We’ve taken some time to break down several of these confusing website and design phrases before. Now, we’re back again today to explain another one of these mysterious terms for you: wireframing.
What in the world is a website wireframe?!
If you’re planning to rebrand your website or create one from the ground up for a new business, there’s a lot of web design lingo you’ll hear which may feel like an entirely different language from what you’re used to. But there’s no reason why web design wireframing should feel like a foreign topic when it’s actually quite simple to explain—and understand!
In other blogs, we’ve broken down several confusing website and design phrases into easy-to-understand explanations. Now, it’s time to cover another one of these mysterious terms for you: website wireframes.
Let’s start with the basics: what is a website wireframe?
Web design wireframing is simply the process of organizing the content blocks that make up a website page. Think of it as the skeleton of a single page. The point is to create the basic structure of the layout—the bare bones, shall we?—before adding things like fonts, color schemes, imagery, and other design elements.
Website wireframing can be as simple or as complex as it needs to be. For example, low-fidelity wireframing may consist of a simple pen-to-paper hand sketch of where you’d like the information and images to go on the page. Sometimes, in web design projects, it’s helpful to take a mid-to-high fidelity approach, where software is used to sketch out a more visually appealing representation of future website page plans.
Doing this is helpful so that everyone involved in a website design project is clear on what the end result may look like. Initially, before even working with your designer, a copywriter might create a low-fidelity design to help you understand information infrastructure. This helps you make decisions about what messages get shared with your audience and plan how the user experience influences site navigation and conversions.
When you’re ready for the web design part of your project, we’ll use the copy you submit to us, along with other information we’ve collected about your brand, goals, and design influences, to create a more concrete visual representation of the site we plan to build for your business. Doing this at the beginning of a project helps everyone be clear about what to expect as the site moves from wireframe to draft to a published site you’re proud to share.
What are the types of wireframes?
Now that you have a basic understanding of what a website wireframe is and how it’s used in a web design project, let’s talk more about the different types of wireframes you may (or may not!) see in your web design project.
Think of a wireframe as a sketch: Some wireframes are designed on a computer, and some are literally hand-drawn with good ol’ paper and pen. That’s honestly as much as you need to know about web-design wireframing, but let’s get into a bit more detail on the types in case the person you’re conversing with starts talking about the various fidelity options in wireframing.
Here’s how the fidelity level of wireframing breaks down:
- Low-Fidelity Wireframe: a hand-sketched and low-detail layout
- Mid-Fidelity Wireframe: a computerized layout offering a touch of detail with element such as image shapes and button locations
- High-Fidelity Wireframe: a pixel-perfect, appropriately-sized-and-formatted layout of your page with all the small details ironed out
As we mentioned earlier, we may create one of these wireframes while we’re strategizing a page’s intentions and goals. And sometimes, we move through the fidelities of a wireframe as we fine-tune the design—which in turn creates the page itself.
What’s the difference between a wireframe and a sitemap
A website wireframe is not to be confused with a sitemap, which is another important element of your website.
Here’s the difference between the two:
- Sitemap: A website sitemap is an organizational chart that lists all the pages on your website. This is something that gets created as your website is being developed. Over time, any new blog posts or website pages that get created will also be added to the sitemap
- Wireframe: A website wireframe is a website design planning tool that helps the parties involved in a website design project visualize the layout of a specific web page. Different pages will have different layouts, which may require a wireframe for each website page included in the project—though not in all cases!
When you’re comparing a sitemap and a wireframe, remember that a sitemap is focused on the big picture. It’s about organizing the entirety of your website, including pages, service pages, landing pages, blog posts, portfolio posts, etc.
Conversely, a wireframe is a detailed design plan for each individual page. This is where you strategize the organization and layout of one specific web page at a time, which allows you to be strategic when writing the headlines and text for each page.
Are you wondering: Which tool is most important to have for my website?
Honestly, you need both. Sitemaps and wireframes work together to help you plan your website strategically. It’s important to plan both the big-picture organization of your website and dedicate intentional planning to each page of the site.
Not sure if your current site has a sitemap? Check out this post for everything you need to know about website sitemaps.
What is included in a website wireframe?
A wireframe is made of various elements, though there are three essential features that are present in all—content, calls to action and media.
Strategic wireframes start by laying down those big rocks first and foremost. Once we know where these big guys are going, then we can overlay some personality, some brand flourishes, and those final touches!
1. The Content
A wireframe usually sets up content blocks so the most important information is at the top of the page (just beneath the header), then the bulk of the page content is in the middle, and finally the supplementary information is towards the bottom (near the footer).
