Wireframes in software development are schematic blueprints, often referred to as low-fidelity mock-ups, that represent the skeletal framework of a software application. They are used to outline the structure, layout, and basic functionality of a page or screen in the software interface, without focusing on aesthetic details like colors or graphics.
Unsurprisingly, 85% of designers use wireframing to plan and outline website or application page layouts, structures, and flows.
Meanwhile, 88% of designers use wireframing to create high-fidelity prototypes for thorough usability testing before software development.
Additionally, wireframes can reduce time spent on the design phase of software development by 50%.
Wireframing is an invaluable process and tool before developing software for mobile or desktop devices.
- Good read: Mobile App Requirements: How To Gather & Document IOS, Android, Or Native Requirements
- Good read: How To Create A Successful Requirements Management Plan (Guide)
- Good read: How To Gather Requirements As A Business Analyst (Guide)
Let’s discover the complete guide to wireframes in software projects.
What Is the Wireframe in Software Development?
A simple wireframes definition is that it’s a web page layout demonstrating the interaction design or interface elements existing on intended drop-down menus and a user-friendly interface.
Different layouts show design features on the same page of a website service, whether for a desktop version or mobile apps.
Meanwhile, websites wireframes save time by creating a visual design process to show the web design before development and all the code that needs to follow.
Wireframes include design elements essential to the project’s completion, and some developers or software engineers use wireframe tools to complete the design process.
What Are Wireframes in App Development?
Wireframing is an integral step in developing software for mobile devices. Mobile development wireframes look like blueprint schematics and could reveal the technical possibilities of a unique app.
Creating wireframes for mobile app development also helps developers collect early feedback from potential users and stakeholders.
App development wireframes offer a visual guide to show the app layout, between-screen flows, and the functional representation of your business objectives.
What Are Wireframes in User Interface (UI)?
Interface wireframes create a visual design for the user interface of any device, including Mac users, Microsoft desktop users, and mobile app users.
The user interface (UI) design process creates a basic framework that shows expected user behaviour and how free users interact with the software on desktops and mobiles.
Interface wireframes result in perfecting the final (UI) design for development, gathering user feedback, and creating the system’s own format relevant to the brand or company.
How Are Wireframes Used or Why Do Developers Use Wireframes?
Developers use wireframes as a part of the design process to show user journeys, planned elements, and aesthetic details with relatively little effort.
However, the final design provides a logical structure that connects user needs to project objectives for the planned software.
Developers could also notice possible weaknesses in discovering better ideas or new ideas for the planned software by designing wireframes for the same screen with different user journeys.
A wireframe in software helps developers create a basic structure or visual design. Ultimately, wireframes serve numerous purposes, including:
Connect a website or app’s information architecture to a visual design with paths between pages.
Outline consistent methods to display particular user interface (UI) information types.
Determine the intended functionality of user interfaces and website page or mobile app layouts.
Prioritise content item spaces and allocations in a website page or app layout.
Balance mature patterns with unique or distinctive information architecture.
Streamline the flows between multiple application or website screens.
Understand the precise details for all the code required to develop the app, website, or software.
However, developers or designers use information architecture strategies to prepare the wireframes.
The Importance of Information Architecture (IA)
Information architecture is the practice of concisely structuring software parts for presentation. This process occurs before wireframing, and the following components design the architecture:
Labelling Systems – Labels used to tag system components or buttons on a page layout.
Navigation Systems – Between-page or screen transition descriptions to limit user choices.
Organisational Systems – Outlines how the information will be divided on the wireframe.
Search Systems – How search and shortcut filtering search systems will display on the wireframe.
Software engineers, business analysts, project managers, and developers use IA to determine how to wireframe a software development project for a visual representation.
7 Benefits of Wireframing
The benefits of wireframing help you understand the importance of wireframing before software development. Wireframes benefit software development projects in the following ways:
Offer an early visual that clients and businesses can approve or validate.
Acts as an early feedback mechanism for prototyping usability tests.
Are far easier for developers to amend compared to concept designs.
