“Design can solve society’s biggest problems… if we cultivate a love of learning through the design process.” – David Sherwin, Director of User Experience at lynda.com
A user-friendly, optimally functional website is a vital requirement for modern business. It is a core part of a successful marketing strategy, as it acts as a virtual storefront for the company’s products or services.
Additionally, the increasing popularity of mobile devices is driving enhancements in mobile technology. A 2017 report by Comcast shows that the global netizen is spending the majority of his time consuming digital media on a mobile device. These figures average between 62% (UK) and 91% (Indonesia).
Therefore, it stands to reason that not only does a business website have to be functional and easily accessible on a desktop or laptop pc, but it also has to run on a mobile device. In other words, a company that does not cater for mobile device consumption is going to lose market share and revenue.
Therefore, the question that begs is how do you ensure that your website is accessible and looks and functions equally well across all devices, both mobile and desktop?
By way of a comprehensive answer, visit https://www.polishedpixels.com.au/website-service/ux-usability-service-sydney/mobile-friendly-responsive-design
Wireframing: Responsive website development
Using wireframes to plot out your website’s functionality is one of the core elements of the website’s development life cycle. Unfortunately, in practice, developers often believe that this stage is time-consuming and does not have the outcome relative to the cost and time spent building the wireframes. Therefore, they skip it and move straight to the website development phase.
This belief is a misnomer and cannot be further from the truth. However, before we look at why wireframing is an essential part of a website’s development, let’s have a quick look at the definition of a wireframe.
Wireframes: a concise definition
Simply stated, a wireframe is an uncomplicated black and white sketch or drawing which outlines the layout of a web page and all of the elements of the page. It also details the page’s call-to-action, navigation, and conversion areas. It does not contain colour, font choices, logos or any design elements that are not part of the site’s primary structure. Essentially, a wireframe is similar to a blueprint for a building that only shows the structural aspects without the interior design elements added.
Responsiveness: a concise definition
Furthermore, the definition of a responsive site is a website whose page size changes in relation to the size of the device screen that a user views it on. The takeaway point here is that the site looks great and whose functionality is equally good on the smallest mobile device screen to the largest desktop monitor.
Final words: Wireframing
It stands to reason that designing a website that looks good and is equally usable across all screen sizes is somewhat challenging to design. This is where wireframing comes into its own. Because the wireframe sketch shows functionality, navigation, and where the call-to-action will be on each page, it is easier to scale the wireframe to fit different screen sizes to see how the website looks on all of the screen sizes.
Equally importantly, it is a good idea to avail yourself of the expert wireframe service from Polished Pixels when developing a responsive site. If you get the user experience and user interface design correct at the beginning of the website design project, you will save effort, time, and money. And you will increase your sales figures as well as your ROI.
