10 best wireframe tools for designers in 2022 - Webflow

10 best wireframe tools for 2022 · 1. Figma · 2. Adobe XD · 3. Sketch · 4. Balsamiq Wireframes · 5. Justinmind · 6. Lucidchart · 7. MockFlow · 8. Moqups. 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BlogGetstarted— it'sfreeNewPopularEbooksVideosNewsletterTopicsGetstarted — it'sfreeTrustedbyteamsat10bestwireframetoolsfordesignersin2022Discoverthebestwireframetoolsdesignedtohelpyoubettercraftyourideasfromthestartofyourwebdesignprocess.WebflowTeamFigmatoWebflowLearnourdesignprocessfromconcepttocompletionandbuildasitefromscratchusingFigma,Cinema4D,Lottie,andWebflow.TakeCourseTakeCourseAsurprisingnumberofimportantdesigndecisionshavebeenmadebysketchingoutagroundbreakingideaonwhateverisathand.TheNFL’sVinceLombardiTrophystartedasanoutlinedrawnonanapkin,asdidtheideaforSouthwestAirlines.Thesequicksketchesevolvedintothefoundationofsomethingmuchbigger,abletoberefinedanditeratedonuntiltheybecameadesigniconoraflourishingairlinebusiness.Wireframetoolsofferthesameoptionfordesigners,allowingthemtoroughouttheirideasandgetthebasicbuildingblocksinplacesotheoveralldesigncanbeassessedandrefined.Thankfully,severalexcellentwireframetoolsareonthemarket.Tohelpyouout,we’vecuratedalistof10ofthebest.Whatarewireframetools?Wireframetoolsallowdesignerstoquicklyandeffectivelymockupanoutlineofadesignaseasilyaspossible.Designersareabletodraganddropplaceholdersforimages,headers,andcontentandeasilymovethemaroundtocreateafirstdraftthatcanbeiteratedonlater.Whatisthepurposeofwireframing?Wireframesallowdesignerstoworkoutthebasicsofapage’sinterface,suchasspaceallocation,prioritizationofcontent,functionalities,andbehaviors.Usingawireframetoplanthebasiclayoutofawebpagehasanumberofbenefits,including:ConnectingtheinformationarchitectureofasitetoitsvisualdesignbyhighlightingthepathsbetweenpagesDevelopingconsistentmethodsfordisplayinginformationofdifferenttypesontheuserinterfaceDeterminingintendedfunctionalitiesPrioritizingcontentcreationbasedonwherethecontentislocatedandhowmuchoverallspaceisallocatedtothattypeofcontentWhatmakesagoodwireframetool?Youdon’ttechnicallyneedadedicatedwireframetool—aflowchartappcanworkjustfine.Butsomefunctionalitiesofagoodwireframetoolgreatlybenefitawebsitedesigner.Theseinclude:Anin-builtoruploadableUIkit:Ideally,you’llwanttopickawireframeappthathaseitheranin-builtUIcomponentlibraryoroffersyoutheabilitytouploadyourowntoit.Scalablemockupfidelity:Goodwireframeappswillgiveyouthefreedomtoscalebetweenanincrediblybasicgray-scalelow-fidelitymockupandmoregraphicallycomplexhigh-fidelitymockups.Collaborativeworking:Weallliveinapost-pandemicworkingworld,whichmeanstheabilitytoshareworkdigitallyandallowotherstomakechangesorleavefeedbackisanincreasinglyimportantfunctioninanywireframetool.Exportoptions:Ideally,onceyou’vefinishedyourmockup,you’llwanttobeabletoexportsectionsofitasHTMLorgetaccesstobasicCSScodesoyoucanimplementdevelopmentmorerapidly.10bestwireframetoolsfor2022Here’salistofwireframetoolsdesignedtohelpyoucraftthatperfectidea.1.FigmaFigmatakesourtopspotbecauseofitscombinationofpowerfulcloud-baseddesignsoftwareandthefactthatuserscanbuildthreeprojectsforfreebeforeyouhavetoselectoneoftheirpaymentplans.UsingFigmaisassimpleandstraightforwardasyoucouldwantittobe.WhileFigmadoesn’thaveitsownbuilt-inUIcomponents,itdoescomewiththeoptiontouploadyourownoruseapre-designedkit.Itis,however,remarkablyeasytocreateartboards,addinbasicshapesandtext,anddoacertainlevelofprototyping.Allofthedesignorganizationishandledinonepanel,allowingyoutoquicklymovebetweendifferentartboards,layers,andpageswithoutgettingoverwhelmed.Thebuilt-inFigmaconstraintsshowyouhoweachelementwillrespondondifferentsizedscreens,makingitmucheasiertooptimizeyouruserexperienceformobiledevices.Whenitcomestocollaborativeworking,Figmaallowsmultipleteammemberstoaccessandeditthedesignandleavecomments.Oncethemockupiscompleted,youcanaccesstheCSScodeandexportindividualelements.2.AdobeXDAdobeXDisavector-baseddesigntoolthatisdesignedtoworkinconcertwithotherAdobeproducts,suchasPhotoshop,Illustrator,AdobeFonts,andAdobeStock,andit’soneofthebestpaidtoolsonthemarket.AdobeXD’sfocusisonmakingthewireframingprocessasstreamlinedandeasyaspossibleforthedesigners,withsimpletousetoolsforcreatingsitemaps,flowcharts,andstoryboards,aswellasafullsuiteofprototypingtools.AspartofAdobeXD’sfocusongivingdesignerstoolsthatmakerapiddesignpossible,theplatformalsoincludesarepeatgridoption,auto-animationandvoicetriggers,andafullsetofcollaborativeworkingtools.It’salsoavailableforbothMicrosoftWindowsandmacOS.TheonlydownsidetoAdobeXDisthatitrequiresanAdobesubscriptiontoaccessallofitsfunctionality.3.SketchWhenitfirsthitthemarketin2010,Sketchrevolutionizedwhatcouldbedonewithawireframingtool.WhileitisnotavailableforWindows,Sketch’ssimpleandintuitiveinterfaceandfocusoncreatingeffectiveUIsandiconvectordesignmakeitamustforMac-baseddesigners.MuchlikeFigma,Sketchdoesn’tcomewithitsownbuilt-inUIlibrary,but,becauseofitspopularity,ahugenumberofthird-partyUIkitsareavailableandeasytoupload.OneofthestandoutfeaturesofSketchisitsSymbolfunction,whichallowsyoutocreateelementsthatautomaticallyrepeatacrosstheentiretyofyourlayout.Sketchdoesofferafreetrial.Afterthat,youcanpurchasetheentireprogramforaone-offfeeratherthanpayinganongoingsubscriptioncost.4.BalsamiqWireframesAsimpleweb-basedtoolavailableonbothMacandWindows,BalsamiqWireframesisasimpleandeffectivewireframingtoolthatletsdesignerscreatequickwireframedesigns.Comparedtosomeofthemorecompletetoolsonthislist,BalsamiqWireframescouldbestbedescribedasquickanddirtywithitshand-drawnstyleharkingbacktothedesigndrawnonanapkinidea.MostoftheelementsinBalsamiqWireframesaredraganddrop,anddesignershavetheoptiontouseadrag-and-dropeditortoarrangepre-builtwidgets,whichreallylowersthelearningcurve.Plentyofexamplestretchandwireframeskinsareavailablefordifferentdesigns,suchasdesktopapps,mobileapps,andwebsites.BalsamiqWireframesalsoboastsahugelibraryofUIelements.TheprimarydownsideofBalsamiqWireframesisthatthelackofhigh-fidelityanimationsmakesitunsuitablefordoinganyformoflarge-scaleprototyping.5.JustinmindJustinmindisawireframingtoolavailableforMacandWindowsdesignedspecificallyforlesstechydesigners.TheplatformiseasytolearnandsomewhatlesscomplicatedthanotheroptionslikeFigmaorSketch.JustbecausetheUIismoresimplistic,however,doesnotmeanthatJustinmindlacksfunctionality.Theplatformisbuilttoallowyoutocreatewireframesthatcanbetestedasprototypesrightfromthebeginningandincludesarangeofinteractiveprototypeelements.Justinmindalsoincludesarangeofbuilt-inUIelements,aswellasarangeofwidgetsforiOS,SAP,andAndroid.Youcanusecustomstylingoptionstoedittheincludedelementsorimportyourown.Onceyou’redone,theprototypecanbeexportedasHTML.UnleashyourcreativityonthewebUseWebflow'svisualdevelopmentplatformtobuildcompletelycustom,production-readywebsites—orhigh-fidelityprototypes—withoutwritingalineofcode.GetstartedforfreeSubscribetobeaWebflowInsiderThankyou!Youarenowsubscribed!Oops!Somethingwentwrongwhilesubscribing.Getstartedforfree6.LucidchartLucidchartisanexcellentwireframesoftwarechoicefordiagramminganddatavisualizationthatcomeswithaneffectiverangeofcollaborationfeatures.Thedrag-and-dropfunctionalityoftheinterfaceissetuptoallowyoutoarrangeelementssotheyworkonmobiledevicesandwebsites.LucidchartalsoincludesafullUIshapelibrarywithallthebasicelementsyouneed,includingsearchboxes