The Best Tools for Prototyping Mobile App Designs

You are probably familiar with the word prototyping if you work in the mobile app development industry. A depiction of an application's flow from one screen to another is called a mobile app prototype. As such, it is an essential component of any user interface design and aids in the comprehension of the concept for a mobile app by designers. Together, let's learn more about it.

What Is Prototyping for Mobile Apps?

During the first stages of the mobile app development project, you and your team may examine ideas and provide input by using the mobile app prototype phase of the design process. It's also a crucial activity that provides user flows and illustrates the functional layout of the mobile application.

The functioning of the mobile app is shown by the prototype. There are many different ways to prototype, but in the case of developing a mobile application, the process starts with drawings that create an intuitive model that closely resembles the final product. Prototyping's primary goal is to communicate the product's design and direct the flow to improve development efficiency.

What Is The Tool for Rapid Prototyping?

An authoring tool known as a "rapid prototyping tool" is one that assists developers, designers, and business analysts in creating online and mobile prototypes. Customers may stimulate real-world business experience using this approach. This enhances the final product's vision and helps approve business requirements.

The fact that this prototype tool is so popular suggests that designers have access to a plethora of amazing resources. To assist you in incorporating the method into your workflow, we've gathered several rapid prototype tools for developers and UI/UI designers in this article. After learning the advantages of mobile prototyping, let's examine the tools that are now accessible. Let's first go over a few of these prototyping tools' capabilities.

What Characteristics Do The Greatest Prototyping Tools Have?

Provide Personalized Component Libraries Designed Specifically for Mobile Apps. Using mobile app prototyping should make it simple to design an app and adjust the component library to fit various mobile displays. The components library should allow you to alter it to fit the tone your brand intends to project for the app.

2. Output Demo to Mobile to Make Effect Preview Simple

The methodology for prototyping mobile apps should allow you to examine each modification. The prototype design modifications ought to be directly viewable on your mobile device.

3. Allow for Mobile Gesture Input

The ability to choose the device should be included in the mobile app prototype model. This might assist in designing the prototype with the mobile device's integrated gesture features in mind.

4. Allow Transition Animation When the Mobile View Is Switched

Energy is now an essential component of designing a mobile app, thus the ability to include a transition animation is a must for any prototype tools. This makes it easier for developers, investors, and designers to understand how the application moves between screens.

5. Create the flow diagram.

The ability to create the flow chart should come with the best mobile application prototype tool. All stakeholders involved in the first-level prototype would find this flow chart useful in understanding how events move across screens. To help you get closer to creating a mobile app, let's examine some of the advantages of using the best mobile app prototype tools now that you are aware of their qualities.

What Advantages Does Mobile App Prototyping Offer?

Prototyping mobile apps has several advantages for you. For example:

1. Exchanging Ideas And Receiving Input

Prototyping mobile apps allows you to share thoughts and get user input, which is helpful in understanding the first ready flow of the app's functionality. In addition, it lets you get input on how the app appears on different devices.

2. Saving Cash for Improvement

The amount of hours and resources required for the process determine the total cost of developing a mobile app. However, because a prototype is only an early version of the actual mobile app, you may save money on it.

3. Defining

Designers and developers may better understand what needs to be produced by using a mobile app prototype. Their understanding of what is needed to begin the whole development process is aided by this clarity.

What Kinds Of Tools Are Available For Prototyping Mobile Apps?

1. Prototyping on paper

With this kind of prototyping approach, you don't need any specialized knowledge to begin creating the mobile app prototype. It's not even necessary to comprehend the many web resources utilized to learn how to prototype. Paper prototyping may be started using a variety of instruments. Sketch App Resources provides Sketch Templates for the web, tablet, and mobile platforms.

Offline prototype made possible via uistencils.com stencil

As you create the new app flow, use popapp.in to link the sketches of the photographs with each other.

2. Prototyping software

While paper prototyping helps businesses get their ideas in front of as many people as possible, software prototypes allow you to generate and produce more manageable and affordable mobile app prototypes. Let's get started with the list of 28 online and mobile app prototype tools that are recognized to streamline the whole development process for designers and developers of mobile applications.

The Top 28 Mobile App Development Tools

1. Drawing

Developers may more easily create mockups, layouts, and logos without worrying about resolutions or on-screen densities thanks to this vector-specific design tool. This program can alter images, making it just as powerful as Photoshop.

