrations like vector editing, pixel-level precisions, resizing constraints, math operators, boolean operations, grinds and layouts and variable and OpenType fonts, reusable components, insert window and much more. With over 1 million users, Sketch offers multi-tool integrations and enables you to create integration plugins as well. Also, whether you are a macOS or a Windows user, it is available in both versions with an easy-to-use interface for every stage of the process.
2. INVISION
InVision is a very simple to use, cloud-based wireframing platform that can be used by multiple team members and stakeholders simultaneously at the same time. It is one of the best wireframe tools that can be used for digital product design and development with your mouse cursor and does not require you to have a high-end product understanding for drawing the frames. One can add or remove images, basic shapes and draw the wireframe with drag and drop features. InVision is best suitable for designers who want to collaborate with the development team on the initial design and wireframe sketch to have feedback, comment or coding possibilities on the preferred design.
3. FIGMA
Figma is a web-based wireframing tool, best suitable for use on the web, macOS, Windows and Linux. With multiple simple drawing add-on features, it enables you to drag and drop or sketch freehand with the modern pen tool with auto merging features. It also allows you to work with the other teammates or stakeholders simultaneously, enabling you to create simple screens, prototype your wireframes and test your designs with your users with just one link.
Moreover, Figma allows you to integrate plugins and augment work with plugins to speed up your workflow using external libraries to store to find and add new design assets. It has recently introduced the ‘FigJam’ whiteboard where you invite others to share new ideas, discover new possibilities, offer feedback and generate great ideas together. Having free to paid versions for individuals and enterprises, Figma is one of the best tools that design teams can use to build up great products quickly.
4. BALSAMIQ
Balsamiq is an easy-to-use wireframing tool for designers, creatives and developers. It allows you to add vectors, icons and other assets to your website or mobile application just by drag-and-drop. With its pre-embedded time-saving design controls and tools, you can quickly execute wireframes with rapid prototyping along with the display of ideas without any lengthy implementations. It has a lean and fundamental interface that focuses on the basics and allows newbies to adapt without confusion. It imitates a freehand-drawn style to focus on structure and content over other fancy aspects which can be added later once the flow looks fine and perfect for a specific build. The best part is that, unlike many other wireframing tools, Balsamiq offers a training course by Balsamiq Wireframing Academy, which shortens up the learning process and speed up the work.
5. ADOBE XD
Adobe XD is a full-scale UI/UX design tool that allows you to wireframe and interface your design projects on the go. With Adobe XD, you can also prototype the project to assess basic interactions and workflow from a user perspective. Since Adobe comes as a suite and is popular for its feature-rich design interface, it may look edgy to newbie designers however, with quick research and hands-on execution one can easily learn and adapt to it without any hassle. From wireframing to mockups and prototyping, everything is possible within, and it doesn’t require you to integrate other tools. The best part of Adobe XD is that it allows you to use high-end features like design editing in photoshop, vector drawing, try blending modes, implement responsive resizing, generate content-aware layouts, transform flat designs into 3D and much more. All in all, Adobe XD is one of the best design tools that offer wireframing and prototyping functionalities within its design domains.
6. MOCKPLUS
Like others discussed above, Mockplus is an all in one, a cloud-based designing tool for wireframing, interactive prototyping, team collaborations and scalable design functions. Since it is cloud-based and has no-space issues, you can freely integrate as many third-party plugins and tools as you like without getting it stuck or slowed down on the system. One of its unique features is, you can add, edit or leave notes and documentation in the text editor for your team members who can simultaneously read, write and implement changes to the design. You can also put up a style guide for your team to uniformly follow and implement throughout the project. Another great feature is that it allows you to control the review feedback process and equips you to be flawless throughout the product design and development process.
7. CACOO
Cacoo is a simple to use wireframing and prototyping tool for remote designers, developers and team collaboration throughout the product design and development process. It is best for tracking and reviewing changes with the previous versions. It also allows tool integrations for asset management like Microsoft Teams, Adobe Creative Cloud and Dropbox etc. where the team can share and exchange visual assets, content, icons etc. The best part of Cacoo is that it offers 20+ pre-built design templates and User Interface assets for teams to pick up the process with easy to use drag and drop wireframing functionalities. With real-time communication features, it enables the team to view the changes and work around them together on wireframes from anywhere in the world.
8. LUCIDCHART
Lucidchart is not exactly a wireframing tool for designers but a clean and simple visual collaboration tool for teams to draw and pitch ideas of product flow through quick visuals. One can easily create or edit diagrams for the team to understand the flow in both, online and offline environments. While designers may not use it for formal wireframing but LucidChart is one of the best tools for non-designers or professionals like product managers, team lead and business analyst to present ideas to the team or product designers. Later, designers can create polished wireframes with the ideas and mockups presented on LucidChart.
As we have discussed some of the best wireframing tools for ideating and creating web and mobile products, it is imperative to say that none of the above-mentioned tools is a one-fits-all tool for your designing and wireframing need. You must check, test and use the product on your specific needs and wants. Even the top web design agencies use more than one tool as per their product needs and specifications. As each designer or web design agency has different design processes with individual needs, you may take more time to decide over any specific tool or platform. Also, when the teams have gone remote, it is better to try the free versions, test a small product and decide over the convenience, features and offerings. Fortunately, the design market is open with countless products on the show, you may opt for other options like Fluid UI or UX Pin etc.