What is a Storyboard in Web Design? Complete Guide 2023

Have you ever wondered what exactly a storyboard is and why it’s so crucial in web design?

We’ll cover what storyboards are, when and why you need them, the key elements to include, tips for creating effective storyboards, tools and templates, best practices, common mistakes to avoid, how to turn storyboards into sites, and much more. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of how storyboards can help you visualize, plan, and create better websites.

Got No Time? A Quick Answer for You

A storyboard in web design is a visual representation of a website’s structure, layout, and proposed functionality. It depicts the user journey through a site and outlines interactions with key elements like menus, forms, and buttons.

Storyboards enable designers to plan out websites before development begins. They allow visualization of the end product and identification of potential UX issues. Using storyboards sets projects up for success by aligning teams on goals and ideal outcomes from the start.

Why Storyboarding is Crucial for Websites

Before we dive into the details, let’s look at why storyboarding is so important for website projects. Think of building a house without blueprints – no professional would advise that!

Website design requires the same level of upfront planning and visualization. Storyboarding lays this critical foundation for success.

Here are 5 key reasons storyboarding is essential:

1. Clarifies vision: Storyboards enable all stakeholders – clients, designers, developers, etc. – to get aligned on the website goals, user journeys, layout, and functionality. This prevents missteps from teams working towards different outcomes.
2. Identifies flaws beforehand: Reviewing storyboards allows UX issues like complex navigation flows or lack of clear calls-to-action to be identified early when easy to fix. This prevents major rework later.
3. Facilitates collaboration: Storyboards provide a common artifact for designers and clients to collaborate around. Feedback can be easily incorporated before any production design or development work kicks off.
4. Saves time and money: Changes are inexpensive and fast at the storyboard stage compared to after production work has started. No coding or visual assets built yet. This prevents costly rework down the line.
5. Focuses on user experience: Storyboards keep the user experience at the forefront throughout the design process. This leads to positive customer experiences vs frustration from poor site design.

What Exactly is a Website Storyboard?

Now that we’ve covered the importance of storyboarding, let’s look at exactly what a storyboard is in the context of web design.

A website storyboard is a visual representation of the proposed design, structure, layout, and user flow of a website.

The storyboard depicts the key pages, sections, images, calls-to-action, and other elements that will make up each page. It also shows how visitors will engage and move through the site.

Simple sketches are often used to convey the required information easily without getting bogged down in details. Text callouts provide additional context as needed.

Think of a website storyboard as a comic strip version of the site. Each panel shows a key page and highlights critical interactive elements. Arrows demonstrate how users will journey through the site.

Storyboards do not require artistic skill to create. Their purpose isn’t aesthetic appeal – it’s clear communication of the planned site’s layout and user experience before design starts.

Pro Tip: Focus on simplicity, clarity, and conveying the essence when creating website storyboards. Fancy visuals aren’t required for stakeholders to understand the vision.

Storyboarding Summary

Storyboard Examples

To illustrate what website storyboards look like, here are a few examples spanning different levels of complexity:

1. Basic Website Storyboard

This sample shows a simple 4-page site with a home page, about page, blog index, and contact page. The expected user journey moving from page to page is depicted with arrows.

Key elements like the navigation menu, headlines, and call-to-action buttons are called out on each page. This level provides a high-level view into site structure.

2. Detailed Website Storyboard

For more complex websites, more detailed storyboards are created. This example includes notes describing the purpose of each page, layout of sections, types of content/media planned, and other interactive elements.

Colors, fonts, and styles are called out to establish the visual direction without providing full mockups at this stage. The added detail provides helpful context while maintaining simplicity.

3. Digital Interactive Storyboard

Digital tools like Figma, InVision, or Marvel can be leveraged to create interactive click-through storyboard prototypes. This makes visualizing more complex user journeys easier.

The example below shows one approach using Marvel. Buttons and links simulate an interactive experience. The key is maintaining simplicity – don’t get distracted by visual details at the storyboard stage.

Editor Note: From back-of-the-napkin sketches to digital tools, focus on conveying the essence simply. Avoid getting distracted by visual details and aesthetics at the storyboard stage.

