Introduction
Prototyping is critical in business because it helps know the design goals. It shows a strong visualization of the web design to know the feel and look of the final product.
Why prototyping is important to web design?
Prototyping also helps businesses get early feedback to know what is working and what is not working regarding their products. The early changes made based on feedback help save cost and time for the businesses.
Why is a right prototyping tool important for web design?
Prototyping helps get rid of web development iterations. The right prototyping tool allows all people to agree on how the web design works at a basic level.
It helps web designers focus on polishing all design aspects with colors and all other great features. You do not have to go back and make changes when you have already completed the web development and design.
What features should a good web prototyping tool possess?
A good web prototyping tool should be robust with regularly updated libraries, implement gestures, allow smooth integration with popular file formats and programs, allow for ways to prototype wearables and have feedback and collaboration features.
6 Best prototyping tools for web design
Mockplus RP
Mockplus RP is an online interactive prototyping tool ideal for quickly creating realistic, high-fidelity prototypes and animations.
Features
Design faster
Quickly create from sketches, diagrams, wireframes to hi-fi prototypes with pre-built components and icons;
More resources
Directly use our prototype templates to customize to fit your needs;
More efficient
Co-edit prototypes with your teammates;
Easy to share
Share your prototypes with a single link to get feedback from teammates or other stakeholders;
Full circle experience
Preview your prototypes and test your design ideas early on.
Pricing
Mockplus RP offers a free subscription allowing you to create prototypes for unlimited time:
- 3 prototypes.
- 10 pages per prototype.
- 7-day revision history.
- Publish to Mockplus Cloud.
Wondershare Mockitt
Wondershare Mockitt is a cloud-based collaboration and prototyping tool that assists in enhancing productivity and project implementation by smooth co-editing and co-management of all projects for your business.
The tool enriches your design process, validates your concepts, presents your ideas, and implements your prototype perfectly. It is a cloud-based tool created by Wondershare Technologies that support desktop versions for Linux, Windows, and macOS.
Features
Design with easiness
Wondershare Mockitt makes it easy to design animated and interactive prototype that showcase your ideas in front of users and boost their overall experience. It features a drag and drop interface making it easy to use even for beginners.
Reusable assets
The tool has libraries full of reusable templates and assets. The built in libraries assist beginners in using existing objects and creating highly interactive prototypes easily and quickly. You can also create your libraries to customize your workflow and use them later on.
Allow for collaboration
Mockitt makes it possible for teams to work simultaneously on the same prototype and collaborate in real-time. You can share the prototype with all stakeholders by using simple URLs and making it easy for them to review or edit it. The tool allows for instant and seamless communication among all team members.
Automatic style guides
Mockitt offers the facility to generate code for swift, CSS, and Android automatically. This helps designers save time and allow for a more consistent experience throughout the prototyping process.
Cloud support
Wondershare Mockitt is cloud-based, so it can work on your browser without installation. Designers can save work on the cloud; there is no need to save on a local drive.
Pricing
- The tool comes in three packages.
- Starter package for up to three projects – Free.
- Personal package for professionals-$ 69.
- Enterprise package for collaborative teams-$ 99.
Adobe XD
Adobe XD is a vector-based prototyping tool used for mobile and web apps designing. Developed by Adobe Inc., it is available for Windows and macOS. There are also versions for Android and iOS to help in reviewing work on mobile devices directly.
Features
Repeat grid
The grid helps in designing a grid of repeating components like photo galleries and lists.
Animation and prototype
It allows designers to create animated prototypes by linking artboards. The prototypes can be previewed on all supported mobile gadgets.
Voice design
It allows for the designing of apps by use of voice commands.
Components
Adobe XD helps create components to create buttons, logos, and other assets.
Responsive resize
The tool allows for responsive resizing whereby pictures and other objects resize automatically on the artboards.
Plugins
Adobe XD is fully compatible with custom plugins that add extra features and applications.
Pricing
- XD Starter for personal use-free.
- XD single app for small teams and professionals- US$9.99/month.
- All apps with more than 20 creative cloud apps- US$52.99/month.
Figma
Figma is a web-based prototyping tool and vector graphics editor. It also has offline features enabled by desktop apps for Windows and macOS.
Features
Collaborate with other designers
Figma allows you to communicate with other team members through comments. You can also give feedback and suggest feature ideas for plugins.
Creating scroll actions for quick navigation
With the tool, you can scroll to a selected layer or object in a similar top level frame. It allows the use of same-screen interactions to help explore carousels and landing pages.
Flexible auto layout
Figma has a more flexible auto layout. You can stretch in all directions, distribute objects, and control padding independently in its easy-to-use interface.
New inspect tab
This feature allows you to get the specs required to code.
Instance swap menu
You can go through the new user interface with keyboard shortcuts.
Pricing
- Starter free for up to two editors and three projects.
- Professional- $12 per editor/month.
- Organization-$45 per editor/month yearly billing only.
UXPin
UXPin is a web design tool that allows teams to design, collaborate, and present from low fidelity wireframes to fully-interactive prototypes.
Features
Built-in libraries
UXPin allows you to access built in libraries for material design, Bootstrap, and iOS. There are also several icons to allow you to design quickly.
Highly interactive form elements
There are checkboxes, interactive text fields, and radio buttons. You do not have to draw their static imitations.
Vector drawing tools
The tool allows you to draw and combine vector shapes to create beautiful illustrations and icons. You can point and curve smoothly.
Real-time collaboration
With UXPin, you can work together with your team in real-time like you do with Google Docs. You can do so in Mac, Windows, or in the browser.
Data
The tool allows you to use your own data in different formats and also ready-to-use content like cities, avatars, and names.
Pricing
- Basic -$19 per editor/month.
- Advanced- $29 per editor/month.
- Professional- $69 per editor/month.
Protopie.io
Protopie.io is a web development tool that allows designers to create interactive prototypes by use of unique conceptual model. It allows you to create any interaction by use of Object + Trigger + Response.
Features
Powerful interactions
The tool features powerful interactions that allow those who apply Excel grade formulas to handle all of them. No code writing is required.
Easy collaboration
The tool allows for easy collaboration. Teams can create prototypes together by use of interaction libraries and communicate about each interaction.
Simple interface
The tool has a simple interface that makes it easy to use the design elements when creating prototypes.
Pricing
- Individual plan- $11 USD / month$129 billed yearly
- Team plan – $42 USD / month / editor seat $499 billed yearly
- Enterprise – amount discussed with the company.
Conclusion
To create high-quality prototypes for your design, you need to choose one of the above tools. They all have features and elements that make it easy in web development. These are tools that do not require a lot of learning since no complex process are involved when using them for web design.
