Trending Wireframing & Prototyping Tools of 2023

 

Wireframing is a design method used in the early stages of creating a user interface (UI) for a product, such as a website, mobile app, or software application. It involves creating simple, low-fidelity representations of the layout, structure, and interactions of a product. These representations, called wireframes, are used to communicate the design intent and to test usability before committing to a final design.

The main goal of wireframing is to establish the structure and layout of the interface in a quick, simple, and efficient way, while also allowing for testing and iteration.

Based on our analysis of UX design tools survey 2022 results (2nd UX Tools Survey campaign) the top rated Wireframing & Prototyping Tools are there:

To see the full report  Check 2022 UX Tools survey report

Figma:  This is a browser-based tool that allows real-time collaboration and editing, and it is perfect for a design team to work on wireframes and prototypes together.

Key features:

1. Collaboration: Figma allows for real-time collaboration, where multiple people can work on the same design file simultaneously, and it also allows for easy version control and commenting.
2. Prototyping: Figma allows for easy prototyping, where you can create interactive wireframes and mockups, and also allows to test the design with stakeholders.
3. Components: Figma allows you to create reusable components, such as buttons, forms, and navigation, which can be easily updated across multiple pages.

Explore Figma

Adobe XD: This tool is part of the Adobe Creative Suite and it's a vector-based design and wireframing tool that allows designers to create wireframes, interactive prototypes, and high-fidelity designs all in one program.

Key features:

1. Design: Adobe XD allows you to design high-fidelity, polished interfaces using vector-based design tools, similar to Adobe Illustrator.
   
2. Collaboration: Adobe XD allows you to share your designs with stakeholders, clients, and team members and get feedback in real-time.
   
3. Built-in UI kits: Adobe XD comes with built-in UI kits for popular platforms such as iOS, Android, and Windows.
   

Explore Adobe XD

Sketch: This tool is a vector-based wireframing tool that's used primarily by web and app designers. It's designed to be used in conjunction with other tools in the Adobe Creative Suite, such as Photoshop and Illustrator.

Key features:

1. Plugins: Sketch allows developers to create plugins to enhance the functionality of the tool.
   
2. Platform independent: Sketch is a Mac-based tool, which means it can be accessed only from a Mac device.
   
3. Sharing: Sketch allows you to share your designs with stakeholders, clients, and team members with a single click.
   

Explore Sketch

Axure: This tool is a more powerful wireframing tool, with advanced features such as built-in prototyping, collaboration, and documentation capabilities.

Key features:

1. Interactive elements: Axure allows you to add interactive elements such as buttons, forms, and navigation, which can be used to create realistic and interactive prototypes.
2. Platform independent: Axure is a desktop-based tool, which means it can be accessed from any device, and it doesn't require an internet connection.
   
3. Plugins: Axure allows developers to create plugins to enhance the functionality of the tool.
   

Explore Axure

Balsamiq: This tool is known for its simple, sketch-like interface and easy-to-use drag-and-drop functionality. It's ideal for creating quick and rough wireframes.

Key features:

1. Collaboration: Balsamiq allows you to share and collaborate on wireframes with stakeholders, clients, and team members in real-time.
   
2. Built-in UI elements: Balsamiq has a library of built-in UI elements, such as buttons, forms, and navigation, that can be easily added to wireframes.
   
3. Sketch-like interface: Balsamiq has a sketch-like interface that makes it easy to create quick and rough wireframes.
   

Explore Balasmiq

To see the full report  Check 2022 UX Tools survey report

Top 5 Desktop & Website Based Prototyping Tools

Working in the design industry, you are inevitably to do some prototypes, of course, that is also inseparable from a variety of tools. A handy tool makes a handy man. Good prototype software can greatly improve your efficiency, but each tool has its own advantages and disadvantages. There is a list of prototyping tools/apps based on browser, PC, and mobile devices. In order to better help you make the right judgments, and less detours, today I will introduce the product features of some commonly used prototyping tools.

1. Axure RP

Despite the variety of prototyping tools whose functionality and usability are constantly developing in recent years, but Axure is still the ace among these prototyping tools. It’s a very good prototyping design software on Windows, also the first choice for predesign work.