All the key elements of the intended software are on a single page with an information hierarchy.
The product team can communicate clearly about whether user pain points are addressed.
The product has a clear idea, design, and layout for the team to develop.
Improves the cost-efficiency and time efficiency of the software development process.
Wireframing Tools for Software Development
Online tools exist to create wireframes, and the benefits of using tools like Requiment outshine the disadvantages of using alternatives that fall short of your needs.
Various tools can help you create a wireframe. However, the table below shows how Requiment measures against other common methods used to wireframe requirements as a software team.
How does a wireframe tool help you as a software developer, engineer, project manager, or business owner? Read about us and our 30+ years of experience at our parent company, Pulsion Technology, to provide a wireframing tool even business owners can use.
Our digital strategy consultants await your questions about Requiment. However, our requirements and wireframing tool also have a guided process and demo videos to show how to use it.
For example, we have a dedicated demo video for our wireframe tool.
The demo video walks you through a simple example of creating a wireframe with the core elements for the project team to progress into development.
Creating a wireframe has never been simpler for businesses or business analysts. The Requiment wireframe tool ticks every box. So, sign up for a free trial today to create a wireframe online.
Low-Fidelity vs. Mid-Fidelity vs. High-Fidelity Wireframes
You’ll often hear the terms: low-fidelity wireframes, mid-fidelity wireframes, or high-fidelity wireframes. Let’s discover what low, mid, and high mean regarding fidelity in the wireframe process. Fidelity refers to the degree of realism used in wireframing, but let’s expand on that idea for the creative process.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Low-fidelity wireframes are simple visual designs of page layouts, which act as the final design’s foundation. A low-fidelity wireframe is the simpler kind used in the wireframing process.
They don’t always have grid or pixel accuracy and use basic images, block forms, and dummy content. You will also see fillers, labels, headings, and basic context.
A low-fidelity wireframe is good for the following purposes:
Mapping user flow
Selecting navigation layouts
Starting in-depth conversations
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
Mid-fidelity wireframes use more accurate design drawing programs to deliver more detail and realism. A mid-fidelity wireframe avoids distracting fonts and graphics to pinpoint specific plans.
Mid-fidelity wireframes are colourless or shades of gray and use simple differences between headings and body text. A wireframing program or online tool typically creates a mid-fidelity wireframe.
Additionally, a mid-fidelity wireframe could implement a vector design. A vector design creates visual images from geometric shapes, like curves, polygons, points, and lines. It’s defined as a Cartesian plane.
Mid-level wireframes mainly focus on the following purposes:
Specific features distinct from each other
Answering crucial expected user behaviour
Shows how the website works when users interact with it
High-Fidelity Wireframes
High-fidelity wireframes are pixel-specific layouts with featured images and textual information. A high-fidelity wireframe may show dynamic interface features and the complete digital interface.
High-fidelity designs also act as interactive wireframes, often including clickable buttons and menus. The core element of interactive wireframes is that users and stakeholders can demo the interactions.
A high-fidelity presentation may also use a vector design to depict some core elements within the final visuals. The computer-generated design style is simple but effective.
High-fidelity wireframes focus on the following purposes:
A more aesthetic design once between-screen flows are agreed upon
To conduct usability testing with actual users and stakeholders
To present the final visual for user validation before development
A Beginner’s Guide to Wireframes in Software Development
A software wireframe should include a basic framework and essential elements and features with tags. Beginners can create a wireframe in software with some basic guidelines.
However, let’s first discover more about the phases of wireframing in software development and how it fits into the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
The Two Phases of Wireframing in Software Development
The design of a wireframe in software development enters two phases before the creative process ends: ideation and validation. Discover how the phases work for wireframing in software development.
Wireframe ideation is the first stage, where businesses wish to solve user problems by offering new software. Many ideas enter the ring, and the initial wireframe relies heavily on requirements gathering.
Discover how to gather requirements as a business analyst, even if you’re an owner. It can set your wireframe ideation stage apart from others.
Then, the wireframe validation stage works hand-in-hand with a requirements analysis to understand the technical possibilities, specifications, and possible weaknesses of a wireframe in software.
