Learn About Wireframes before Hiring a Web Developer
Reading Time: 5 minutes A world in which most people rely on the internet for a myriad of things, having an online presence has basically become an obligation for all kinds of businesses. A 2017 research highlights the fact that only 29 percent of the small businesses do not have a website. And the numbers are expected to shrink to a mere 8 percent by the end of 2018. Give yourself a pat on the back if you have already decided to hire a website developer to build your website. But, is it going to be enough?
Well, hiring a professional web developer can solve all your problems if your goal is to get a functional website. However, if you already have a vision for the website and want the web developer to build the site accordingly, it will be better if you learn about something called “Wireframes”. As a matter of fact, most experts recommend that as a website owner, you should learn wireframing before you hire a professional website developer for your website.
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What is wireframing anyway?
According to Techopedia, a website wireframe is a visual guide for website developers that represents the skeletal framework of a particular website, suggesting the locations of the visual and UI components. Generally, wireframes are used for a quick mockup of the arrangement of website elements that a website owner like you wants.
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You might have used legos to build structures in your childhood. In most cases, you might have failed to build the structures you intended to build in the first place, but if there was a picture of a house or a vehicle, it was easier to build the structure. Similarly, the wireframe offers the developer a rough outline of the website, based on which he/she can build the entire website.
Interestingly, the visual layout does not need any kind of image manipulation, textual information or even coding. It only requires the sketches of the intended layout, which you can create on a sheet or a graph paper with a pencil. So yes, you won’t be having any problem learning wireframing, even if you are intimidated by the complexity of coding.
Why is wireframing important for website development?
As the website owner, you don’t always need to know the process of website development. You have the option to hire a professional website developer to do that for you whenever you want. However, if you want the developer to build the website based on your vision, you will have to share the idea of the website layout with him/her. That is where your wireframing skills come into play.
If you are still wondering whether wireframing is necessary for website development, here are a few facts that may help you settle your doubts.
Wireframes allow you to demonstrate the site’s architecture
Consider your website to be a skyscraper and yourself the architect of the structure. Architects don’t put the bricks and cement to build skyscrapers. They only create the layout for the structure, and the construction department builds it according to the layout. Similarly, your wireframe for the website displays where the visual elements of the website should be placed.
You can always hire professional writers from the companies for amazing website content or proofread the content from professional assignment helper, but in order to convey your thoughts about the website, you require the blueprint, i.e. the wireframe. It tells the web developer everything about the website components such as the content, images, and videos and also discloses where these should be placed.
Having an understanding of wireframes helps you acknowledge website features
The job of a website developer is more complex than it appears. At times, he or she needs to make certain additions to the particular website in order to improve its functionality. If you are familiar with the website design, it will be easier for the web developer to explain what he or she intends to add to the website to enhance its functionality.
Furthermore, as the website developer will be creating the website based on your wireframe sketch, it will also be easy for you to identify where the features are being positioned and how those features can benefit your website.
A wireframe eases the process of website design for all
If you think preparing a wireframe for the website does half the job of website development, then you should think again. However, it does play a significant role in the process. Instead of combining all the aspects of website development (including site layout, content creation, branding and more), the wireframes make sure each of these aspects is captured on the website one at a time.
Since you (as the website owner) and the website developer share the same goal of building an impressive, user-friendly website, it is essential to collaborate with each other throughout the entire journey of website creation. Providing the basic layout of the site (i.e. the wireframe) to the web developers and sharing your feedback on various aspects of website creation will allow you to make the journey easier for everyone working on the website.
Wireframing can help you save a lot of time
As discussed earlier, the wireframes allow you to share your vision with the web developers. People who do not have the basic layout for the website, yet want the web developers to build the site as per their vision, usually hit a lot of the hurdles throughout the process.
When you have the wireframes ready even before hiring the web developers, you can clarify whether the professional can build a website as per the sketch and make a well-informed decision while recruiting them. When you are pretty clear about your requirements and have conveyed that to the web developer(s), the work proceeds smoothly and you save some crucial time on the whole project.
As you may have understood by now, learning about the wireframes can benefit you in multiple ways. Interestingly, it not only allows you to choose the right person for the role of the website developer but also accelerates the process.
Notably, you don’t always need to prepare the wireframe or the basic layout of the website on a paper with a pencil. There are a number of web-based tools that can help you create the wireframe quite conveniently. Some of the most commonly used wireframing tools include Moqups, Wireframe.cc and UXPin.
If you prefer working on mobile devices, there are tools like OmniGraffle (compatible for iOS), Wire Flow (compatible for Android) and Fluid UI (works on both iOS and Android) which are widely used by website owners and designers.
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Gracie Anderson is a professional web developer who has been associated with MyAssignmenthelp for the past couple of years. She offers students the necessary help on programming and other related topics on their request.
