Web design prototyping

As many of us know, it is the very beginning of the project when developers make lots of mistakes. The reason is that the designer doesn’t fully understand the project. The designer leaves out of account a great number of details which may cost a lot of trouble to him or her later. In order to avoid or minimize such mistakes, we use prototyping. So what is prototyping? In website design a prototype is simple schematics of a webpage in the form of a sketch, outline, or an html-page reflecting structural components of your future site: menu bar, buttons, forms, etc. Why do we need a prototype? It allows you to explain the idea of the project, its structure and functions without a designer’s help.

·         It allows you to comprehend the conception of your future website.

·         It allows you to thoroughly consider all the details concerning the interaction between the website and its user.

·         It allows you to organize better website navigation.

·         It allows you to see the website outline before its design is completed.

Website prototype requirements:

·         quick creation of the prototype;

·         easy access to making changes;

·         interactivity;

·         simplicity – so that the client, or the programmer, or the manager could easily work with it;

·         detailed elaboration (in some cases).

Prototyping is a useful tool that saves your time and reduces the amount of mistakes. A web designer starts working on prototype only after getting detailed technical specifications or a brief form filled by the client.

Why is it important to keep the prototype visually clean?

A simple and neat prototype allows the other team members to comprehend the structure and general idea of the project without being distracted by detailed components and their design.

The best style for a prototype is no style at all. A monochrome wireframe with only two colors (one of which is white) is the most simple and easy-to-look-at form, perfect for its functions.

Such a prototype reveals nothing but structure. Colorful components will fight over your attention while in a prototype all the components are equal which allows you to concentrate on user experience design while your team concentrates on arranging components – not their design.

How profitable is prototyping?

Prototyping affects many aspects of web design and most of all – its financial side. It cuts down expenses. Avoiding big mistakes at the beginning of your work will save you a lot of money.