{"id":3983,"date":"2019-03-06T12:53:59","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T11:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.growcode.com\/?p=3983"},"modified":"2023-12-13T11:47:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T10:47:09","slug":"prototyping-wireframing-usability-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.growcode.com\/blog\/prototyping-wireframing-usability-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Prototyping and Wireframing in Ecommerce Usability Testing: 7 Key Questions Answered"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chances are you already know the importance of usability testing in ecommerce. It’s a definite way to ensure you’re consistently meeting your customers’ needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s also a crucial part of optimization. User experience (UX) or user interface (UI) design in ecommerce is fundamentally about building storefronts and customer journeys that provide customers with precisely what they want while also maximizing your ecommerce conversion rate<\/a> and average customer lifetime value.<\/p>\n

The fact that one in three customers<\/a> abandon their purchase because they can’t find the right information highlights this point even more. And this leads to high ecommerce bounce rate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But are you using wireframes and prototypes in the right way?<\/p>\n

At Growcode, both prototypes and wireframes play critical roles in our UX design process, especially when it comes to optimization.<\/p>\n

But many clients misunderstand the roles these tools should play. And this misunderstanding results in needlessly wasted time and resources and (to put it mildly) less-than-optimal changes to their site designs.<\/p>\n

In this post, we’re going to define some terms, clear up some misconceptions, and show you exactly how to use wireframes and prototypes in your usability testing.<\/p>\n

Find out a short list of all the point you will find to know hot to use prototyping and wireframing!
\n1. What Is Prototyping?<\/a>
\n2. What Is Wireframing?<\/a>
\n3. What Role Does Coding Play in Ecommerce Prototyping and Wireframing?<\/a>
\n4. What Are the Best Tools for UX Prototyping in Ecommerce?<\/a>
\n5. How Are Wireframes and Prototypes Used in Ecommerce Usability Testing?<\/a>
\n6. What Are the Most Important Parts of Ecommerce Prototyping?<\/a>
\n7. Should You Implement Small Changes or Complete Site Overhauls?<\/a><\/p>\n

Check them all out!<\/p>\n

1. What Is Prototyping?<\/h2>\n

In UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) design, a prototype is a full representation of suggested changes to a website. A prototype is a near-complete version of the finished product or MVP (minimum viable product). When a programmer looks at a prototype, they should have all the information they need to make a finished or near-finished site design.<\/p>\nIn #UX (user experience) and #UI (user interface) design, a prototype is a full representation of suggested changes to a website. #ecommerce #EcommerceTips <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

Prototypes have a number of benefits. In particular, they are useful for collaboration between designers and clients – for approval, brainstorming ideas, and evaluating possibilities. When it comes to ecommerce usability testing, optimization is a dynamic process that involves many different people.<\/p>\n

For example, a team working on optimizing customer experience, with a view to driving more sales, may produce several prototypes for testing. Prior to running the test, however, feedback and approval may be required from certain individuals within the organization. Presenting them with prototypes before a dollar is spent on actually implementing the designs allows them to make a clear decision about whether or not the intended changes are in line with the company’s messaging, values, marketing activities, etc.<\/p>\n

\n
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2. What Is Wireframing?<\/h2>\n

There is a lot of overlap between wireframes and prototypes. Generally speaking, wireframes are cruder, less-developed versions of prototypes and serve slightly different functions.<\/p>\n

A wireframe is a bare-bones skeleton of a design. But it still contains the main ideas. In the prototype, these ideas will be fully fleshed out. On a practical level for an ecommerce interface, this might comprise the layout of the page along with the location of the main pieces of content, CTAs, and images.<\/p>\n

Wireframes can be particularly useful for mapping changes to the customer journey, as opposed to a specific interface like a product page. If you want to reduce the number of steps involved during checkout, for example, a wireframe can be an effective way of developing and showing the new stages.<\/p>\n

Wireframes are also more useful than prototypes in the brainstorming stage of collaboration, where a representation of exact changes is not needed. It takes significantly less time to represent an idea through a wireframe than it does to develop a full prototype.<\/p>\n

3. What Role Does Coding Play in Ecommerce Prototyping and Wireframing?<\/h2>\n

Is coding necessary for UX?<\/p>\n

There’s an ongoing debate about this question, but the short answer is no. Even if UX designers have programming abilities, it’s usually beneficial to draw a clear distinction between conception and implementation. Doing so invariably leads to faster and more productive workflows.<\/p>\n

This is because UX, and prototyping in particular, is rarely a completely iterative process. A conflation of skills and outcomes often leads to shoddy coding and warped results. In fact, one of the big problems that online retailers often face is bridging the knowledge gap between UX\/UI designers and programmers.<\/p>\n

There are numerous stages in ecommerce UX design. The process usually starts with brainstorming changes to pages and user flows in the concept development phase. Designers are then asked to develop sketches and wireframes before being given the go-ahead for a full prototype. Ideas and wireframes will likely change as more data and feedback is acquired from ongoing tests, re-emphasizing the need for clearly defined boundaries.<\/p>\nThere are numerous stages in #ecommerce #UX design. The process usually starts with brainstorming changes to pages and user flows in the concept development phase. #EcommerceTips <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

Generally speaking, a UX design process will look something like this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Brainstorm ideas.<\/li>\n
  2. Develop wireframes for interfaces and user flows.<\/li>\n
  3. Collaborate on wireframes and redesign based on feedback.<\/li>\n
  4. Build prototypes.<\/li>\n
  5. Gather and act on any further input and pass onto programmers.<\/li>\n
  6. Measure results, implement positive changes, and use data to create further testing ideas.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    When we approach usability testing and optimization at Growcode, designers are responsible for crafting the interface and programmers are responsible for implementing those changes. And even if individuals can fill either role, they will be working within a separate context for each one – with separate outcomes, measurements, and timeframes.
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    4. What Are the Best Tools for UX Prototyping in Ecommerce?<\/h2>\n

    Apps are fundamental to any usability testing process. The vast majority of problems that companies face when undertaking usability testing can be solved, at least in part, by using the appropriate tools.
    \n    \"Testing<\/a>Prototyping software helps solve a number of common testing problems. Source<\/a>.<\/span>
    \nWhen selecting a prototyping tool, you should consider a number of factors. These include:<\/p>\n