A mobile app wireframe is the cornerstone of any iOS or Android app development project. Wireframing a mobile app involves creating a blueprint or outline for the application’s structure and organizing the components and contents of the app. This multistep design process aims to provide clarity as you build the app you envision.
Let’s discuss the fundamentals of mobile app wireframing, the steps involved in the process, and the reasons why it’s crucial for successful app development.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Mobile App Wireframe?
- 4 Types of Mobile App Wireframes
- 9 Steps to Mobile App Wireframing
- Inclusions and Exclusions in Mobile App Wireframing
- Top 8 Tools for Application Wireframe Creation
- 3 Reasons Why a Mobile App Wireframe Is Important
- 5+ Pro Tips for Mobile App Wireframing
- In a Nutshell: Key Points on Mobile App Wireframe
What Is a Mobile App Wireframe?
A mobile app wireframe is a comprehensible two-dimensional visual diagram of the app design. It showcases only the main screens and critical interface elements without fully presenting a fully functional product sample.
Mobile app wireframing uses grayscale to simulate and portray the skeletal framework of the application. Mobile app development agencies use the application wireframe to explore and collect valuable insights on the concepts for layout and interaction.
4 Types of Mobile App Wireframes
When wireframing a mobile app, it’s vital to test and innovate throughout the process. The type of mobile app wireframe you use should align with your app’s requirements. Here are the four key mobile application wireframe techniques:
- Paper wireframe
- Low-fidelity (lo-fi) wireframe
- Medium-fidelity (mid-fidelity) wireframe
- High-fidelity (hi-fi) wireframe
1. Paper Wireframe
The paper wireframe uses the traditional hand-drawn wireframe method wherein you sketch out the visual formulation of the application idea. It is likely the most accessible and convenient place to begin the fundamental app conceptualization before moving and saving the plan on a device.
Many designers find this method invaluable for its simplicity. Starting with paper wireframes is a common practice that allows for flexible creativity before moving on to more refined digital versions.
2. Low-Fidelity (Lo-Fi) Wireframe
The low-fidelity wireframe is another basic model for sketching out an application’s interface configuration and graphical workflow. A lo-fi mobile app wireframe is a less detailed depiction of the content hierarchy, page segments and subsections, structural layout, and navigation buttons.
It displays only the most essential building blocks for user workflow on the screen, such as placeholders, banners, and filler texts. The primary purpose of this mobile app wireframing technique is to establish your objectives for the project.
3. Medium-Fidelity (Mid-Fidelity) Wireframe
The medium-fidelity wireframe is a more comprehensive form of application wireframe than a lo-fi or paper wireframe. It brings more refinement to the first two types of wireframing.
Mid-fidelity wireframing sets the stage for the final UI design you have in mind, providing you with a more solid and detailed overview of an iOS or Android app’s features. For this style of wireframe mobile app, the designer can already integrate recommendations for proper text weights and content spacing while still utilizing grayscale.
4. High-Fidelity (Hi-Fi) Wireframe
The high-fidelity wireframe is a high-resolution, pixel-specific form of mobile app wireframing. It requires a high-quality design tool so that designers can thoroughly demonstrate its appearance in more precise detail to the developers.
In hi-fi wireframing, the design specialist can go in-depth with how they visualize the product’s final look and feel. They can specify the photo selections, icons, typeface and fonts, buttons and placement, colors, and backdrops.
Since it contains all that goes into the final output, this model is the wireframe design closest to the functional prototype and the actual application.
9 Steps to Mobile App Wireframing
Here is a step-by-step guide to the wireframing process flow:
- Map the targeted user workflow
- Determine and sketch the primary portions of the user workflow
- Position the mobile frame
- Arrange the layout using boxes
- Use a good design pattern
- Start adding actual content
- Ensure the content scales appropriately
- Interlink the pages and create a UX flow
- Test the UX flow
Step #1: Map the Targeted User Workflow
The first step to mobile app wireframing is to outline the user journey. Define the number of screens, segments, and subsections you will be designing and how you foresee users will interact with each.
Alternatively, you can simply show the user flow through plain boxes and instructional arrows.
Step #2: Determine and Sketch the Primary Portions of the User Workflow
This wireframing stage intends to identify the practical purpose and function of each page on the app for end-users or businesses. Using a mid-fidelity wireframe is recommended for detailing the user flow. This visualization opens the discussion for feedback and suggestions from both the design and development teams.
Step #3: Position the Mobile Frame
Framing the mobile app design helps define the physical constraints of the project. When doing so, opt for a rectangular frame with more visible and tangible dimensions instead of a simple rectangle. A mobile frame with added depth and volume guides the design process and naturally constrains the app designer, preventing them from overdoing the design and adding too many elements.
Moreover, using a more dimensional rectangle helps create an illusion for the actual design.
Step #4: Arrange the Layout Using Boxes
The next step is to use boxes to visualize the arrangement of elements. Set the layout, structure, and hierarchy of the design without focusing on specific content and information. This step helps you determine how users will navigate and interact with the application pages.