Price:

Free 30-day trial.

Pro: $289 per license

Team: $589 per license

Enterprise: $99/month

Features:

1. Renowned prototyping tool with large user population.

2. Rich video tutorials with multi-language.

3. Built-in widgets and a huge library of third-party widgets.

4. Good for making interactive prototype with complex interaction.

5. Professional training and support documentation.

Preview:

Directly press F5 to preview online, or preview via mobile device:

Export the project to HTML, and then open in Safari;

Open the uploaded project from PC through Axshare.

Export:

Support for export file types: HTML, DOCX, PNG

2. Mockplus

As an emerging rapid prototyping tool, Mockplus provides a large number of components and icons, and it’s user-friendly design helps users starting design quickly. The interaction design in Mockplus is fully visualized, that's WYSIWYG. It allows your to add page link and interaction for components with simple drag-and-drop. Simple, convenient visualization operation greatly simplifies the interaction design, also improving the work efficiency.

Price:

Free trail

Monthly subscription: $20

Yearly subscription:$119

Features:

1. Low learning curve, easy to learn for a first-time user.

2. Easy-to-use drag and drop, prototyping is fast.

3. A huge standard library of components (200) and vector icons (26,00).

4. Interaction design is visualized, adding interactivity to individual elements with simple drag and drop.

5. Comprehensive ways to preview and share your project: export to HTML, export to demo package, export to images, export project tree, publish to cloud and scan QR code.

Preview:

Mockplus supports to preview your prototypes in 8 different ways:

1. Press F5

2. Export to HTML5 view online

3. Export to HTML5 offline package

4. Export to demo package

5. Preview on mobile device by inputting view code

6. Scan QR code

7. Export to image

8. Export project tree

Export:

Support for export file types:.exe, PNG, HTML, Project tree (Mind Map, Tree View, HTML, MarkDown, XML, Text)

3. Justinmind

JustinMind is mainly focusing on high-fidelity prototyping. Compared with other interactive prototyping tools, Justinmind is more suitable for mobile device (iOS & Android) prototypes. If you want to create a complex high-fidelity prototype, you can try it.

Price:

Free 30-day trial.

Pro: $29/month (billed yearly: $19/month)

Features:

1. Gesture interaction

2. Custom components and libraries

3. Rich interactions and animations

4. Conditions and variables

5. Team prototyping and version control

Preview:

1. Preview online

2. Preview on device

Export:

Support for export file types: HTML + JS, Word, PNG, Navigation map

4. Invision

InVision is a web-based interactive prototyping tool. It can easily achieve a very good collaboration between team members, gather feedback to help designers quickly design product models, manage design teams, and online collaboration assistance. The static pages, mobile app wireframe can be quickly turn into clickable, interactive prototypes.

Price:

Free - 1 prototype

Starter - $15/month, 3 prototypes

Professional - $25/month, unlimited prototypes

Team - $99/month, unlimited prototypes

Enterprise - Unlimited prototypes, plus advanced features

Features:

1. Easy to learn.

2. Quick and intuitive to add screens and create hotspots.

3. Support for gestures and transitions.

4. Sharing and commenting system are good for collecting feedback.

Preview:

Via browser on PC or mobile devices

Share:

Prototypes can be share through URL, Email, SMS, etc., you can also download the ZIP prototype package or PDF

5. Proto.io

Proto.io is a very powerful web app with a lot of features. However, it needs to set by dragging and dropping of each step, click the button, and adjust the value in the options. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to find some of the settings you need.

Price:

Free 15-day trail.

Freelancer: $29/month, 1 user, 5 active projects

Startup: $49/month, 2 users, 10 active projects

Agency: $99/month, 5 users, 15 active projects

Corporate: $199/month, 10 users, 30 active projects

Features:

1. A huge standard library of components.

2. Support for adding interactivity to individual elements.

3. Support for importing designs from Dropbox.

4. Support for Sketch and Photoshop plugins.

Preview:

Preview through HTML or send SMS to mobile

Export:

Support for export file types: HTML, PNG, PDF

Original Post at Mockplus.com.

