5 Key Ways to Wireframe a Magento Website Design

Magento as a platform has evolved majorly since its inception. You would find that the platform has been the key to begin a shopper’s delightful journey online. It is Magento that was typically developed to give an online shopping experience or to make eCommerce a major affair.

The wireframe is an important element of web design using Magento as a platform. The most typical question that is normally asked is what a wireframe is. It is basically the proposal designed for a website. It is typically a visualization tool that has been designed to give out the function, the structure and the content that has been decided for the web page or web design.

Wireframe typically includes details on the page elements as well as the location along the length of the page. How would the header and footer appear is decided while designing the wireframe for the website? You will find that wireframe helps segregate graphical elements from the functional elements. It also helps understand how the navigation appears and how the content will be set on the page. It shows the whole design of the layout as well as a prototype of the navigation for the benefit of understanding.

A wireframe is important from the viewpoint of holding a website functional. While this is true, there is a certain way in which Wireframes for a Magento based website is designed. It is done up using a particular strategy in the right format.

Here are some of the essential ways that should be incorporated to wireframe a Magento based website.

Reviewing the Existing Website

Your first step towards considering a wireframe for the Magento shopping website design begins with reviewing the existing site for the structure and functionality. You need to see whether there are some existing websites in place. You will need to understand the POS of the existing system along with the functionality that has been specially designed for the existing site. You will also need to understand the customer orders, subscriptions and order notifications that are being sent out from the website and how and where they integrate. How the order fulfillment occurs for the website is something that you might want to check out. Make sure you check the design elements separately too for a better understanding of the website.

Listing the Specs

What functional specs have you noticed on the existing website? What are the specs you need to list out for the new website? These things thoroughly depend on what kind of expertise you possess in Magento. Let’s say you are a beginner. In that case, you will want to understand the demo mode of the existing website and also would like to move to understand a website that has been your client’s favorite. This will help you list out the specs perfectly. In case you are an expert, you know pretty much what features you want to add to your Magento based website. You should always have two separate columns, one declaring the must-haves and the other declaring should include.

Brainstorm it Well

Before you begin designing, your first attempt should be at understanding what you want your website to look like. This is probably the most difficult part in the whole designing process. You need to brainstorm with your colleagues, clients and other designers to generate the right ideas for the wireframe. Conceptualizing the website is more important than actually designing it. You can always begin designing it but when you have the right concept in mind, you would know how to begin.

Wireframes on Computer

Now that you have conceptualized the whole Magento design based on UI and UX, you can actually begin using the software to design it. There are a lot of software that allows you to create digital wireframes. They have UI elements that are easy to use and have been greatly effective. You will also see that this software make designing your concept quite easy. You can design navigation, header and footer links using this software. Life is certainly made easy with this software in hand.

Simulation Mode

The final step to designing the right framework is to enter the simulation mode. You will need to find out how the whole website functions. Does it include all the functionalities in the way you had listed out? Do you need some redesigning? Basically, you will be testing the whole website to check on it. This is a brilliant way to test the prototype.Once ready you can show it to your client whose approval will help you design the final website. Wireframe saves you a lot of effort in designing and guides you throughout your design process.