What are a wireframe and a clickable prototype?

Wireframe and clickable prototype: definitions

A wireframe shows what sits where on a page: navigation, headings, text blocks, images, forms and buttons. It is deliberately plain, usually in shades of gray, because it is meant to get people talking about structure and content, not colors and fonts. Wireframes are made as hand sketches or digitally.

A clickable prototype connects the screens: tap a button and you land on the next page. Depending on the level of detail it can look close to the end result, but it has no real function and no database. A mockup lies in between: a detailed, static image of the future design.

What are they for?

Both tools move decisions forward. Misunderstandings about structure, flow and scope become visible while they are still cheap: a change in a draft takes minutes, in finished code often days. Management, the business department and users also get something concrete to look at, instead of merely reading requirements.

With the prototype, flows can be tested with real users: do they find the function, do they understand the labels? What these short tests reveal feeds straight into the design. Anyone who observes users early sees stumbling blocks that nobody notices internally. Common tools are Figma or simply paper sketches.

• Can people find the most important function without explanation?
• Is the flow (sign-up, order, booking) logical and short?
• Do content and labels match the users’ language?
• Does navigation work on a smartphone?
• Which functions are not needed at all?

Real-world example: a client portal for a law firm

A tax advisory firm plans a portal for exchanging receipts and documents. Before anything is programmed, wireframes are created for login, document upload and status overview, and from them a clickable prototype. Five clients with very different levels of technical experience try it out and say where they get stuck.

The outcome: uploading a photo from a smartphone matters more than the desktop flow, and the status overview becomes clearer if it shows only three states. These changes cost a few hours in the draft instead of days in the code, and the portal is used from the start as it was intended. The result is an agreed basis for the quote, design and implementation.

Limits and imple­menta­tion

A prototype shows flows, but not speed, data volumes or technical feasibility. Prototypes that are too detailed tempt people to discuss colors instead of flows; those that are too rough leave testers guessing. Typical mistakes are not involving users, approving drafts only internally and forgetting smartphone views.

Together with the partner agency LOMA DESIGN, Nano Concepts creates wireframes and clickable prototypes, aligns them with your users and then carries them into design and development. That way, an idea turns step by step into an agreed result, and the later implementation needs fewer rounds of correction.