How to view Axure Prototype like a Mobile app

If you are designing any mobile app in Axure then simulating prototype directly in mobile device for realistic presentation & demonstration will be really cool. In this article we are going to see how we can publish Axure prototype and view in mobile like an app.

Step1: Setup page according to targeted mobile device resolution and size. Also create global guides as per screen size and work according to guides.

Example: Guides created for iPhone 6s resolution (647x375px). Reduce the height by 20px in iOS app for status bar.

Step 2: Complete prototyping work and keep all the elements inside the guide.

Step 3: Publish prototype with some modifications

a.       Include View Port tag

b.      Set targeted device

c.       Screen width

d.      Add app-icon

Go to Publish> Generate html > Mobile/Device.

Step 4: Upload prototype in Axure Cloud (Axshare) and generate the link ‘Without sidebar'.

Step 5: Open the prototype link in targeted mobile device using default browser and ‘Add link to Home’. With this step, you can find an app icon in Menu of mobile as app.

Step 6: Tap on the app icon from Mobile menu and experience the prototype link an app.

We will be seeing some more articles related to Axure prototyping tool. Keep sharing your feedback/comments and suggestions of new topics.

Read more 'How to Axure' articles.

Author

Abhishek Jain

Co-founder of UXness

UX Designer & Researcher

How to Embed Fonts in Axure prototypes

While working in different kind of operating systems (like iOS, android) or client’s designers have some constraints of using any specific ‘Font-family’. iOS have its own default font family, sometimes client companies have their own style guide for using default fonts. If you are designing prototype in Axure then knowledge of fonts is recommended for you and how to embed any specific font family in your prototype is required for seamless experience. In this article you can have step by step guide in ‘Embedding custom font family in Axure prototype’.

Step 1. Select font which you want to embed in Axure prototype. Let’s say we want to embed ‘Open Sans’ font family.

Step 2. Get the ‘Source URL’ of font from ‘Google free fonts’ of similar other sources.

Google fonts: https://fonts.google.com/ 

Search – Font name and Select. Once you select you will be able to get link of font (see below image).

Step 3. Now open Axure prototype and go to Publish> Generate html.

Step 4. Select ‘Web fonts’ tab and add font by clicking on ‘+’ icon below.

Step 5. Enter the Font name (keep font name exact same with source URL). Enter URL of web font, keep ‘Link to .css file’ as selected.

 Till yet we have done linking of our custom font in our prototype. Now we have to map fonts which we are using in prototype to this (open sans) font. 

Step 6. Go to ‘Font Mappings’ and click on ‘+’ to add new mapping. Select any font which you want to change in your custom font in ‘Font’ field and enter exact name of custom font family in ‘font-family’. Let’s say we want to replace all the text having ‘Arial’ font in to our font (open sans).

Step 7. And finally generate prototype and run. You will be able to view your custom font in prototype.

Hope this guide help you in working in Axure prototyping tool. Below are some good recommended online courses which can help you in learning about Axure tool.

Explore more UX Courses 

About Author

Abhishek Jain

Design Lead UX Researcher
Co-founder of UXness
LinkedIn | Email

What's special in Axure Prototyping tool?

Prototyping is one of the most important activity for UX designers which generally done on paper sketches to digital softwares. There are lot of wireframing and prototyping softwares and applications available. Each one is having some special qualities or offerings for designers. In this article we are going to discuss how 'Axure' prototyping tool is different for prototyping, how UX designers and interaction designers can get benefitted.

1. Create wireframe to prototype with Interactivity

One can create low fidelity wireframes to high fidelity functioning prototypes in axure with adding interactions. Axure provides a great set of interactions which one can use and create awesome prototypes.

2. Test prototypes like an app on mobile

If you are designing any mobile application, then view prototype like an opening app directly from mobile. This helps in experiencing the prototype in more realistic manner. Good for testing and analysis.

3. Adaptive prototyping

For designing responsive and adaptive applications, designers need not to create 3 difference prototypes of different resolution. Axure provides responsive prototyping by which in single prototype we can create different screen layouts.

