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Development Tools

Christian Hoquis
PLUS
Christian Hoquis
Courses Plus Student 5,510 Points
Posted by Christian Hoquis
Christian Hoquis
Courses Plus Student 5,510 Points

Your Preferred Wireframing Tools

Hi,

So I signed up for Treehouse because I wanted to learn more about Web Dev, since traditionally I've coded in VB.NET for the last 5 years. I more or less use VIsio or the VB.NET IDE itself to mockup prototypes, but can't see it as being useful for websites.

My question is, what is the standard or one of the more popular tools (free / license req'd) for mocking up websites in quick fashion? In Nick Petit's videos, I saw him using Balsamiq. Do you have any personal preferences in this department? If so, can you leave the name and a quick description and why you like the tool?

I've seen a lot of online web-based wireframing tools and I haven't been a huge fan. If you can name only those that are desktop application based, that would be great

Thanks, Chris

4 Answers

Jonathan Tame
Jonathan Tame
14,524 Points

Balsamiq is certainly a favorite with a lot of folks and there's no arguing it's utility. However, I find that sometimes it's easier to work in a simpler environment (especially when trying to collaborate with non-designers) and to that end, I've had a lot of success with Keynotopia (http://keynotopia.com/) which lets you prototype or wireframe inside programs like Keynote (hence the name) or Powerpoint.

mnwogdbvte
mnwogdbvte
16,349 Points
mnwogdbvte
mnwogdbvte
16,349 Points

I prefer Balsamiq. So much that the company I work for bought a license for the company. I am the only UI/UX designer so when I'm out walking around watching users and developing new ideas/solutions, I use iMockups for the iPad, then replicate them in Balsamiq when I get back to my desktop.

Colin Marshall
Colin Marshall
32,861 Points
Colin Marshall
Colin Marshall
32,861 Points

I like Balsamiq as well. Some of the other wireframing tools I've seen have features that let you get closer to a final mockup than Balsamiq does, but I personally found those features to waste time in my workflow.

I always begin with plain old paper and pencil if I don't already have a solid idea in my head. Sometimes it's not necessary though, depending on the project.

Julian Price
Julian Price
11,760 Points
Julian Price
Julian Price
11,760 Points

Most refer these tools as to wireframe. As colin mentioned sketching; good old pencil/paper some times best and then just use something like bootstrap or foundation to pro type