Additionally, this is where you can identify and address any inefficiencies that may hinder user experience, allowing you to find ways to modify and correct them.
Step #5: Use a Good Design Pattern
Ensure usability and familiarity in your design pattern by incorporating familiar, if not universal, UX/UI elements. These include components like content blocks, floating action buttons (FABs), top or bottom tab bars, and side drawers that are all widely recognized and user-friendly. These elements make navigation intuitive, ensuring that users can easily understand how to interact with the app.
Step #6: Start Adding Actual Content
Once the visual hierarchy is established, the next step is replacing dummy text and placeholders with real content and visuals for actual use on the app. While finalized versions are ideal, polished drafts will do.
Incorporating actual content during wireframing is beneficial as it reminds the design team of each page or item’s purpose on the frame. Having supported informative texts helps streamline and hasten the design process. Additionally, designers can translate written content into fitting design ideas.
Step #7: Ensure the Content Scales Appropriately
In this next stage, ensure your content is scalable to maintain readability and professionalism across devices. It’s crucial to verify that the appearance of texts and graphics in your business applications adjusts accordingly and remains proportional on varying screen sizes.
Step #8: Interlink the Pages and Create a UX Flow
Begin stitching together all the elements in your mobile app wireframe to create a UX flow that reflects how each component functions within the app. This UX flow helps designers and developers visualize various scenarios of user interaction with the product.
By studying and analyzing these simulated UX flows, they can identify areas for improvement and make amendments to the wireframe as necessary.
Step #9: Test the UX Flow
The final step is to test the mobile app wireframe to see if the screens and pages harmoniously interact and generally work as they should. This is especially crucial for cross-platform applications, as it ensures a seamless user experience across different operating systems.
Thorough testing helps you identify any inconsistencies, so you can refine the app’s flow before moving on to final development.
Inclusions and Exclusions in Mobile App Wireframing
Regardless of how you approach mobile app wireframe creation or what model you adopt, the standard design components are the same. As minimum requirements, an effective wireframe mobile app illustrates the following elements:
- Content hierarchy
- Object categories
- Navigation areas
- Page elements
- User actions
- Conversion and transition elements
On the other hand, an application wireframe should not include:
- Colors
- Extensive stylization
- Videos
- Photos and other vivid graphics
- Animations
- Click-throughs and hyperlinks
- Interactive search functionality
- Interactive subscription forms
Top 8 Tools for Application Wireframe Creation
Here are efficient mobile app wireframing tools and software that are most popular among developers and designers:
- Justinmind: A one-stop shop for creating hi-fi wireframes and app prototypes.
- Mockplus: A desktop-based drag-and-drop tool offering thousands of templates for icons and other app components.
- Balsamiq: A flexible, intuitive, and convenient mobile app wireframing tool that switches from sketch mode for conceptualization to clean mode for presentation.
- Miro: A handy wireframing platform that allows remote collaboration.
- Moqups: A purely web-based wireframing tool with built-in mockups and templates conveniently available online, so you can use it anywhere.
- InVision: An interactive tool that enables all project contributors to edit and leave comments on the wireframe in progress directly.
- Pidoco: A cloud-hosted software with shareable, reusable, and customizable mobile app wireframe template options.
- Framer: A mockup tool with the ability to mimic movements and interactions while testing and sharing them with your team.
3 Reasons Why a Mobile App Wireframe Is Important
In 2023, global app spending surged to $171 billion, highlighting the importance of thorough planning in app development. It helps support your dev team with a clearer vision, scope, and overall project direction.
Here are some other reasons why you should never skip mobile app wireframing:
1. A Mobile App Wireframe Validates Your Product Idea
Providing app wireframe examples allows your team to understand and align with the goals of the app you are building. It helps you keep your focus on these goals throughout the development process. You can better see and understand how it can help and add value to end-users.
2. Mobile App Wireframing Has Room for Improvements
An application wireframe gives you a broad perspective on the product development process. It gives both the development and design teams a clear view of the final product, enabling collaborative efforts to synergistically work towards achieving the end vision.
3. Wireframes Save You Time and Money
Sketching a wireframe before starting actual app development helps you avoid major pitfalls in the future, saving you time and money. It allows you to revisit the illustration as often as you please and revise the framework as needed, refining it until it closely aligns with the ideal state.
5+ Pro Tips for Mobile App Wireframing
Here are key pointers to keep in mind and put into practice when creating a wireframe:
- Consult stakeholders and take note of feedback.
- Find inspiration in other existing wireframe samples.
- Be adept at using all four types of wireframing.
- Remember the project objectives and organize your work according to these goals.
- Use only a few select tools and software and stick to using them throughout the wireframing process.
- Be open to application development outsourcing or working with freelance app developers.
In a Nutshell: Key Points on Mobile App Wireframe
When creating a mobile app wireframe, choose functionality over form. Make sure you are equipped with the right platform and tools that can realize the final product. It is equally important to align the UX workflows with the intended purpose of the application.
Finally, do not bypass testing. Testing your mobile app wireframe helps you find friction points, gauge the ease or difficulty of app usage, and ensure that the screen workflow meets user expectations.