4. Storing & sharing on cloud

Axure provides file storage & sharing on cloud also. So no need to worry from where you are working, you can get your prototype files and links everywhere.

Link: https://share.axure.com/

5. Amazing social collaborated community for learning

One of the most amazing thing about Axure is not any feature in tool, it is their support social community. Social collaborated community portal of Axure is very rich crowd sourced learning platform where designers who are learning the tool or having any difficulty come & get solutions by different designers.

Link: http://www.axure.com/c/forum.php

6. Designer friendly updates

Axure team is working hard in understanding the designers need and helping in their design process very aggressively. From first version to Axure to latest version they have added, updated lot of features and made more designer friendly.

About Author

Abhishek Jain (@uxdabhi)

How to Get Started in UX/UI Design?

As most UX designers may tell you, there is no prescribed path to becoming a UX designer. Some designers may start with degrees in arts, others were trained in architecture school, while some even came from entirely different professions. Not a few designers have been broken into this field without any formal training, with a genuine empathy for others and the belief of making lives better through design.

However, it’s not easy to land an entry-level UX position, and many new-comers may get lost by the interchangeability of design terms, like UX and UI. So before diving deeper into starting a career in UX, let’s take a quick look at the two different terms in below.        

 What Is UX/UI Design?

At the very start, let’s define UX & UI design before moving on to our point: 

UX Design (User Experience Design) - is all about enhancing user satisfaction and designing the complete user experience. UX requests a solid understanding of sociology, psychology as well as design to identify and address the real user problems. Also it requires tactical skills, including concept iteration, user research, prototyping and usability testing. One of the most critical skills for UX designers would be communication.

 UIDesign (User Interface Design) - is all about selecting the right interface elements, such as text fields, buttons, check boxes and drop-down lists, to create the tangible interfaces that users can readily understand and easily use. In small-sized companies, UI designers may conduct the entire process from user flows to hi-fidelitymockups; In large-sized companies, they are likely to specialize more in defining the layout of an app or website (that’s what we call “Sketch” or “Wireframing”).  

The ultimate goal of UX and UI design is making the user’s interaction as time efficient and simple as possible. Also the lines between UX and UI designers are always blurred in accordance with different company size and demands. For more information about frequently confused design terms, like UX, UI, IA, IxD, here is another post for your read.

 How to Become a UX Designer?

There is no need to repeat others’ career path, and below are some practical advices for those who are thinking of stepping into UX design industry.

1. Get Yourself Educated

This does not mean you have to go invest in a university degree, but a formalized education won’t hurt. There are may higher education UX courses and programs out there, while it’s not a necessary step to break into the UX field. Just as one UX expert put: “If you are a ‘lifelong learner’, in other words, if you are paying attention, you will be able to take previous experience and apply lessons learned from them to your new situation. That is more important to me than specific skills you might learn in school.”

Here is a comprehensive list of recommended ebooks, which would form a good starting point. On a more informal level, you can take participation in various online courses, and following are some recommendable learning resources.

Interaction Design Foundation The Interaction Design Foundation is an educational organization which produces open content and Open Access educational materials online with the stated goal of "democratizing education by making world-class educational materials free for anyone,

General Assembly - They specialize in today’s most in-demand skills, offering a complete program in UX design. It’s possible to take different kinds of workshops and classes, as well as attend as a part-time or full-time student. 

 DesignLab - An authorized design program that would pair students with experienced mentors. Their courses vary between 4-6 weeks and charge around $300.

Udemy - As a competitor to Lynda, their pre-course pricing makes it a great supplement to designer’s education. There are some free pre-introductory courses there.

Lynda - All courses on the site have good reputation, requiring you to subscribe before accessing them. There is a 10-day free trial and the pricing goes from $25/mo.

Fundamentals of UX Design - It’s coming from Tuts Web Design, consisting of sixteen 2-hour lessons at the fee of $15.

UX Apprentice - Cost-free courses and learning resources for anyone who is looking to learn the basics.

Aside from articles and online courses, you can also engage in design communities, ranging from visual design websites like Behance and Dribbble, to more comprehensive websites, like UX Magazine. Being a part of a community will make self-learning less intimidating and you can get inspired by others’ creative ideas. More websites and blog resources to get you educated. 

