Mockup vs Prototype vs Wireframe (Clarity On What They Are & When To Use)

Imagine you’re working with app design agencies to create a new mobile application. You’re excited to refine your app’s look and feel to prepare for user testing. But then, the designer drops two files on you—a mockup and a prototype. Both look similar, but what’s the difference, and which one should you use? Understanding the nuances of mockups and prototypes can help you achieve your app design goals sooner and with fewer headaches. This article will explore the differences between mockups and prototypes and when to use each within the app design process. We’ll also tackle how they differ from wireframes to clarify what to use and when.

NUMI’s product design service can help you create a mockup or prototype of your app to achieve your goals and visualize your idea. Using our service, you’ll get clarity on what each of these files offers and how they can help improve your app design process. 

What is a Mockup?

A mockup is a static representation of a product, showing users and stakeholders how it may look and be used. It contains: 

• Typography
• Logos
• Images
• Color schemes
• Navigation visuals 

This will make up the final design user experience and ergonomics, where necessary.

What are Mockups Used For? 

Mockups present medium—to high-fidelity design versions during the product development process. They demonstrate a realistic layout to decision-makers and allow teams to determine which aspects of the product work well from a user’s perspective. 

Where Mockups Fit Into The Product Development Process?

The various phases of the product development lifecycle are subject to varying levels of design complexity. Although there can be some crossover with other methods, mockups are just one way to illustrate a product concept. A simple sketch may be employed to brainstorm ideas earlier in the cycle. 

A wireframe is commonly used as a bare-bones structure of a digital product to demonstrate the essential purpose and layout in black and white. If an idea is ready to progress through the design process, it may move from a mockup to a prototype. This offers an interactive simulation of the design and functionality of the product as a real, tangible experience—closer to the end product but still with scope for improvement. 

Types of Mockups

You can use a few different types of mockups to showcase how your product will look.

Digital Mockups

Digital mockups usually represent design-related aspects of the product. They visually represent the product and can be used for digital or physical products. Digital mockups can also double as marketing material.

Paper Mockups

Paper mockups provide an inexpensive way to create physical representations of your product. It’s a great tool to use in the early stages of product development because it offers a clear picture of how your product will look or function without adding a level of commitment to the idea. 

Physical Product Mockups

Physical mockups give people a hands-on representation of the product's appearance. Usually, these mockups aren’t functional, but adding functionality elevates them to the prototype stage. 

UI/UX Mockups 

Wireframes that map out the user interface are crucial for creating a great user experience (UX). You can create UX mockups on paper that show each screen and how the screens link together. This will allow you to experience how a user will interact with a digital product before spending time and money creating the actual UI.

What is a Prototype?

Prototypes are early versions of products that help designers make better items. They allow teams to test ideas and refine designs before releasing products to the public. A prototype can be anything from a paper sketch to a digital mockup to a fully functional product version. 

No matter the type, each allows designers to visualize their ideas and test them before making the costly decision to build the final version. The word prototype comes from the Latin words “proto,” meaning original, and “typus,” meaning form or model. A prototype is an especially representative example of a given category in a nontechnical context. 

The Role of Prototypes in Product Design

Prototypes aren't the final product or service. Instead, they: 

• Provide a way to test an idea
• Validate the operational process
• Identify ways to improve the item before releasing it to the public

The prototype can be: 

• Poked
• Prodded
• Thrown against a wall
• Put through other tests

If it passes these tests, it is more likely to satisfy customers. If the prototyping process reveals flaws, the item could be scrapped. Engineers and product developers often create these test versions of a new product, service, or device before releasing it.

Types of Prototypes

We will explore three types of prototypes: paper, digital, and HTML.

Paper Prototypes

A paper prototype is a prototype drawn on paper or a digital whiteboard. It is used during the early design stages, like a design thinking workshop, when designers are still brainstorming ideas. Paper prototyping works best during these stages when design teams collaborate to explore many concepts quickly. 

Team members sketch ideas by hand using simple: 

• Lines
• Shapes
• Text

The emphasis is on lots of ideas and speed, not aesthetics. UX Teams lay paper screens on the floor or table or pin them to a board to simulate user flows. A common practice for testing these prototypes is to have one person play “the product,” switching the sketches according to how the real user behaves.

