Wireframes are an important part of designing a website. You can create wireframes on paper or in fancy wireframe software tools, but creating them helps you plan your website and decide on structure and features before you spend too much time coding.
These eleven wireframe tools are all online. You can create your wireframes where ever you have an internet connection and then share them with other people. They range in price from free to around $30 per month and have varying features. Some even have a desktop version of the software as well.
Connect-a-Sketch
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Connect-a-Sketch is a free online wireframing tool that takes your images and sketches and connects them how you want them. This takes paper prototypes and puts them online to share with your clients and co-workers.
Price: Free
FluidIA
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
FluidIA is an online information architecture tool to help you create wireframes. It requires the use of Firefox and is still very much in beta.
Price: Free
Lovely Charts
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Lovely Charts offers both an online wireframing tool as well as a desktop edition. It includes icons for wireframes as well as flowcharts and site maps, and more.
Price: €29 per year (approximately $3.20USD per month)
The desktop edition costs €59.
MockFlow
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
MockFlow helps you manage the entire site prototype with a built in sitemap visualizer as well as the wireframe tool.
Price: $4.91 per month
Creately
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Creately adds team collaboration into the mix with this wireframing tool. And when you're building flow charts it has a feature that will suggest links for you to help speed up the process.
Price: $4.95 per month
Cacoo
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Cacoo has a free account as well as the paid service. You can even share your wireframes with up to 15 people in the free account. The paid account offers more.
Price: $4.95 per month
HotGloo
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
HotGloo doesn't limit you by the number of pages, but rather by how much space you take up on their server. The cheapest account has 1GB of space, 5 users, and 1 project.
Price: $7 per month
Pidoco Prototype Creator
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
The Pidoco wireframe tool adds functionality like clickable links and drop-down menus that work. This makes your wireframes more interactive which helps clients visualize what the site will be like.
Price: $9 per month
Balsamiq Mockups
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
Mockups feels more like drawing than like dragging items onto your screen. So if you're more comfortable with drawing your wireframes, this will feel more intuitive to you. They also have a desktop version of the software as well as the online tool.
Price: $12 per month
The desktop software costs $79.
iPlotz
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
iPlotz has several plans for different needs, including a free plan for 1 5-page project. Plus they offer a desktop version of the software.
Price: $15 per month
The desktop software costs $75.
ProtoShare
Screen shot by J Kyrnin
ProtoShare is a wireframe tool used by many different companies, including web design firms that I have personally worked with. They offer three levels of service, and have a 30-day free trial for all of them. If you're looking for an enterprise-level wireframing tool, this is a good one to look into.
Price: $29 per month
