The product is complex and you have to work on the structure.

You are building a product from scratch.

This is a good moment for all the team to work together and get aligned in how they see the product. Wireframes are built at the initial stages of product development. They often have more content, and explanations on how different parts of the interface interact with each other. High-fidelity wireframes have to be done in a graphic editor (UX designers typically use the same tool they use for actual UI design, like Figma). Low-fidelity wireframes can be even sketched on a piece of paper during brainstorming. There are two types of wireframes: low-fidelity, the most basic one, and high-fidelity.

the team can discuss and make changes without fuss: those basic “designless” wireframes are very fast to edit.

bright design elements don’t distract team members from the structure.

It is intentionally kept very basic, so that: Wireframes are made to place all the main content blocks and website sections in a clear structure and think of how users would interact with them. The same goes for UX architects and designers. When architects plan a building, they start with boring schemes, not with sculptures on the facade.

Why do designers intentionally avoid any distinctive UI elements? This is because the main purpose of wireframes is to build a structure. Some designers would use one accent color, but all white/grey/black wireframe is a classic. Wireframes are always created in greyscale, using the most basic shapes, fonts, and designs. To instantly recognize a wireframe when you see it, you have to remember just one thing: it’s grey.

We’ll go in order of the product design process, starting with wireframes - that part of UX design that can be done with a pencil and notebook. Let’s go through all of them and find out how to recognize them at a glance and confidently decide which one you need in any particular situation. All of them are some sort of visualization of the product, but each one has its specifics and objectives. Wireframes, mockups, and prototypes are sometimes confused. Have you ever been on a meeting with the design team, feeling as if they speak a completely different language? You hear the same words you’ve heard many times before, but, frankly, you are never 100% sure what each of them means.

Wireframe vs mockup for website