WireFrames . tools . site mockups.

[DeltaNine]

Hey Builders, I am looking for some advice.

Ive got to mockup the design, functionality of a site i am getting built?
i am after advice on some simple tools to achive, pros, cons if you have time - if not a link will be awesome and i will eval.

I am playing with wireframe.cc, its ok... but is there a better way?
My experience is limited with wireframes, but I do expect this to be a bigger part of my life. I dont want to rely on stock themes and functionality and have too many ideas

Cheers guys.

 

[Marc]

Hey DeltaNine, sorry in advance for the long post, if you wanted a concise version I have attached a TL;DR at the end.

First of all, I am what the creators of these products would call a "typical user" of their services, since this is my area of work : Design. All the opinions and comments come from my behalf and my behalf only ( have no idea what others use ) and the tools I am going to suggest are all in a beta stage of some sorts so there might be bugs/issues/stuff to add. Here's my personal top 3 :

1. The undisputed leader for me , Precursor ( https://precursorapp.com )

I have worked with this product for a few months now and the feature I loved the most was the close customer service/feedback I could get. I was in close contact with one of the devs and he was asking me for suggestions,pros,cons etc. on his service while being very open about it, and the stuff that made sense actually got implemented. What it is now is a great tool for a single user to play with, is intuitive and simple to use, while still being able to produce complex wireframes. If you are working on a project by yourself, this is the one.

2. The corporate-version, Mockflow ( http://mockflow.com )

Often, working in the web business, you'll have clients that want modifications, supervisors that have to lead you to the right way, or teammates that you work closely with. Either way, each one of these wants to be able to make modifications, submit comments, pull content, etc. . Mockflow is a paid service unlike the others, but the ease of sharing/editing/commenting/chatting shines when working with more people. It's a bit less UI-oriented but more functional, however shouldn't be a hassle to learn.

3. The offline-version, Pen&Paper

If all you need is to make plans, sketch functionality and overlay, taking a pen and fiddling around with it on a piece of paper is what works best. You can do it anywhere, you are not limited by anything besides your imagination and 2D-drawing skills, and I see no downsides besides the time used on sharing your concepts, since you'd have to take a picture and then e-mail it which would take more than copying and pasting a link.

TL;DR : If there's more people working on a project and you can afford paying for a premium service, go for Mockflow. If you're working alone, Precursor is easy-to-use, the developers are awesome and can help you out, add functionalities and take feedback, but going retro and sketching stuff out on paper also works.

 

[algospider]

Btw if you want a tool that is used by pro`s try axure.

You can easily convert your created template into a website and check with your potential customers if THIS is really the way they want it!

BR!

 

[DeltaNine]

@Marc - thanks for the awesome write-up, appreciated, will look into.
@algospider - will check this also.