Designing the Site: Layout & Navigation: Wireframing
Why is it necessary to first build the skeleton of your website using wireframing? One reason is that we expect all websites to conform to a certain standard. Maybe, the menu bar is always on the top left, and the search magnifying glass is always on the top right.
If you disrupt this, you also disrupt how the user navigates your site. You don’t want to deviate from how everyone uses a website because it becomes frustrating for the customer. By conforming to existing standards on your site, you make it easier for your customers to navigate your site and buy your products.
Wireframing is a process that we use at the beginning when designing a website. A wireframe is a stripped-down version of your website design in which you focus less on what the site looks like and more on what the user experience will be. You can use it to sketch out ideas quickly and share them to make sure that everyone agrees. If you need to make changes, you can easily update the wireframes because they are low fidelity and don’t contain minor details.
You can use wireframes during the design phase to share ideas instantaneously with project stakeholders. If you want to share your site design with friends and get feedback before going into details, wireframes are a great idea. Wireframes help you move expeditiously, confirm that the user experience is pleasing, and generate actionable ideas. They affirm that you’re designing the right thing before investing a ton of time in a detailed design.