The everyday problem:

You really like the layout of a web page.  You want to build a wireframe mockup based on it, and it takes too long. 

Why not just screencapture the page?  Mainly because images and text distract your vision when you’re trying to figure out the best layout possible.  You may also want to compare different layouts and having everything mocked up on wireframe instead of screencaptured may provide a more unbiased view of things.

The simple solution:

Wirify is a cross-browser bookmarklet which instantly turns full blown web pages into wireframe mockups with a single click.

Step 1: Visit the Wirify webpage

Step 2: If you’re using Chrome or Firefox, just drag and drop the bookmarket onto your browser bookmark bar.  (If you’re using Internet Explorer switch now for a better experience)

Step 3: Click on the bookmarket whenever you want to turn the website into a wireframe mockup.

That’s it!  So simple :)

Check out the YouTube video below for a step-through Wirify

Whether you’re a designer who wants to experiment, or a client who wants to prepare a brief, or someone who just wants to show off a really cool idea, preparing a mockup goes a long way in helping people visualize ideas.  You get to improve visibility so people know what you’re talking about, get to agreement quickly, and cut down on spec writing time.

Balsamiq is an incredibly user-friendly tool which helps create mockups very quickly.  All you need to do is drag and drop various elements onto the canvas and you are able to build a user interface layout in a flash.  Check out this video for a demo on how to create an iTunes-like interface in 2 minutes 14 seconds:

Speed is Balsamiq’s main selling point here.  You’re not going to get shiny beautiful mockups which look almost like your finished product.  In fact, the graphics are intentionally designed to look like pencil sketches to give it an authentic ˜drawn-on-the-back-of-a-napkin’ feel to the sketches.  What you do get is raw ideas quickly translated into visuals at a frighteningly quick pace.  Speaking from personal experience, Balsamiq was simply a joy to use

Balsamiq comes in two flavors, a free one which you can try, and a registered version (USD 79.95) which has key features like exporting your mockups to image files, and loading multiple mockups.

FREE Giveaway: registered copy of Balsamiq woth USD 79.95

This month we’re giving away one free registered copy of Balsamiq to a lucky reader!  To be in the running to win this prize, all you have to do is:

Just follow me on Twitter & drop me a message @friedbeef, saying you want a free copy of Balsamiq.  That’s it!

Winners will be chosen at random and will be announced in a couple of weeks You could be the lucky winner!