The collection of symbols in this tool is one of its outstanding features. These symbols may be used to pre-design buttons, widgets, and other navigational components. The Sketch tool's export to code feature is yet another excellent feature. With great ease, you may quickly format the design in codes and speed up the development process.

2. Experience Design by Adobe

It hasn't taken long for this essential PC application to gain a lot of popularity. Because Adobe Experience Design is fully connected with all other Adobe products, designers may easily copy and paste various materials from Illustrator to Photoshop tools. All of Sketch's features are included in Adobe Experience Design, which also has a simple and easy-to-use interface. Additionally, this tool has a drag-and-drop feature that allows you to build an image mask for items that are dragged from the finder into a designated tool area.

3. InVision

You may create interactive mockups for web and mobile objects using InVision. The simplicity of creation, review, testing, and sharing the outcomes with internal team members is one of this tool's key benefits. Additionally, this tool can sync with Sketch or Photoshop documents, enabling designers to make changes to the prototype within the design suite in real-time based on their preferences.

The tool's project collaboration function, which enables customers to provide comments on the development, is also its finest feature. In addition to all of these features, InVision also allows you to add interactions and animations to the static pictures and allows you to upload file formats such as GIF, PSD, JPEG, PNG, and others.

4. Frame

For the most affluent Apple users, a framer allows them to create and modify complex UX flows. This also makes it easier to build a layout that maintains the UI components while being responsive to all screen sizes. The sophisticated route editing feature of Framer, which enables you to design anything web-optimized, is another great feature. Additionally, the tool provides the greatest iconography and style needed to create outstanding prototypes.

5. Balsamiq

Balsamiq allows you to swiftly sketch ideas while working on a project. This visual tool is useful for a variety of situations, including user interfaces, desktop and mobile applications, and websites. Using this tool is an easy way for designers to place and move the other pieces, much like they would while working on whiteboards. This tool's sleek user interface and understated design enable developers to quickly create wireframes and prototypes for customers.

6. Paper cutouts

Facebook Engineers created this stand-alone interface design tool, which is used by other applications, including Instagram and Facebook Messenger. This is a sophisticated tool with very powerful capabilities. Additionally, Origami allows you to see a prototype of the app, copy and paste layers from Sketch, and then launch the application on Origami.

You may record the prototype using this tool and transmit it to the users of the app. Another fantastic feature of Origami is its ability to be linked to an iOS or Android smartphone and preview content in real time.

7. Behance UI Kit for Landing Pages

With more than 80 layouts in the most popular categories, the Behance Landing Page UI Kit is a free creative resource. This is the ideal solution for any company that wants to update the appearance of their sites. With this tool, you can create landing pages that are slick and simple.

8. Axure

Axure is a comprehensive design tool that provides all the features needed to create applications from scratch for designers. In addition to prototyping, this software allows you to generate personas, concept boards, diagrams, mockups, and more; programmers may also benefit from this tool. It helps you create better designs by enabling you to write and add ready-made components and libraries.

9. Atomic

One of the best web-based prototyping tools available is Atomic. For the designers to have complete power and flexibility in optimizing their interactions, Google Chrome must function. This solution gives a shared prototype system and simple access to the developers. Additionally, Atomic gives you access to the history feature, which enables you to go back and create new versions of previously completed iterations.

10. Fundamental

Using this platform-neutral prototype tool simplifies the process of designing parts that pop, ease, and bounce quickly. Additionally, it provides designers with the ability to animate many elements on a single page and allows them to freely switch between screens.

11. Just to be reminded

The all-in-one tool for creating interactive prototypes, Just in Mind, includes more than 500 widgets for both web and mobile applications. Developers may test mockups on any device by using this tool.

12. Wireframe.cc

A simple online application called Wireframe.cc facilitates the creation of low-fidelity prototypes for rapid app concept visualization. This tool's ability to facilitate cooperation and make it easy to remark on prototypes, hotkeys, and sharing is one of its strongest features.

13. Pidaco

Pidaco facilitates team collaboration throughout the prototype development phase and allows for easy template modification. You may reduce the development and design period and save further costs by using Pidaco to quickly produce interactive prototypes.

14. Mockplus

One of the best tools for prototyping is Mockplus, which makes it simpler for you to evaluate and create a low-fidelity prototype. Despite being a simple program, you can make interactive prototypes with the aid of an extensive collection of UI components.