,sitemapicons,andtexteditors.Ifyou’renewtowireframing,Lucidchartalsohasanextensiverangeoftemplatesthatareallsizedandstyledforbothmobileanddesktop—idealforafasterdesignprocess.Tohelpyouandyourteamworktogether,Lucidcharthasanexcellentsetofreal-timecollaborationtools.YoucancreateyourownURLanduseittoallowcollaborators,stakeholders,andclientstocommentonoredityourmockups.Whenitcomestopresentingyourwork,LucidchartalsoincludesapresentationmodeandisfullycompatiblewithGoogleSlides.7.MockFlowAvailableforbothMacandWindows,MockFlowfunctionsasadigitalwhiteboard.Theweb-basedplatformcomeswithahugerangeofcomponentsforavastnumberofuserinterfaces,includingiPhone,iPad,Androidphone,AppleWatch,andAndroidwatch.OneofthemajorbenefitsofMockFlowisitslargeusercommunityandthesheerrangeofwireframetemplatesandUIpacksthathavebeencreatedanduploadedbythem.Oncecreated,thesewireframescaneasilybeexportedasanexpansiverangeofformats,fromHTMLandwiretoMicrosoftWordandAdobePDF.MockFlowalsocomeswithasuiteofcollaborativetools,suchasreal-timeeditingoptionsanditerativeannotatedcomments.ThebasicversionofMockFlowisentirelyfree,butpaidoptionsareavailablethatincludegreaterfunctionality.8.MoqupsMoqupsisawebappthatallowsuserstocreatewireframes,mockups,andprototypes.Acloud-basedplatformthatallowsyouandyourteamtocollaboratefromanywhere,Moqupshasasingleeasy-to-learnandintuitiveinterface.TheprimarybenefitofusingMoqupsisthatitallowsuserstoswitchbetweendiagrams,wireframes,andprototypeswithoutneedingtoswitchplatforms.Moqupsalsocomeswithahugelibraryoftemplates,stencils,iconsets,fonts,andobjectsthatarefullycustomizable.ThemainaimofMoqupsistocreateasingleunifiedworkflowwithoutthebarrierofconstantlyswitchingbetweenarangeofsingle-useapps.Moqupsdoesn’tofferafreeoption,buttheonlydifferencebetweentheproandunlimitedpricingplansisthenumberofusersitcansupport.9.FramerAvailableonWindowsandMac,Framerisaweb-basedtoolthatcomeswithafairlycomprehensivefreeoptionthatisidealasaprofessionalprototypingtool.Framer’sinsertmenucomeswithahugeselectionofcomponentsthatcanbequicklyandeasilyaddedtoyourwireframethroughthesimpledrag-and-dropinterface.TheprototypingcomponentsincludedwithFramerdisplaydifferentvisualstatessoyoucanseeexactlyhowtheactualcomponentswouldlook.Youcanalsocustomizetheincludedelementstocontrolhowtheyanimateacrossscreentransitions.Whenitcomestosharingandpresentingyourwork,allyouneedtodoisshareonelink.Thepresentationmodealsoletsyouusecustombackgrounds,deviceframes,anddevicehands.Withtheabilitytoadduptotwoeditionsandcreatethreeprojects,Framerisoneofthebestfreewireframetoolsonthemarket.10.MockplusMockplusletsyoucreateinteractivewireframedesignsthatlooklikefullyfunctionalprototypes.AvailableonbothWindowsandmacOS,Mockplushasalibraryofmorethan3,000built-inicons,components,andtemplates,allowingyoutousethesimpledrag-and-dropinterfacetoquicklycreatewireframes.Mockplus’wireframesworkforbothdesktopandmobiledevices,supportingbothiOSandAndroid.Whenitcomestotestingyourdesign,Mockplusofferseightwaystopreviewandtestyourinteractivewireframes,makingitidealforusertestingyourUIdesignandUXdesign.Feedbackcanthenbeleftdirectlyonyourdesigns.ThefreeversionofMockpluslimitsthenumberofusersandprojectsyoucanhaverunningbutisstillaviableoptionforsmallerteams.(Bonus)Webflow:VireflowOurbonusadditiontothislististheVireflowwireframingdevice.CreatedbyAntonBalitskyonWebflow,VireflowisasimplebuteffectivewireframingsoftwarethatishostedonWebflow.Balitsky’screationissimpleandyou’llneedtouploadyourownUIlibraryandobjects,butitisentirelyfree,makingitidealforthosewantingtogetintowebdesignwithoutspendinganymoneyupfront.PublishedMay26,2021CategoryWebdesignSharethis 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