“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Sounds familiar? It can be applied to anything, including planning for mobile apps. The way to do it is through wireframing your app. But the very act of wireframing can sound tedious and complicated for mobile app developers, especially for first timers. We tell you what is wireframing is all about, and how you can start on this crucial step!
What is Wireframing
A wireframe is a visual representation to how your mobile app would turn out. It shows step-by-step each function and details everything about your app. They can be simple, showing the basic outlines and major functions of the app or more complex, with colours, logos and patterns. It is easy way to illustrate your plans to yourself and everyone in your team.
Benefits of Wireframing
- Instantly get a clearer picture of how your app would look like.
- Your whole team can visualise how it looks and input the various elements they specialise in. For example, with the wireframe, the programmer can imagine which codes he/she should use
- Can pick out crucial errors before it is too late
How to Do Up a Wireframe
Before you go into drawing out your wireframes, do a quick research about your app, the market and the audience you would be targeting to. Ensure that your app is unique from the others in the market and that it has features that the audience would be interested in.
The next step is to creating the wireframe proper. During this step, you might want to include as many structural details of the app before going into the smaller details. This prevents things from getting too messy and complicated. In this step, you can draw out the frame freehand or use an application to help you draft out quickly.
After doing up the basic designs, it is time to put in the smaller, but crucial details in your plans. These details include the colour theme, fonts and icons. At this stage, it can get complicated and tiring as you would have to think of every step possible. Illustrate all the possible paths that users take, including incorrect paths and error pages.
When coming up with the details, it is recommended to use illustrative software to make things easier and more precise. There are multiple software, apps and programmes you can use to plan out your app at this stage. Such examples include Mockplus, Wireframe and Lucidchart
Some Tips to Wireframing
- Think of many variations and alternate versions of your mobile app. You never know which of the variations might be the one
- Do not be afraid to trash a design or version. The wireframing stage is just the beginning and nothing is set in stone
- Always think like a user. In the end, this app is for the user so you would want it cater to their needs as much as possible. A feature that makes sense to you might not be for the user
- Take breaks from all the planning. Not only is it good for your health, but it refreshes your eyes and mind and gives you clearer perspectives to your plans
- Think of many variations and alternate versions of your mobile app. You never know which of the variations might be the one
- Do not be afraid to trash a design or version. The wireframing stage is just the beginning and nothing is set in stone
- Always think like a user. In the end, this app is for the user so you would want it cater to their needs as much as possible. A feature that makes sense to you might not be for the user
- Take breaks from all the planning. Not only is it good for your health, but it refreshes your eyes and mind and gives you clearer perspectives to your plans
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