What is a website mockup, why do it and how do you create it?

Definition of a model

A mockup is the static, accurate and faithful rendering of all the pages of a website. This is the stage that naturally follows the creation of the wireframes and precedes the prototype of the final site, which will be functional and interactive in order to be tested before being developed. We integrate into a model the real visuals, the final texts, the Graphic charter, buttons, etc.

Mock-up is thus halfway between the graphic design stage and the web development stage. It can be created by a graphic designer, a web designer, a developer or even a web integrator.

Difference between mockup and wireframe

If you have already created your Wireframes (this structural step detailed in our dedicated guide), The model comes naturally after to give life to this structure.

In summary: the wireframe is the skeleton (geometric shapes and structure), The model covers this structure with visual identity, colors, fonts, and real content. It is the transition from the architect's plan to the furnished and decorated house.

What modeling tool should I use?

Figma to make your website mockups

Figma is the tool that all designers and developers have been talking about for several years. Its objective: to be accessible to all. It is indeed renowned for its easy and quick handling thanks to a simple interface.

Entirely based on the Internet, everything is centralized on this collaborative platform. All team members can thus work on the same interface in real time and stakeholders can see the progress of the project and write their comments directly on it.

Other free online tools for your mockups

• ‍Miro : an online collaborative tool that offers wireframe and model templates. It is also used a lot by web designers for its brainstorming and collaboration features.

• Canva : graphic design site, very easy to use. This platform is used to create relatively simple wireframes and mockups, ideal for less complex projects.

Emerging tools to watch out for

In addition to essentials like Figma, several emerging tools are gaining in popularity and deserve to be explored according to the needs of your project:

• ‍Penpot : an open source alternative to Figma, ideal for tech/design teams sensitive to the ethics of free software. It offers a collaborative interface and solid functionalities, while allowing total autonomy with respect to proprietary solutions.‍
• Framer : halfway between design and no-code development, Framer allows you to create very realistic interactive models and transform them directly into functional sites. This is an attractive option for agile projects or MVPs.‍
• AI design tools : solutions such as Uizard, Galileo AI or the AI extensions integrated into Figma now make it possible to automatically generate wireframes or models from a simple textual brief. A real time-saver to quickly test ideas or produce usable work bases.

These tools are no substitute for a thoughtful UX/UI approach, but can significantly speed up some steps in the design process.

Adobe XD: a losing tool

Adobe XD has long been one of the leading tools in web modeling, especially for teams already familiar with the Adobe ecosystem. However, since 2024, Adobe has announced a slowdown in the development of this software and is gradually orienting its efforts towards other solutions.

In practice, this means that Adobe XD is being updated less and that new features are rare. The tool remains functional, but is no longer recommended for long-term projects.

Why is the layout of a website fundamental?

Clarify the vision of the project before its development

For your website creation to progress effectively, all project stakeholders must have a clear and common vision. In the absence of models, it is very likely that the stakeholders are not moving in the same direction and that the project will stall.

Thanks to the model, you will go from everyone's idea of the site to a visual and concrete work medium. You will be able to project yourself and quickly test everyone's ideas directly on the model. All together, for example, you will realize that it is precisely this layout that works better than another.

The model will also help you better understand your project: why do you need a site? As the layout progresses, you will all together clarify your goals to finally validate the concept before sending it to the development phase.

Improving communication within the project

La creation of a site may involve a larger or smaller team. And who says team says: management, organization and coordination. The model is a communication medium that allows everyone to stay aligned with the progress of the project.

The model will also allow you to improve exchanges with the various stakeholders. For example, the developer is not always integrated into the project from the beginning. It is conceivable that you will only use it during the development phase. Thanks to the models, he understands your vision, your expectations and knows exactly what to work on without wasting time.

Reducing development costs and time

We have just understood that it is essential for stakeholders to share a clear and common vision and for communication to be fluid within the project. If you do without mockups, it means that you will explore each idea by developing them directly. The risk here is to waste time and money if you finally realize that no one is aligned with the project.