2. The Calls-To-Action
Webpages are written for a reason. Usually that reason is to guide someone to take action! Where can you ask for the action? Will you have a large heading and a button at the bottom of the text? What about throughout the text in various spots? Are there multiple actions that make sense for this page? Your wireframe helps you give each section of the page a purpose, allowing you to decide what calls-to-action go where.
3. The Media
Have a fabulous graphic, like a team photo with personality? A slideshow of images that show off your talent? Or a great video produced especially for your business? Media can really help with the architecture within each section of your page. A website wireframe helps to determine how these media assets appear on the page. Will they be full-width? Do we need to checkerboard images and text? Decisions like these help give weight to important information and visual assets, and also determine the overall layout of the page.
Why web design wireframing is so important
So far, you’ve learned what a website wireframe is (and what it is not—like a sitemap!), as well as what elements help to make up a complete wireframe. While the importance of wireframes are obvious to web designers and other service providers, like copywriters and SEOs, who are often involved in projects like these, we thought we’d share a few reasons with you to drive home just how helpful wireframes can be.
1. Web design wireframing sets you up for more conversions
Wireframing is awesome because it allows you to design a single page without being distracted by making the design perfect. Later on, you can worry about finding the right photos or graphics for the page or choosing your favorite font or background color. But at the initial stages of site planning, a simple wireframe helps to keep conversions in mind.
Start by thinking through the information your leads need to make a buying decision. Knowing what they need to learn before feeling confident enough to reach out or make a purchase helps dictate what content blocks you need (and where!) to match the process most users will typically go through on that page.
Let’s say you’re working on a web page that goes over the different wedding photography packages you offer. Consider what you want this page to accomplish. Yes, you want people to learn about your services here. But more importantly, you want to guide people to contact you to book or inquire about these packages. With that in mind, this page probably needs to include a button or two that says something like “Book Now!” or “Let’s Talk!” This is your conversion-driving call-to-action.
2. An easy-to-navigate website is an improved lead experience
The wireframe process also helps ensure that each page flows. We want your website visitors to be able to scan and find the information they’re seeking quickly. The wireframe allows us to zoom out and see that path we are laying out for the user, from top to bottom. (Bonus: we get to see how the flow from top to bottom differs from desktop to mobile)
Let’s continue with the previous wedding photographer example for a moment: If the website page describing the photographer’s services has a really confusing layout or doesn’t have an obvious way to book or inquire about a package, most people probably won’t stick around on that page too long. They’ll find another photographer in their location who has a website that makes inquiring a much easier process.
The more intuitive and easy to navigate your website pages are, the more confident your leads will feel reaching out. And if your lead process is smooth and simple, that suggests that their client experience will be just as good—if not better!
3. Wireframing helps identify which information is most important on a web page
When people look at a web page, they tend to view it in an “F” shaped pattern. This means at the top of the page, they read from left to right the longest amount of time (aka the longer horizontal line that makes up the top line of the “F”). As they go down the page vertically, the amount they read from left to right on the page decreases, thus bringing about the shorter horizontal line of the “F.”
The research we have on site navigation clearly implies that visitors want the most important information at the top of a web page. After all, that’s where they’ll do the most reading on the page. Then, their attention spans begin to shorten.
Wireframing helps you identify which information is most important and desired for your site. To put it another way: it helps you figure out which content is most necessary to include, since you’re working with limited space! Once you have identified this is, you can place the most important information in a way that aligns with the “F” shape, meaning the MOST important information will probably go toward the top-left of the page.
4. A website wireframe influences the entire design process
A wireframe is a visual reference. Think of it like a blueprint of your website, and that blueprint informs the entire design process.
Once your designer starts building your actual website, they can use your wireframe as a basis for the actual design work. Similarly, your copywriter can use it to write the right amount of text to fit the space available.
Finally, having a simple visual of your site right off the bat makes the entire project run smoother. There’s no guessing whether you’ll like the end result. If there’s something visually that really doesn’t work for you, you’ll discover it as part of the web design wireframing process! You can then work with your designer to adjust the page layout before they spend anytime doing development and design, and this check and balance before the real work begins can save you a lot of time, money, and stress!
Ready to wireframe your website?
So, what do you think? Are you ready to wireframe the pages of your website?
Maybe you’re thinking, “I know I’ll need to wireframe eventually, but I don’t even have a website yet!” If so, start here to learn about how building your website is just like building a house!
Maybe you don’t know which pages you even want to have on your site yet. If that’s the case, make sure you take some time to create a sitemap before working on your wireframes.
If you already have your sitemap, the next step is to spend some quality time with each individual page of your website to create a wireframe that is not only visually appealing, but is also conversion-friendly and easy to navigate for your website visitors.
Want some help laying out your website wireframe? Reach out to see what it would be like to work together to create a website that attracts your ideal audience and converts them into confident clients.