Learn more about the software development life cycle requirements gathering and analysis to use requirements analysis and techniques in the wireframe validation stage.
Wireframes in a Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Wireframing occurs in the early stage of the software development life cycle (SDLC). Wireframes are typically produced in the early stages, like the requirements gathering, analysis, and design phases.
However, wireframing is iterative throughout the SDLC. The design phase welcomes a few iterations of early wireframes for usability testing in the prototyping phases.
Users will provide feedback based on the initial low or mid-fidelity wireframes. High-fidelity wireframes only come into play after the wireframe validation stage.
Read more about the software development life cycle (SDLC) to understand how the iterations of wireframing occur in various phases. Phase one and two use low-fidelity wireframes for validation.
However, the design phase will have a wireframe for validation, and the final visual representation or high-fidelity wireframe will be used in phase six for usability testing.
Standard Elements of Wireframes in Software Development
What will you see in a software wireframe? The key information in the visual design should include pseudo-Latin for placeholder, share button, heading, trademark, and search bar tags.
A wireframe typically uses grayscale or black-and-white colour palettes with simple shapes and flows. You won’t see complex images or too many written details.
Additionally, software wireframes could include the following elements containing different amounts of information and graphics, depending on the fidelity level.
Information Design – Illustrations of the transitions and routes between pages.
Navigation Design – A navigation design or chart grouping, sorting, and linking comparable data.
Interface Design – Two-dimensional or interactive interface design elements, visuals, and tags.
Why Wireframes Look the Way They Do
Wireframes look the way they do through different fidelities because some are used in a few iterations to transform ideation into validation.
A software engineer or analyst designs a low-fidelity wireframe multiple times to receive validation before improving any features, elements, or graphics.
Wireframe vs. Prototype
A wireframe in software development refers to simpler, low-fidelity visual representations of an interface. Meanwhile, a prototype is an interactive wireframe that users can test in usability tests.
Ultimately, users should feel like they’re interacting with the real product with high-fidelity wireframes or prototypes. Low-fidelity wireframing is a repetitive iteration stage, but prototyping is a testing model.
Wireframe vs. Concept Designs
Iterating wireframes to a final version (high-fidelity or prototype) is also simpler than creating or amending a concept design each time the requirements change.
Conceptual designs refer to the larger wireframing phases with broad outlines of system functions, features, tools, and interactions. It also includes process and strategy designs.
How to Create a Software Wireframe in the Wireframe Process
The wireframing process in software engineering is when a developer, designer, or engineer draws interactive product overviews to establish the flow and structure of potential design solutions. The following steps define the wireframe process:
Step 1: Identify the Website or App Goals
Identify website, application, or business goals with requirements gathering before you plan user flows or the wireframe. Use our requirements gathering template checklist to optimise the first wireframe step.
Step 2: Understand the Necessary User Flow
User flows outline how users interact with the intended system. Step two outlines the user flow in a text format before adding it to the wireframe tool. Write notes about how the wireframe’s user flow will look.
On a side note, 86% of designers brainstorm wireframing needs and designs on whiteboards or paper before putting the visuals together.
Step 3: Determine the Wireframe Size
Wireframe sizes depend on the devices intended for use with the software project. Here are simple guidelines for determining your wireframe size before using a wireframe tool:
Step 4: Start Wireframing With Tools
Use dotted paper with grids and lines if you draw the wireframe manually. Alternatively, online tools will help you design the wireframe with the desired user flow information and wireframe size.
Step 5: Outline the Conversions
Double-check whether an online tool outlined the user flow conversions intended. Otherwise, draw the conversions and interactions on your manual wireframing paper with lines and text notes.
Step 6: Remove Redundant Steps
Remember that wireframing is an iterative process. So, review the wireframe to identify redundant steps, conversions, or interactions. Remove all redundant steps, drawings, graphics, and text.
Step 7: Validate the Wireframe
Once the wireframe is iterated a few times, validate the flow and conversions with stakeholders and users. Usability testing should only happen once you can turn a low-fidelity wireframe into a prototype.