With the model you communicate more easily, so you will carry out iterations more quickly that will cost you less. The time spent on your model will always be less than the time spent developing a site “blindly”.

On the other hand, the majority of the malfunctions will have been identified and corrected on the model. This represents a valuable time saver for the developer.

Improving the quality of the website

In the end, thanks to this clever mix of sharing a clear and common vision, communicating more effectively and optimizing costs and deadlines, you get a better quality site. You may feel like mock-up is an extra step, but it's actually not at all. It saves a lot of time for the future, especially during the development phase.

How to create a mock-up of a website?

Identify user goals and conversion goals

When creating a website page, there are two types of objectives to take into account:

• ‍The goals of the users : these are the intentions of visitors to your page. What information do they want to find on this page? Can you solve their problems? Who are you? What are your services? This is about understanding their information needs.‍
• Conversion goals : these are your goals behind creating this page. What do you want to get out of your visitor? What actions do you want to encourage him to do? Always keep in mind that a good page has one and only one purpose.

To create a good model, you must therefore have a perfect understanding of these two elements. For each user objective identified, you must ensure that you provide an answer in your site.

Use your wireframes to structure the content

If you followed our recommended methodology, you already have Validated wireframes that define the structure of your pages. These wireframes are the perfect base to start your mockup.

The page of a site is often divided this way: the navigation menu, the content of the page, the footer. Your wireframes have already defined this organization, it is now a question of dressing it visually:

• ‍Refining the navigation menu : start from the simple menu defined in your wireframes and enrich it with the visual elements of your graphic charter.‍
• Content wrapping : transform your blocks and geometric shapes into real content with final texts, real images, brand colors.‍
• Optimizing the footer : keep the structure defined in your wireframes and add visual elements to improve the user experience.

This approach guarantees consistency between structure (wireframe) and visual rendering (model).

Integrate UX and UI design elements

The UX design of your model

THEUX design (or User eXperience) aims to offer a pleasant experience to your user, but also to guide them naturally towards the action you want them to perform. To do this, on your model, focus on:

• ‍Usability : clear and intuitive navigation so that visitors can quickly find what they are looking for. You can now refine your menu thanks to the overview of theTree.‍
• Accessibility : easy to learn interface and compatible with all types of supports and screen sizes. The objective is also to ensure a fast loading speed in order to offer a frustration-free experience.‍
• Desirability : creating an emotionally positive experience for the visitor. Your mockup should elicit positive feedback and prompt action if you want to reach your conversion goals.

The UI design of your model

THEUI design (or User Interface) concerns the graphical elements of an interface. The designer will be concerned with the aesthetic part of a site to achieve the goals of the UX designer. In particular, he will work on these elements:

• ‍The colors : the choice of your colors is very important. Each color conveys its own emotion. The colors of your Graphic charter should bring out the soul of your business and evoke the desired emotion in the reader.‍
• The typefaces : the emotion of your site will also be reflected in its typography. Each font sets a different tone. In general, no more than two different fonts are used: one legible font for your texts and another more suitable for your titles.‍
• The visuals : very important, visuals will contribute to creating your atmosphere and will make the difference with your competitors. Make quality photos, your own illustrations with your graphic charter in order to welcome the visitor into your universe.‍
• The contrasts : a fundamental design principle used to attract attention, energize or differentiate content. Play with different types of contrasts: colors, fonts, sizes, between your texts and your visuals.

Your aim is to achieve a subtle balance between all of these elements. You will be able to create rhythm, surprise and take your reader into your unique and immersive universe.

Validate the concept with users

Now that your model is ready, getting it tested is an interesting step before moving on to development. This can help you improve the experience and optimize your model by identifying anomalies, misunderstandings, etc. Here are some effective methods:

• ‍A/B testing : this consists in testing two versions in order to find out which is the most suitable. You can compare your ideas by testing different layouts, functionalities, etc.‍
• Heatmap : the objective here is to record the screen of your users and to analyze their browsing. In this way, you will be able to observe the obstacles and difficulties encountered and solve them quickly.‍
• User tests : user tests allow you to observe the behavior of visitors in front of your interface and with a pre-established scenario.