Tools We Like. Jumpchart.
I’m always testing new design tools that can make our studio more efficient. In so many areas of our work, new software, websites and apps have emerged and made our old ways of doing things nearly obsolete. I say nearly because although new tools may offer great benefits they come at a price—change. That change means adopting new methods, techniques and workflows. As well as accepting some period of in-efficiency while you climb the learning curve.
Not So Fast
As you can imagine, I’m rather cautious about the tools we add to our mix and hardly ever jump in with both feet right away. Which is odd, really, because I’m not so guarded about any other part of our business. Well, maybe coffee. I’m pretty cautious there, too. Any new Johnny-on-the-block cafe has got to prove their stuff before I’ll risk a bad cup of espresso. So, it makes me very happy when a new tool we’ve decided to test actually pans out and delivers on its promises. This week the Hero toolbox welcomes the addition of Jumpchart, an online website wireframing tool.
We started testing Jumpchart a few months ago on some internal projects. It worked well and had the potential to really speed up our website development process. Wireframing page content in a format that was convenient for our clients and easy to update had always been a thorn in our side. We were always interested in building grey box prototype sites that clients could really click through, but the time and expense was never justifiable. And so we ended up using spreadsheets, word docs or page layout software. Old school to the point of embarrassment.
A Better Way to Wireframe Sites
Now that we’ve got some real projects running in Jumpchart we’re finally realizing the power of developing site content through a live, working prototype that’s easy to build, review and revise. In Jumpchart you build a site map be adding pages and subpages which automatically link to one another. Then you start adding your content. There are simple tools for styling text, adding links, building forms and controlling the page layout. You can also upload files and images to be placed on the page or added as downloads. The most useful feature, though, is Snippets. Snippets are blocks of content you can pre-define and save. These can be as big or small as you like and get placed into the layout with single line of formatted text. Snippets are great for any repetitive site element, such as navigation, that you need to include on every page.
Once you’ve got your site is ready, you can publish a wireframe and sitemap for your client to review. We’ve found this to be the greatest advantage to Jumpchart. Instead of a client seeing live, clickable content for the first time in the initial build, they get to see it before they’ve even approved the content. And of course in seeing it as a working site, clients discover many more refinements than they would in a static design or word doc.
Add It to the Toolbox
I’ve touched upon just a few features we’ve found valuable in Jumpchart. If you’re wireframing, designing or coding websites I encourage you to check it out. Maybe you’ll find, as I have, this is one new tool that’s worth adding to the box.
Find it here: www.jumpchart.com
Catherine -
Other people have suggested using more visually driven tools, like MockFlow. But I like that Jumpchart keeps the focus on the content. It prevents important details being lost in the gloss of a design.
Jeff
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LikeI used Jumpchart last summer for http://dovetailusa.com. It was great because I'm in Portland, client is in VA, and our writer also in Portland.
I was able to set up the initial site with snippets, etc. and send out to team. Our writer then uploaded copy and the entire team was able to comment and interact.
Because JC is really about content, not visuals, I could get the client to focus on the message w/writer while I focused on getting some javascript effects going on the prototype. I really think JC helped us hone the client's message.
I will say that I was not pleased with the WordPress export--for which I paid $25. In the end, hand-coding my theme was simpler. I did use the copy blocks of HTML and lists, but not much else.
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LikeThanks for the great article Jeff. You just made our Friday!
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