In terms of website design, a prototype is an interactive replica of the web design. It can provide a good insight into the website functionality, website navigation, and user journey through a website. A prototype is one of the essential requirements of a website.
It is most importantly, a high-fidelity graphic version of the website that enables you to create a link between different screens of a website and showcase how the site would function before going to the development phase.
What is the need to create a website prototype?
To create a website prototype is beneficial in several ways. A prototype enables a user to become familiar with the site as though it is in the developed state. While it would not include transition and animation styles it doesn’t function at a fundamental level to allow users to interact with specific website elements.
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What are the advantages of prototyping?
Prototyping has an immense advantage in the design procedure. One of the ways it benefits a business is that it enables businesses to save a good amount of time early on a web project.
Identifying the different improvement areas at the design level is easier to modify than finding these issues once the website goes into development. Prototyping is useful to show users who couldn’t understand flat graphics as conveniently as an interactive website version.
A prototype helps in iterating more rapidly on a website design concept. It is also helpful to compare all variations in design fast. After sharing the prototype, your business gains website design feedback in a better way. The prototype even serves as a fabulous presentation tool for any business. It allows a business to execute user testing quite early on the website development process.
Should I develop a prototype of the website?
Prototyping can be performed in various ways that it becomes a very simple task to execute for free. If you think that your business or your website visitors would benefit from the prototype in any means, then you must try it once to see how it works for your business.
What are the important tools that a business can use?
There are several tools that a business can use to create a website prototype. Some of the software and online options that you can find useful for creation of business website prototype are:
- Invision
- Webflow
- Origami
- Vectr
- Marvel
- Balsamiq (appropriate for wireframe prototyping)
- Axure
- Sketch
If you don’t want to invest in this software, then you can even use free software such as PDFs, PowerPoint or even using paper sketches.
Conclusion
A prototype is very important to be made before the actual development of a website. It is far easier to modify a prototype than modifying a fully developed website. Creation of prototype at different stages of development will help you create an efficient website in a timely way.