Making Website Mock-Ups in Linux?

The Ubiquitous Web Designer asks: "I am trying to design a rather complex web page and am wondering if there are any tools which will allow me to make non-functioning mock-ups of each page so that a programmer can work from them. Obviously, it's hard to use the GIMP to make radio buttons, check-boxes, data entry fields, and so on. Can something help me design a page without much knowledge of HTML, or am I better off just doing it with paper and pencil by hand?"

Comments

Nvu

[Sodki]

Try Nvu, it's good enough.

Re:Nvu

[Tremor (APi)]

If you're just making a non-functioning mockup, who cares how lousy the code is? I agree completely if you're talking about production source, writing it by hand is the *only* way to go. But if you're just trying to put together visual mockups, and your alternatives are GIMP or pencil and paper, then clearly it doesn't matter what shape the source is in.

Re:Nvu

[Richard_at_work]

His point was that you use the WYSIWYG editor to create the initial mockup, see how it looks and feels, and then code it from hand - you throw out the WYSIWYG editors code entirely, all you are after is the visual 'OK' before starting the actual coding yourself.

Personally, I *always* mockup in Fireworks prior to doing anything. Get the look and feel of the site perfect, then handcode the html. Its significantly easier to move around something in a graphics package or WYSIWYG editor than it is in handcoded html, especially if you are doing it a dozen times an hour.

Re:Nvu

[TheOtherChimeraTwin]

I have to disagree. The best way to create a non-functioning web page is to use Frontpage which is only available on Microsoft Windows.

Not much out there

[Se7enLC]

In short, no.

You can technically find a tool that will let you place checkboxes + radio buttons, etc pretty easily, but you'll find that the visual design of those elements are what require the HTML and CSS skills. You're better off just drawing them how you want them to look and letting the HTMK/CSS gurus actually do all the coding, otherwise all the work you do making them look how you want will have to be redone anyway in code.

just the thing

[greenguy]

Inkscape is perfect for this sort of thing. I've used it many times.

Re:just the thing

[MankyD]

I was just about to say the same thing. Inkscape (or any vector editing software) is perfect for this sort of thing. You won't draw perfect radio buttons per se, but draw circles with as much or as little similarity to radio buttons as you want. This is what I do for all of my sites after I've created an initial idea.

My Method:
1) Paper and Pen
2) Inkscape / Vector editor
3) HTML

Re:just the thing

[SpectreHiro]

I agree with the parent. Vector is by far the easiest way to produce mockups, and Inkscape is an excellent program. However, I'd also like to throw in a recommendation for Xara Xtreme which got slashdotted a couple days back. I'm quickly falling in love with it. I initially started using it because I couldn't get the newest release of Inkscape to run... Now, I don't think I'll be going back.

Paper Prototype instead

[kognate]

Please do not do what you've asked about doing. Instead, pick up a copy of Paper Prototyping at http://www.paperprototyping.com/ then read it, and then you will save yourself a huge amount of time (much more than the time you take to understand the concept).

Your users will thank you.

Re:Paper Prototype instead

[6Yankee]

Seconded. HTML mockups, whether hand-coded or bastardised together in something like Dreamweaver, are too much like hard work. I've also found that if you email them, or put them up on a site for users to look at, people forget that these are mockups and bitch about the things that don't work yet. As long as whatever you use is obviously not a web page, and a programmer can make sense of it, it doesn't matter what you choose.

I would say paper prototype, and use the chance to get some user feedback before you've poured heart and soul into a full-blown mock-up (or, worse, application). You'll probably find it easier to accept when these crude user tests show up problems - once you've got too much emotional investment in your design, it's far harder not to come up with reasons not to change it.

Of course, some people won't believe in paper prototypes. (I have one or two of those around here.) The compromise that works best here is to use - ick - PowerPoint. You might want to use whatever the OpenOffice equivalent is. As long as whatever you use is obviously not a web page, and a programmer can make sense of it, it probably doesn't matter what you choose.

Sounds like a job for denim

[afd8856]

Java tool, optimized for tablets though. http://dub.washington.edu/projects/denim/

These are the steps I follow

[dduardo]

1. Rough sketch on paper
2. Draw the complete layout in Inkscape
3. Export elements into the Gimp for final touch up and optimization
4. Link to images in stylesheet

Inkscape is an excellent tool becuase you can scale you're elements as much as you like without losing quality.

One place I worked...

[blueZ3]

Had a design template in Photoshop that contained all the graphics for buttons, checkboxes, text fields, etc. The designers just grabbed elements from the template and used them to mock up their design. I don't see any reason you couldn't do the same thing using the GIMP.

You should be able to grab screenshots of the elements you want out of Firefox and then reuse them in your layout. The only "hard" part is that for objects that have variable sizes, you have to grab the right and left sides and the middle as separate elements. Then for a "wide" button you stretch the middle portion to the correct width for your text and then place the right and left elements on the sides.

This may sound like too much work to you, but keep in mind that once you have captured all the parts you need, you can reuse them on future projects of a similar sort.

Paper!

[Peganthyrus]

Paper-making is not a closed source process. You won't be betraying the ideals of the open source movement if you pick up a pen or pencil and just start doodling.

You can probably do a couple iterations on your design in the time it takes you to install and boot up any software package. Hand the best one to the programmer, or scan it and e-mail it to her.

Inkscape works great

[mattnuzum]

Inkscape is a great tool. I recently revised the www.bazaar-vcs.org website. My SVG mock-up is here: http://people.ubuntu.com/~mnuzum/projects/bzr/BZR% 20Concept2006-07-26-1.svg (open it in inkscape for the real effect).

I plan on documenting this process soon, because I know a lot of people ask about it, but here's what I do:
  * Get the newest version of inkscape that you can, they really are adding excellent new features with each release
  * Open a new doc and assuming 1024x768 target browser size set the document to 1000x600 px. For 800x600 go for 760x600px
  * Use the layers tool in Inkscape to separate portions of the document
  * Create a layer on the very top called "slices" and in this layer, create rectangles that are 10% opaqe or so that cover individual elements that will become images in the final product. This layer will usually be hidden.
  * Periodically save your document out as png... remember, most people have a screen res of *96 dpi* not 72.
  * When you want to save individual components, for example the logo in the example above, show your "slices" layer, click the square that covers your logo so that it's selected, then hide the slices layer. The square will be selected but hidden. When you choose export, it will export just the visible portion of the image you have selected.

I'm happy to give more details, I'm newz2000 on irc.freenode. I don't have a lot of time to chat, but ping me and I'll help out if I can.

Once we get guasian blur in inkscape I'll probably stop using photoshop. (Yes, I run photoshop in Linux - using crossover office)