Category: web design

You can consider wireframe tools as the core element of the web designing process. These tools provide an opportunity to the customer and the web developer team to get an idea about the features and the setup of a web design.

The main purpose of drawing a wireframe is to improve your website in terms of aesthetics and style. Using wireframe tools correctly, you can see a bird’s eye view of the web layout. In other words, you can plan how the user will process the information on the website and interact with the interface with wireframe software.

Wireframe tools that make a difference

There are hundreds of free and paid tools you can use available online that can strengthen and improve your website. Here, you can find the best and the most suitable online wireframe tools listed below.

Sketch

Sketch is a fairly simple tool for modern UI and designing. This tool integrates with other design tools and also supports you to create integration plugins.

Sketch offers you vector editing, boolean operations, pixel-level precisions, grinds and layouts, resizing constraints, math operators, variable and OpenType fonts, insert window, reusable components and more. It has every feature in the macOS app and also a web app to make it easy for you to do your best work at every stage of your process.

InVision

InVision is the platform for inclusive collaboration within digital product design and development. With InVision, you can add images and basic shapes and draw the wireframe with your mouse cursor.

InVision is a great tool for teamwork since it’s a cloud app that multiple designers and stakeholders can be signed in and write at the same time. It will work well for designers who want to collaborate with team members on an initial wireframe sketch or comment on more refined wireframes.

Adobe XD

Adobe XD is an all-in-one UI/UX design tool. It stands out as an easy to use option for wireframing and interface design projects. You can do everything from wireframing to basic prototyping with Adobe XD. You can easily use this professional wireframe tool, without spending too much time trying to learn the software.

Adobe XD enables;

• wireframe,
• mockup, and
• prototyping in the same design file,

in this way you don’t have to integrate multiple tools. It has too many features such as vector drawing tools, editing in photoshop, responsive resize, blend modes, content-aware layout, components, 3D transforms and more like these.

Figma

Figma is a web-based design program suitable for use on the web, macOS, Windows, Linux which allows you to work with your teammates at the same time. With Figma, you can easily create and prototype your wireframes and test your designs with your users with just one link.

Moreover, Figma has many features that enable drawing freely with a modern pen tool that automatically merges points, incorporating plugins to speed up your workflow using libraries to store, find, and add new assets.

UXPin

UXPin is another powerful prototyping and wireframing tool available on the web, macOS and Windows. With UXPin, you can do interactive wireframe and prototype work with a built-in library of UI and general design elements. 

With this very powerful and advanced one among wireframe tools, UXPin, you can create polished, shiny, and clear wireframes. The advantage of a higher-fidelity wireframe is to have more fine-tuning of the flow and functionality without spending much time redesigning the screen’s components.

Balsamiq

Balsamiq is a great design tool for developers, designers and creatives. It allows you to add items to your website or application just by drag-and-drop, which helps for rapid prototyping as well as conveying your ideas quickly and without confusion. It includes some pre-embedded time-saving controls commonly used in wireframing.

Balsamiq’s interface focuses on the basics. Its interface and elements imitate a hand-drawn style to emphasize content and structure over other aspects, making it handy for every stage of a build. Balsamiq’s training system, Balsamiq Wireframing Academy, will shorten your learning process and ease and speed up your work.

Mockplus

Mockplus is an all in one designing tool for;

• wireframe,
• interactive prototyping,
• unified collaborations and
• scalable design systems.

With its cloud-based structure, you can also have dozens of integrations.

Mockplus enables you to add notes and documentation to each element in your design and save your style guide. It offers you room for your project area to create and save documentation in a text editor. You can control your review feedback process and make sure everything will go well when you are making wireframes.

