Responsive Design Workflow

3. Content Reference Wireframes

“A journey of a thousand li starts beneath one’s feet.”

—LAOZI, DAO DE JING

In the early days of web design, wireframes—sometimes called schematics—were simple drawings with boxes indicating where page components would go on the page. They were the precursors to mockups, a way to quickly try out content placement to get a feel for the general skeleton of the page. Nowadays, wireframes are often exceedingly detailed. They often contain actual content. Some actually look like almost-finished websites, devoid only of color, imagery, and typography. The layout is done. Decisions have been made about the content and the placement of this content.

At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old man saying, “Back in my day...,” ...