Digital Prototyping

Digital prototyping is an exciting part of the design process. Prototypes start to resemble the final product, allowing teams to test and validate ideas.

There are two types of digital prototypes:

Low-Fidelity Prototypes: A User Flow Using Wireframes

Low-fidelity prototypes allow research teams to outline basic user flows and information architecture. 

High-Fidelity Prototypes: A User Flow Using Mockups

High-fidelity prototypes go into more detail, testing user interfaces, interactions, and how usability participants interact with a product.

Designers build prototypes using tools like Figma, Adobe XD, and others. Sometimes, non-designers from product teams use PowerPoint or Google Slides to simulate user flows.

HTML & JavaScript Prototyping

Occasionally, teams might build HTML and JavaScript prototypes to get more accurate results. The downside to this approach is that coding requires considerable time and technical costs. Product designers (and non-designers) can create code-based high-fidelity prototypes that look and function like the final product.

For example, with tools and current technology, teams can use React components pulled from a Git repository or Storybook components to create fully functional high-fidelity prototypes. 

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What is a Wireframe?

A wireframe is a low-fidelity, simplified outline of your product. You can usually recognize them by their distinctive block layouts, use of lines to represent text, and “✕” squares indicating placeholders for future images. This barebones style makes wireframes a great tool early on, giving you time to cement your content architecture before diving into the details. 

Their simplicity forgives mistakes and allows experimentation, which reduces the hassle of designing the overall structure.

Types of Wireframes: The Lowdown 

The UX design possibilities may seem infinite, but most wireframe designs fall into three basic levels of fidelity. You may work through all three kinds of wireframe design on the way to your final product.

Low-fidelity Wireframes

Low-fidelity is the basic wireframe focused on layout, navigation, and information architecture. It shows the interface’s appearance and illustrates user flows with key UI design elements. Physical whiteboard sketches can work at early wireframing stages, though they aren’t always easy to: 

• Share
• Save
• Rework

With Figma's online wireframing tool, you can quickly create, share, and iterate on low-fidelity wireframes.

Mid-fidelity Wireframes

Mid-fidelity wireframes help designers iterate and shape the final design. Design teams may add annotations and content by trying different approaches to user flows and UI design elements, mapping out core functionality and key interactions. 

This enables teams to settle on the final wireframe design framework before adding visual design components.

High-fidelity Wireframes

High-fidelity wireframes look like early product mockups, with interactive and visual design elements—but without the functionality of low-fidelity prototypes. At this point of the design process, you may want to add brand elements like: 

• Fonts
• Colors
• Logos

That way, you can capture the look and feel of the final product for user testing. 

How NUMI’s Framer Design Expertise Transforms Startups’ Web and Product Development

NUMI is a Framer web design agency powered by experienced Framer developers and product designers. Backed by Y Combinator, NUMI handles your startup's sourcing, vetting, and hiring design needs. We have a fabulous design team that ensures all of your design work is being done well. 

NUMI helps with: 

• Product design
• Web design
• Framer development
• Webflow development
• Mobile design
• Prototyping
• UX design
• All of your startup's design needs! 

Subscribe to a guild of world-class designers ready to embed on your team today. Schedule a call with us today to learn more! 

When To Use Mockup vs. Prototype vs. Wireframe

Wireframes: The Basics of Your App Design

Wireframes are like the skeleton of your design—they’re super helpful at the very beginning of a project when you’re still figuring out the basics. Wireframes are your go-to tool if you: 

• Decide how many screens you need
• What the layout should look like
• How the navigation flows

Think of wireframes as your opportunity to sketch out ideas and compare options. For example, you might design a few rough layouts for a homepage, then choose the one with the best structure. Once you’ve nailed the overall flow and structure, you can move on to the more detailed stages. Wireframes are all about functionality, not aesthetics, so don’t worry about adding colors or fonts.  

Mockups: Get Ready to Make Things Pretty

Mockups come in when you’re ready to make things pretty and functional. These are high-fidelity designs that show precisely how the final product will look. Mockups are created after wireframes because you’ve already locked in the layout and information hierarchy.