Fluid UI

If you are in need of detailed mockups, you can try a high-fidelity wireframing and prototyping tool, Fluid UI. With Fluid UI;

• create wireframe drawings using Fluid UI’s online editor, which includes almost all current mobile-specific design features,
• switch between pages by making the design element you want clickable,
• easily share your work with your team and get their opinions,

Fluid UI has many features to improve your website such as rapid prototyping, built-in libraries, upload existing assets, mouse and touch gestures, add and resolve comments, installable desktop client and more like these. With its advanced features, Fluid UI will help your team flesh out your website efficiently.

Cacoo

Cacoo is a wireframing and diagram tool built for collaboration. You can track changes to review previous versions of your designings and integrate programs and applications like Microsoft Teams, Dropbox, and Adobe Creative Cloud for collaborative work with Cacoo.

There are more than 20 wireframe templates and UI shapes in Cacoo, including the user-friendly drag and drop wireframe tool. By communicating directly in the wireframe with comment and notification features, Cacoo allows real-time editing on the same diagram so your team can work together on wireframes wherever they are.

Lucidchart

Lucidchart is a visual collaboration tool that makes drawing diagrams quick and easy. You can easily create and edit diagrams online and offline. When using it online, you can experience real-time collaboration with changes that are immediately merged and synchronized. 

With Lucidchart, you can quickly build and share wireframes and mockups online. While UX designers will probably require a more sophisticated wireframing tool, Lucidchart is the perfect solution for non-designers. With its ease of use, you can create polished wireframes and mockups by developing web and designing UX.

Conclusion

While wrapping this best wireframe tools guide up, we would like to mention that there is no one fits all solutions for each business in this digital-centric world. So, it will always better to be mindful of your requirements and tech stack before choosing a wireframe tool.

As each business has a different design process, making a decision might take more time than you imagined. If you would like to consider other solutions in the design market, you can have a look at our best web design tools list that covers a vast array of solutions to your unique needs.

So, are you thinking of starting a web design agency? It’s a glorious idea. Covid-19 has shown businesses how successful or disruptive a good online presence can be for businesses. During this pandemic, we have all seen that the demand for web design has increased and will continue to increase.

Today, it’s much more common to start your own business. After learning all the necessary skills about web design such as coding, designing, photoshop, SEO, IT, and more, everything is easier now and only a few steps are left for starting a web design agency.

When you know the steps and have a plan, you can launch your agency successfully. It takes time to rise and succeed in a web design business, so you should manage your expectations and set yourself up for achievement. 

Here are some necessary steps you need to check out to get started to turn your skills successfully into a career, complete the startup process and launch your agency.

Before starting your web design agency

You should know web designing includes tasks that require programming technical skills and knowledge in site usability. These skills, including being familiar with designing tools and knowing coding languages such as HTML and CSS, are essential for any web designer.

However, by choosing the best platforms such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Joomla, and Drupal, you don’t even have to learn every detail about HTML and CSS. These platforms automatically do everything and make your work easier. Learning these platforms that give you speed is as simple as using them. However, expertise in your field brings you more success in the long turn.

The other thing is finding out what you like most to determine in which fields you want to serve. When you have a focus, your agency can stand out in certain industries easier and faster. It creates great work offering services that you are good at and you love to.

Once you are ready to offer your service to your customers, you can start your web design agency.

Define your agency and your business plan in detail

Take the time to define your agency. Your definition is what your agency represents, as well as how your business is perceived by your customers.

The most effective way to define your agency is to ask your own questions and answer them in detail. These questions should be strategic and intentional. Your defining questions should be like

• What is our agency’s approach?
• What is our story?
• What problems do we solve?
• Why do you trust our team?

After questioning, you should give striking answers. Your answers also should be as creative, defining, and impressive as your questions. These questions and answers will give reliance to your clients about your agency.

Another indispensable thing is your business plan. You can think of your business plan as a road map of your business. When determining a business plan, there are many things to consider. The important one is to point out the key elements of your business in a way that’s clear to you and your clients.

Your business plan should set long-term goals about new products and services, market and competitive analysis, financial partnerships, business contracts, defining your ideal clients, setting financial goals and targets, and estimating your expected expenses and income. A strong business plan will give you confidence and attract your potential clients to work with you.

