Whether you're a beginner or an experienced designer, understanding wireframe tools is key to creating effective digital products. In this guide, we'll explain what wireframe tools are, why they're important, and how they can streamline your design process.
We'll also highlight the top features to consider when choosing a platform and share our picks for the top five wireframe tools this year. Ready to enhance your design workflow? Let’s dive in!
What are wireframe tools?
Wireframe tools help designers create blueprints of interfaces for websites, landing pages, or mobile apps. These blueprints, the wireframes, focus on the structure and functionality of digital products instead of design elements like colors, fonts, or annoying pop-ups you never get rid of.
By creating wireframes, designers plan and organize user interfaces (UI), outlining the basic framework of elements like menus, buttons, and content areas. This practice helps spot and fix usability issues early on, so you can avoid rework in the design or development stages.
Why you should use tools for wireframing
You can significantly save time and money in the wireframing process with a platform — instead of using pen and paper like web designers did in the distant past, when we shared the earth with megafauna like the woolly rhinoceros and the giant ground sloth (OK, maybe not that long ago). Here are the key benefits of using tools for wireframing:
- Enable human-centered design: Wireframing is about understanding what's best for user experience. With tools and templates, you can easily build persona profiles and user flows, ensuring your design is intuitive and addresses your audience's needs.
- Increase efficiency: You can try pen and paper to sketch a v1 if you like to keep things simple. But creating the whole information architecture (IA) without tools? Seriously, don't do that to yourself. Leverage options with drag-and-drop functionalities and library integrations to assemble wireframes in a flash.
- Foster visual collaboration and feedback: Research by Nielsen Norman Group shows that 82% of UX professionals collaborate with other team members on the deliverables they produce. With collaborative features, you share ideas, get feedback, and iterate in real time, so everyone is on the same page. Literally.
What to know before getting a product design or website wireframe tool
Let's take a closer look at the basic factors to consider when selecting a wireframe tool:
The level of detail in your wireframes matters
The million-dollar question: low-fi or high-fi? While low-fidelity wireframes are basically sketches, high-fidelity mockups bring your design to life with a polished and slick look. When picking your wireframe tool, consider your project's goals. Do you need basic building blocks or advanced features? The best tool is the one that aligns with your design direction.
And remember: Wireframing and prototyping are two sides of the UX design coin. Wireframes focus on what the product will do. Prototypes incorporate visual design elements and basic interactions to simulate how the final product might work. If you need prototyping components to test user interactions, go for a tool that offers this functionality.
Ease of use pays off in the long run
If your team is new to wireframing, prioritize a tool with a gentle learning curve. User-friendly platforms:
- Reduce onboarding time: Intuitive interfaces and pre-built UI kits allow designers to jump right into building wireframes, learning through practice.
- Streamline creation: Wireframe design tools facilitate creation with templates and version control, saving designers from the torture of creating everything from scratch.
- Facilitate sharing with clients: Encouraging client feedback is like opening Pandora's box — you never know what’s going to come out of it. But easy-to-use tools fuel creative teamwork with your clients. They could ask for a few more changes, but at least they'll be in a good mood.
Related: How to collect feedback from stakeholders effectively
Free trials are a wise choice before grabbing paid tools for wireframing
Be budget-savvy! Try free wireframe tools and freemium options before grabbing the best fit for your wallet. If you are considering paying for a subscription, compare the pricing and features of your favorite tools and analyze how they add value to your project needs.
Collaboration platforms streamline workflows with multiple stakeholders
Approving a wireframe in a 20-person meeting? Sorry, I gotta go. And never come back.
Mural’s 2024 Teamwork Research Report shows that 71% of knowledge workers believe meetings aren't the best way to collaborate and align on work. And truth be told, design by committee isn’t the best idea for approving a product design wireframe. But platforms with real-time tools boost collaboration and streamline team alignment, speeding up the design process.
Related: 5 ways to make meetings more collaborative
Top five wireframe software to level up your design process
Here are five top wireframing tools for product managers and visual designers:
1. Mural
There's a popular UX design quote that says: "User interface is like a joke. If you have to explain, it's not that good." Mural took this principle to heart. It's super easy to use, collaborate, and create low-fi wireframes.
Mural's features include an infinite canvas with wireframe templates and a set of visual tools for brainstorming with your team and getting things done faster. Video chat enables co-creation sessions from anywhere, making it the best solution for remote or hybrid teams.
With Mural, you can:
- Start wireframing with Mural's templates and pre-built components for quick sketches
- Have a digital whiteboard to get alignment faster and give everyone a single source of truth
- Keep your meetings moving, stay on task, and gather more authentic feedback using facilitation superpowers
Related: How to get your team started with Mural
2. Balsamiq
Balsamiq is known for its simplicity, featuring a drag-and-drop interface and a library of pre-built UI elements designed for low-fidelity wireframing.
This wireframe software is ideal for beginners and those who want to avoid complex design software. But its simplicity can also be a limitation for more advanced projects. It lacks collaboration tools, which can be a drawback for dynamic teams. Plus, Balsamiq doesn't offer a free plan, only a 30-day trial, so if you're looking for free tools, it might not be the best pick.
3. Figma
Figma is one of the most popular wireframe platforms, widely used for complex projects. It offers a large set of features such as vector editing, prototyping, and extensive plugin support, making it a good option for seamless workflows with other design tools.
While Figma allows for low-fidelity wireframing, some users prefer a dedicated tool for that stage. Another aspect of Figma is that, as a beginner, you may struggle with so many tools and capabilities. And you'll need the best internet connection to take full advantage of it.
4. Sketch
Sketch offers a clean interface with intuitive vector editing tools — a nice option for both wireframing and prototyping. Its symbol and style systems allow you to maintain consistency across large projects, streamlining the design-to-development process.
Just keep in mind that Sketch is a Mac-only application, limiting its accessibility for PC users. While it's a strong option for design, it lacks built-in collaboration features that are becoming standard in other tools. To collaborate effectively, users often rely on third-party integrations or design canvas platforms.
5. Axure
Axure is a robust tool for advanced wireframing and prototyping, suitable for projects that require detailed and interactive designs. It offers features like dynamic content, conditional logic, and adaptive views, allowing designers to create mockups and prototypes with a high level of detail.
But Axure's learning curve can be steeper compared to other tools on this list. Its focus on advanced prototyping and interactivity might be overkill for straightforward projects, making it less versatile for all project types.
Start creating wireframes with Mural
Ready to ditch pen and paper? Mural is the best wireframing software to get you up and running quickly, bring in key stakeholders, and track your progress over time:
- Get a library with customizable frameworks to wireframe desktop web pages and outline sketches for mobile devices
- Eliminate emailing wireframes back and forth
- Integrate your murals with tools you already use like Slack, Trello, Figma, and Adobe
- Improve team participation — break free from boring meetings... forever
Get started with Mural for free and create wireframes easily in collaboration with your team.
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