A prototype of a website can be any model or demonstration of what a website will be seen when you will live. It can be anything from a paper sketch to HTML prototype. However, when we talk about prototypes, we mean some kind of interactive prototype that allows users to navigate from one page to another and use features such as drop-down lists.

There are many ways to create an interactive prototype. We've seen PowerPoint, PDF documents, and even clickable prototypes in MS Word. However, there are a variety of specialized prototype tools on the market are specially designed to facilitate prototype.

Basically, a website prototype allows project stakeholders to see what the final product will look like early in the project lifecycle. There are many reasons to do this. To reach consensus inside and outside the scope, to generate support and even investment in projects, to test theories and ideas about website design and structure, and most importantly, to collect. User feedback. According to usability test. Website prototypes typically undergo several usability tests that are continually improved until the project team is confident that they can move on to the next stage of development.

Many people ask why they need to spend time and effort prototyping when they can start development directly. The answer always depends on the project, but the advantage of prototyping is usually that it saves time and money. After seeing how many customers came to the store a few months after the launch, he said that the site was not functioning as expected. Tested with the user, it made some important assumptions that weren't initially tested, but unfortunately those assumptions turned out to be incorrect.

The main reason for prototyping is to get feedback from stakeholders and users to make sure they're on the right track. You can fix the areas that received negative feedback and discuss what you really need and what you can remove in the final build. This saves a lot of development costs later in the project.

In addition, we found that website prototypes could be good specifications for designers and developers. Long functional specifications are often difficult to interpret and work on. But with a fully interactive prototype, you can quickly and easily visualize what you need.

It's easier to use an eraser on a drafting board than to use a hammer at a construction site. – Frank Lloyd Wright