15. Proto.Io

With its interface animation function, Proto.io enables you to work on the micro-interactions with users of mobile apps while creating a comprehensive prototype. Moreover, Proto.io facilitates testing of the created prototypes via a practical sharing and collaborative framework.

16. Flinto

The fully working Mac software that supports creating high-fidelity prototypes is called Flinto. Developing the animated prototype is made easier by the plugin that allows you to effortlessly connect the app with Sketch. You are also allowed to design the prototype and present it to the team using Flinto.

17. UXPin

A versatile online application called UXPin enables you to create both high-fidelity and low-fidelity prototypes. This software has a simple comments mechanism that makes teamwork inside the group easier. You may open Sketch projects and a library with hundreds of UI Kits by using UXPin.

18. Marvel

One of the simplest tools for mobile and web app prototyping available to designers is Marvel. This program claims a very short learning curve for designers and has an easy-to-use interface. The tool's ability to meet the demands of sophisticated designers and rank among the top prototype tools for both novices and their more seasoned colleagues is one of its main draws.

19. OmniGraffle

You may freely build wireframes, strategy maps, screen flows, and various other types of diagrams with OmniGraffle. This application makes it simple to see the app's flow, which makes it easier to organize the whole app development process.

20. HotGloo

The ideal tool for interface design is HotGloo, which lets designers create many mobile apps with incredible interactive features. Additionally, this application enables designers to work on individual wireframes from any location. Since it's an online tool, you may use it from any location and don't need to download any special software to use it.

21. Zeplin

Zeplin is a platform for designer-developer cooperation that provides much more functionality than just design and workflow. With the help of this program, app developers may create their ultimate work of art and import the wireframes and graphic designs from Sketch and Photoshop. After that, you may include it in the project folder on Zeplin. Developers do not have to wait for designs to be completed while using Zeplin.

22.IconJar

Organizing icons and bringing them together in one location for easy searching, dragging, and dropping in Photoshop or Sketch projects is made feasible with the IconJar tool. It might be hard to search through or submit the icons for prototypes. But with IconJar, you can arrange millions of icons in one location and then drag & drop them into Illustrator or Photoshop.

23. Flowing User Interface

A one-stop shop for requirement design, communication, and collaboration is Flid UI. For designers searching for strong design-related collaboration tools, this platform is a need. Additionally, it enables you to showcase concepts, generate prototypes, and get comments all inside a one platform.

24. Mind-Node

MindNode is a relationship map creation tool with an easy-to-use UI and no complicated features. While working on certain designs, you may use this tool to help you prioritize the most crucial tasks. You can also use this feature to establish deadlines and reminders on the site, which will help you make sure you finish tasks on time. When you need access to the project, you may use MindNode to fold and unfold the nodes. With its cloud software, it is very simple to manage the project collaboratively and to share it with others.

25. Vector

With Vector, you may create the prototype using the desktop and online applications for Windows and Mac. One of the best tools for creating mobile app prototypes is this one, which also works with desktop and web browser prototypes. As a result, it facilitates your job while giving you access to all modifications. The Vectr prototype may be incorporated into Slack and other tools for collaboration, and it can be shared with others by URL.

26. Prott

You can take pictures of the preliminary drawings using the Prott prototyping tool and import them directly into the Prott iOS and Android applications. These drawings may be used to construct the prototypes. With the aid of its dynamic and powerful presentation resource, this also simplifies the presentation. It is also well known that this application provides developers with an extensive array of collaboration capabilities to facilitate the process of exchanging designs.

27. Webflow

Webflow has an eCommerce functionality and a code-free interface. Because of this, Webflow is appealing to developers that create cutting-edge websites and applications for shopping.

28. Canvas Flip

CanvasFlip, the last feature in this software, guarantees four times quicker prototyping than many other prototype tools available on the market. A number of noteworthy features are also included with CanvasFlip, such as the ability to customize headers and footers, timers for splash screens, layers for message displays, etc. Both developers and designers may benefit from these functionalities.

Last Words:?

Join the Mobile App Development Team to unleash your creativity and turn your digital visions into reality. By the time you finished reading this tutorial, we're very confident you were acquainted with these top tools for prototyping mobile apps. On the other hand, our staff is there to assist you if you are unclear which to choose for your project. Speak with our Linkitsoft team to have your app developed right now.