All about prototyping

Prototyping is the creation of a preliminary model of a digital product, allowing project owners to visualise its design, layout and/or functionality before it is fully developed. We often produce prototypes as part of our development journey and find it to be a really useful step for us and our client.

A prototype can fall into 3 different levels. It can be a low fidelity sketch or wireframe which sets out the content blocks, flow and user journey through the site. Mid fidelity which includes some basic functionality or can be high fidelity which closely resembles the finished product and includes interactive functionality, a developed design and closely emulates how the product would work once launched.

A prototype allows us to gather feedback early in the process. It enables testing and pinpointing any issues with usability or functionality at an early enough stage that they are easier to fix.

It’s also an opportunity to look at the design at an early stage in the development cycle and ensures that it flows through the product and aligns with the objectives set.

By providing clients with a tangible representation of the website, we can foster better communication and a shared understanding between designers, developers, users and the project owner on the client’s side.

The feedback that a prototype provides enables experimentation with different designs and concepts early in the project process, allowing for further refinement and thus reducing the risk of creating a final product that fails to meet user expectations or project goals.

The timing of the production of a prototype is crucial. Too early in the process and you may not have enough information or the design may not be developed enough, too late and you risk changes which are timely and costly to implement.

It’s important to involve the project owners, stakeholders and end users in prototyping.  Once the initial testing has taken place, feedback gathered, and refinements made, it’s important to re-test amongst the same users again.

We use a form of prototyping in all of our digital projects. It ensures that we deliver the best solutions possible for our clients and gives them the outcome they need to support their business for the long term.

If you are looking for a new website and are looking for a team of experts who want to get to the heart of what you really need and will develop it - we can help.

We are Olamalu, Drupal experts and experienced web developers. We’re a friendly and down-to-earth team based in West Oxfordshire, who work together to achieve brilliant outcomes. We’ve been developing websites and designing tailor-made tech solutions for a huge range of different challenges for over 15 years.