Form a legal entity and adjust the financial process

When choosing a legal entity, you should consider how taxation rules will affect your finances and your liability and plans for partnering and growth. Make sure you are in full legal compliance when setting up your agency.

If you are new to these topics, you can work with an experienced financial advisor to draw a useful guideline for you. There are various types of companies, which affects the tax you will pay and all the processes you will need to manage while serving your customers.

The most common legal entities are sole proprietorship, partnerships, limited liability company (LLC), S corporation, and C corporation. You should check out which one is best for your agency. You can choose to start a sole proprietorship and change it when you need it in the progress of time.

Before starting your business, open a bank account and get a credit card if necessary. You can consider consulting a financial professional to create your spreadsheet and accounting structure. In addition, it will be helpful to establish a long-term relationship with a tax professional who can handle taxes as well as answer financial questions. Also, you can work with new generation companies providing all these services as a pack.

Decide your services and products

Offering only building a website may not be enough for your agency. Other services are a plus for it to continue running smoothly and finding more customers. You should consider ways to bring extra value to your clients with numerous services and products.

For being useful in many fields, your web design agency can also include other in-demand services such as logo and brand design, photography and videography, networking, advertising, growing an online community, development, search engine optimization, managed hosting, and more.

However, you and your team must be experts and professionals in these services. Your agency should only offer services you know you can deliver professionally. Considering the competition in the field, this will bring you forward while starting a web design agency.

Build your team and invest in hardware and software

A successful web design agency should be well-rounded with people who specialize in many skills. In that way, you need to build a team of experts to cover every aspect of your web design business. They don’t have to all in-house team members. You can collaborate with many partners who specialize in areas that you are offering and are passionate about.

Find the best ones and build the best team for your agency. Look for networking opportunities that connect you with others, including competitors, collaborators, and potential customers. Keep in touch with other freelancers engaged in the web design business like you. Build a known and trusted partner network that works in synchrony with you, offering numerous services.

As a web designer, investing in solid and capable hardware and software is vital. So buy the best computer and peripherals you can afford first, including a large monitor, printer, and scanner. Having the best hardware is critical as software.

First, decide what software you need and consider whether it is more cost-effective to purchase software or use a cloud service by paying a monthly fee. Also, you can get cloud-based software that provides financial monitoring, video meetings, remote login capability and more.

Create your website and online portfolio

As a web design agency, you need to put all your skills and experience to design a website belonging to your agency that shows that you are different and better than other companies. Your website is the first impression for your clients and the first step in convincing them that what you are doing is great.

Your portfolio will help you a lot in demonstrating your skills as a web designer or developer. Your website itself is the best thing you can use to impress potential customers. Nothing tells your story better than your portfolio of completed work. If you don’t have a few completed works to highlight, you can consider building some volunteer sites to strengthen your portfolio. Make sure you have enough social proof to show some of these to your other potential customers on your website.

It doesn’t just end with creating a website and portfolio. Search engine optimization (SEO) is another important part. For your website to rank higher in search engines, you need extensive SEO knowledge. You can get this by choosing the best keyword and adding that word to your website URL. This method will show you how to improve your content based on the keyword you want to rank for.

For example, if your agency is based in London, your potential customers should find you when they search for web design agencies in London.

Find your first clients

Finding first clients is the last step of this process. In the beginning, your SEO work is going to take some time to kick in. Therefore your customers will most likely consist of acquaintances, referrals, and people you connect with on social media and social network.

However, there are some efficient ways to find your clients such as reaching out to your personal network, cold calling and emailing, publishing new content to your website, asking existing or former clients for referrals, scouring job boards for good opportunities.

You shouldn’t be in a rush to find your customers because it will of course take time to be successful at almost every stage of this business. For this reason, you have to be confident and patient throughout the whole process.

Starting a web design agency is a great step in our age and taking the right steps, you can have a revenue generating business.