Some experienced designers skip the wireframe phase and jump straight to mockups, especially when working with a familiar product or established design system. This isn’t ideal if you’re new to the process. Starting with wireframes ensures you’ve covered all the basics, like layouts and flows, before diving into detailed design work. 

Prototypes: A Working Model of Your App

Prototypes are like wireframes and mockups brought to life. They’re all about interaction and are used throughout the design process. You might develop low-fidelity prototypes to test basic functionality and user flows early on. These are quick and dirty and typically stay within the UX team.

As your design progresses, you’ll transition to high-fidelity prototypes. These look and feel like the finished product and are perfect for usability testing or showcasing your work to stakeholders. Prototypes let you gather feedback and test interactions before the design is finalized.

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Common Tools Used For Mockups, Prototyping, And Wireframing

Wireframing Tools: The Go-To For Low-Fidelity Designs

Wireframing is all about simplicity and structure, so the tools you use here focus on low-fidelity design. 

Paper & Pens

This is the ultimate low-tech solution! It’s perfect for quick sketches and brainstorming ideas in a collaborative setting. Add Post-it notes or cardboard cutouts for extra flair, especially with mobile layouts. 

Google Jamboard, Miro, and Mural

These digital whiteboards are lifesavers for remote teams. They let you: 

• Sketch
• Organize ideas
• Collaborate in real-time 

It makes them great for visualizing workflows or organizing usability testing notes. 

Balsamiq

Known for its simple, hand-drawn-style wireframes, it’s a favorite for teams looking to quickly ideate layouts without getting bogged down in details. 

Mockup Tools: Creating High-Fidelity Designs 

Mockups require high-fidelity designs, so you need tools with robust design capabilities. 

Figma

A powerhouse for collaborative design. It’s browser-based so that teams can work together on mockups in real-time. 

Sketch

A go-to for macOS users, Sketch is intuitive and packed with plugins for creating stunning mockups. 

Adobe XD 

Part of the Adobe ecosystem, XD seamlessly combines design and prototyping features, making it a solid choice for creating polished, interactive mockups. 

UXPin

It is known for its ability to handle high-fidelity designs with interactive components. Its code-based approach makes it ideal for teams looking to bridge the gap between design and development. 

Prototyping Tools: Making Your Designs Interactive 

Prototypes bring your designs to life, and the tools here focus on interactivity and user testing. 

InVision

Great for turning static designs into clickable prototypes. It’s widely used for presentations and gathering client feedback. 

Axure RP

Known for its advanced prototyping features, Axure allows designers to create complex interactions and logic-based flows. 

UXPin

It is a standout for prototyping because it lets you work with real HTML and CSS, creating a more accurate representation of the final product. 

Framer

Perfect for designers who want to incorporate animations and micro-interactions into their prototypes. 

Testing and Feedback Tools: Improving Your Designs

Once your prototypes are ready, testing is key to refining them. A few popular tools include: 

Lookback

Allows remote usability testing with features like screen recording and user interviews.

UsabilityHub

Focused on quick tests like first-click analysis and design surveys. 

Optimal Workshop

It helps test information architecture, navigation flows, and more. 

Finding the Right Fit: Choosing the Best Design Tools for Your Project 

Your chosen tools will depend on your workflow, team collaboration needs, and design complexity. 

For instance: 

• If you need collaboration, Figma or Miro is hard to beat. 
• For advanced prototypes, UXPin and Axure RP shine. 
• If you're sticking to a specific ecosystem, like Adobe, XD integrates smoothly with other Adobe products.

Subscribe To A Guild of World Class Framer Developers with Our Framer Web Design Agency Today

NUMI is a Framer web design agency powered by experienced Framer developers and product designers. Backed by Y Combinator, NUMI handles your startup's sourcing, vetting, and hiring design needs. We have a fabulous design team that ensures all of your design work is being done well. 

NUMI helps with: 

• Product design
• Web design
• Framer development
• Webflow development
• Mobile design
• Prototyping
• UX design
• All of your startup's design needs! 

Subscribe to a guild of world-class designers ready to embed on your team today. Schedule a call with us today to learn more!  

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