2. Take Advantage of the Right Tools

Since you have learned the fundamentals, you still need to practice your knowledge under real environment. UX design is not just working in front of a screen, and you have to be taught how to create interactive wireframes and conduct usability testing sessions. Both require software to achieve. Considering of ease-of-use and included features, here are the most recommended tools:

 Axure

Established in May 2002, Axure is considered as the standard in interactive wireframe software and recommended for professional designers looking for sophisticated prototyping capabilities. It does help user experience professionals, product manager and business analyst as well, but is far from an ideal choice for beginners for its steep learning curve.

 Justinmind

As a flexible prototyping tool, Justinmind supports multi-platforms and can work well for simple click-through prototypes or complex interactions. The device-specific templates and gesture-based interaction set it apart from other tools. However, the free version is somehow  limiting and its moderate learning curve still keeps many first-time users away. 

 Balsamiq

Founded by a former senior engineer of Adobe in 2008, Balsamiq has appeared to be one of the best wireframing program providers in the industry. As is advertised “Life is too short for bad software”, Balsamiq Mockup allows simple elements and fast design creation for websites & mobile apps. It may have a top limit on the quality of created mockups and the lack of template window is another downside.

InVision

InVision is a US-based company that takes many useful customization and import options from Marvel, with more collaboration features included. A highlight is you can share completed mockups through the in-built LiveShare tool, which is more effective than sending a .PDF file. While this viewer app is only compatible with iOS devices like iPhone and iPad, with no support for Android and Windows Phone. 

Mockplus

Developed by a team of passionate developers from the orient, Mockplus is a relatively new player in the industry. It’s a rapid prototyping tool to turn design ideas into functional prototypes faster, smarter and easier. It’s visualized interactions and drag-and-drop UI largely simplify the design process and keep designer focused on the graphic quality and content. Live preview can be achieved by scanning QR code and the most recent 2.19 version will add 3000 vector icons. Its educational offer is awaiting for fresh minds.  

Beyond any doubt, there will be other alternatives on the market, with both pluses and minuses existing the same time. For those who are in need of testing and analytic tools, here are the recommendations:

A/B Testing Tools, which aim to help test one or multiple elements on certain page to see which received the most action. These types of tools can be purchased on monthly basis. Some popular choices are A/B Test Master, Intuition, UsabilityTools. 
Web Analytics Tools, which give you better understanding of website traffic and visitor behavior from both optimization and conversion perspective. Google Analytics is my tool of choice.
User Feedback Tools, which enable you to gather user information and feedback. Some general tools include Mechanical Turk, UsabilityHub and Ethnio.

   

3. Find Yourself a Mentorship

Mentoring is rewarding, and a high-quality mentorship can be an important part of a designer’s growth process. You don’t need to catch up as often with a potential mentor, but try to soak up everything that an experienced UX designer can offer you when talking on Skype or taking a quick coffee.

It may be daunting to find a mentor as UX professionals are always busy, but you may find a mentor through some communities you join or some courses you take. Take a look at this article on how to find your design mentor and also consider whether you want to pay for a mentorship service. It’s true that almost anyone you respect can serve as design mentor, and just talk to everyone you can and be open to different opinions.   

4. Get Some Experience & Hired

No one can become a successful UX designer without building things. Almost every UX designer starts with some jobs to practice their skills. That’s where online portfolio comes in handy. Just like a UI designer would have an A3 portfolio that shows posters, logos as well as t-shirts designed by himself, you need to present examples of your created deliverables.

It’s great to propose an apprenticeship or internship at a company, and your portfolio will be a great help that tells a story about the process you follow will be a great help. Generally, the more you’ve learned, the more opportunities will open up for you. This could be a virtuous cycle in which you can learn and grow. 

 Bottom Line

At last, here’s a quote written by Ivan Glass to share with all people who have been planning or just wondering to break into the UX world. Enjoy the ride!

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work."

Please comment below if you have any further thoughts or suggestions to share. 

About Author

Berry Sarah

Email: bleachmizu@gmail.com

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