Prototype
Interactive model of a product used for testing and demonstration.
Definition
A Prototype is a preliminary interactive version of a digital product used to test concepts, demonstrate functionality, and gather feedback before full development. Prototypes range from low-fidelity clickable wireframes to high-fidelity designs that closely mimic final products.
Prototyping tools allow designers to create interactive flows showing how screens connect, how users navigate, and how elements respond to interactions without writing production code.
Why It Matters
Prototypes allow user testing and stakeholder review before expensive development begins. Discovering usability issues in prototypes costs far less than fixing them in production code after launch.
Prototypes also align teams and stakeholders around shared vision. Interacting with a clickable prototype provides clearer understanding than static mockups or written specifications, reducing miscommunication and revision cycles.
Examples in Practice
A mobile app prototype might show the full signup flow, allowing testers to tap buttons and progress through screens to experience the onboarding process before developers write code.
E-commerce teams might prototype different checkout flows to test which flow produces better conversion rates in user testing before implementing the winning design.