After your web designing company works with you on developing a sitemap, the next step in the web design process in creating the wireframes. Since you now have an organized page with the content you will be incorporating into your website, it’s important to lay it all out. Wireframes help arrange the content and give you a skeletal framework for your website design.
Wireframes give you a structure and help you specify your pages. They are simple, black and white ‘frames’ to help identify placement of content, features and navigation for your website. A masthead section is usually for your logo and below that you should have enough room for a core messaging area and a photograph. These three important areas are crucial to place above “the fold.” Similar to a newspaper’s “above the fold,” a website’s fold would be what you see before you have to start scrolling. You can insert placeholders for photos, videos or other features you want to include in your wireframes, but be sure you have your company logo, minimal copy to tell what your company does and some image to portray it. You want to have enough above the fold to draw the reader in.
No design elements are implemented in this process. Wireframes are used to focus on structure and content layout. This is when the client and web design team work together to decide on the layout and what elements they want where. As your website is developed, new ideas may stir up and the web design layout may need to be changed. With wireframes implemented into the website design, this request during the web design process is common. Wireframes give you and your web designing company an opportunity to communicate on the layout and importance of your website template.