Bonus Step: How to Use an Extra Step in Wireframing
The bonus step works better with wireframe tools because continuous development iterations will be available in your history. Alternatively, keep the pen and paper wireframes to compare iterations.
Do the same for wireframes on all wireframe sizes and devices. Keeping a record of your past wireframes may help you identify non-redundant information you previously removed.
The information may gather improved feedback in a newer iteration. Reviewing past iterations lets you compare past and current ideas to improve the product in usability testing before creating a prototype.
Summing Up Software Development Wireframes
Wireframes in software development set the tone for the development, testing, and validation stages. Creating the appropriate wireframe types at the correct SDLC phases also prevents double the work.
Fortunately, our Requiment requirements gathering, analysis, and management tool is a wireframe tool to automate and simplify processes. Sign up for your free trial today to ensure perfect wireframing.
Wireframe Software Development FAQs
What Are the Disadvantages of Wireframing?
Any part of the SDLC has possible disadvantages. Here are the potential disadvantages of wireframing:
Wireframes don’t account for technical implications
Designers must translate technical flows into a visual representation
Designers often have to explain why elements are placed in the chosen locations
A lack of communication can result in poor wireframing
Poor requirements gathering or analysis can mislead wireframing
Content may be too much to fit into a wireframe, especially if using the wrong size
Designers often have to work with copywriters to use the appropriate wireframe text for context
What Does a Wireframe Show in Software Development?
Wireframes in software development show a few important factors related to the software development process, including:
A balance between mature patterns and distinct architecture for brands or companies
The basic wireframe reveals possible weaknesses in the content structure sequence
The basic visual confirms that the system’s design is not final or ready for testing
Everything remains open for discussion in low-fidelity wireframes able to be amended easily
The structure and sequence show the flow of interactions and functions necessary for coding
What Is a Low-Fidelity Wireframe?
A low-fidelity wireframe is the entry-level visual display of how the intended software responds to user inputs. It’s the initial design presented to stakeholders for validation before the presentation evolves into a mid-fidelity or high-fidelity wireframe, adding more details, graphics, and conversions.
What Is a High-Fidelity Wireframe?
High-fidelity wireframes or prototypes are interactive for users or stakeholders to provide feedback. These high-fidelity designs have greater detail and use featured images, functions, tools, buttons, and dropdown menus that users can click on to test or validate the idea for development.
Which Drawing Programs Create a Wireframe?
Requiment offers a simple design strategy with a guided process to create wireframes you can see in our demo videos. The tool provides low and mid-fidelity wireframes. However, the following drawing programs or designer tools can help create high-level wireframing results with loads of details:
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Affinity Designer
Canva
Corel DRAW
Pixlr
Procreate
Sketch
Vista Create
What Is the Wireframing Process?
The wireframe in the software development process has the following steps:
Identify the application or website goals
Understand and make notes of the necessary user flow
Determine the wireframe size for the intended software’s particular device
Use wireframe tools to complete the visual representation
Outline the necessary interaction conversions between pages and functions
Remove redundant steps, conversions, and text on review
Validate the basic wireframe before prototyping it for final validation
What Is a High-Fidelity Prototype?
High-fidelity prototypes are the interactive wireframes presented in the usability testing stage. Users and stakeholders must be able to interact with the wireframe or prototype enough to test buttons, flows, and other user-friendly features before software development.
Is Wireframing UX or UI?
Wireframing is the user interface (UI). However, user experience (UX) designers often design wireframes to show how users will interact with the intended software. Ultimately, wireframing considers user experience (UX) but displays the basic framework of the user interface (UI).
How Much Do Freelance Wireframing Designers Cost?
The average hourly rate of a wireframe designer is £15.73 to £78.64. However, some wireframe designers charge flat rates, ranging from £393 to £3,932. Alternatively, wireframing tools cost between £7.86 and £78.64 per month.
Requiment pricing is £30 to £50 monthly but includes requirements engineering services, including output reports, requirements analysis, wireframing, software requirements documents, and task generation tools.