When You Need a Website Storyboard

Now that you understand what a storyboard is, when do you need one for your website projects?

The simple answer is that storyboards provide immense value for website design projects of all sizes. Any web project will benefit greatly from the upfront alignment on goals, user journeys, layouts, and functionality enabled by detailed storyboards.

Specifically, you need a website storyboard when:

• Starting a new website design project from scratch
• Redesigning or revamping an existing website
• Adding significant new features or functionality to an existing site
• Making major enhancements like layout changes or new templates
• Troubleshooting UX issues like confusing navigation or lack of conversions

Storyboards are most useful during the discovery and planning phases of a web project, before any visual mockups are designed or front-end code is written.

Pro Tip: Even for simple website tweaks and changes, create a storyboard. Small updates often have cascading impacts across pages that are hard to envision otherwise.

Dedicate time early in the process for your web design team to collaborate with you on detailed storyboards. This upfront investment pays massive dividends in improved UX and reduced rework later in the project lifecycle.

Editor Note: When in doubt, create a storyboard! They enable optimal planning and UX considerations for website changes both large and small.

Storyboard Elements: What to Include

We’ve covered what a storyboard is and when you need one. Now let’s look at the key elements that make up an effective web design storyboard.

While storyboards can take many forms, great ones typically include:

1. Site Map / Pages Outline

A site map provides an outline of all the pages and content that will exist within the website. This map gives a helpful table of contents for the site’s overall content and structure.

The storyboard site map should indicate the homepage, main menus and navigation categories, major page groupings, and hierarchy/depth of different pages or urls. This establishes direction for information architecture and navigation upfront.

2. Wireframes

Wireframes are simple page schematics that show where key elements like menus, search bars, images, calls-to-action etc. will go on each page without any visual design.

Including wireframes within the storyboard ensures all stakeholders understand the basic layouts and spatial relationships that will define each page.

3. Content Plans

While the storyboard won’t contain actual text or media content, it should indicate the types of content planned for each section of each page.

Defining these content blocks sets proper expectations and allows early feedback on how key messages will be conveyed on the site before copywriting starts.

4. Style Direction

Full mockups aren’t necessary in the storyboard but establishing some basic style directions helps set the appropriate visual tone.

Style notes, legends, or markings on wireframes can call out colors, fonts, and stylistic approaches without yet distracting with high-fidelity visuals.

5. Page Descriptions

Each page or wireframe in the storyboard should have a short description of its purpose and target conversion goal.

This provides helpful context and ensures each page has a defined objective vs just existing without clear intention.

6. User Flows

Arrows, connectors, and flow charts make user journeys and site navigation obvious throughout the storyboard.

Mapping out flows visually ensures an intuitive linking between pages to prevent confusing or complex navigation.

Complex journeys with a lot of variations may require dedicated user flow diagrams in addition to storyboards.

7. Interaction Notes

Call out how users will engage with key interactive page elements like carousels, videos, accordion FAQs, etc within the storyboard.

Pro Tip: Keep storyboards focused. Convey structure, purpose, and basic interactions without getting deep into specifications. Save detailed requirements for later design stages.

This brings static wireframes to life by describing critical dynamic content and behaviors.

Editor Note: Successful storyboards strike the right balance – enough fidelity to inform without overloading on intricate details too soon.

How to Create an Effective Website Storyboard

We’ve reviewed what storyboards contain. Now let’s look at best practices for actually creating an effective web design storyboard:

1. Clarify goals – Upfront, get alignment from all stakeholders on target audience, site objectives, business goals.
2. Map pages – Outline proposed site pages and how they’ll organize based on goals.
3. Wireframe – Sketch basic page layouts showing expected container positions and sizes.
4. Add content plans – Note types of content expected for each section without writing yet.
5. Show user flows – Use arrows, diagrams to map how people will navigate through the site.
6. Note interactions – Describe how users will engage with carousels, videos, accordions, etc.
7. Set style direction – Define basic styles, colors, fonts without distracting mockups.
8. Review and refine – Seek ongoing feedback from stakeholders. Continually refine.

Pro Tip: Rapid sketching on whiteboards is a great way to quickly brainstorm concepts and collaborate on website storyboards.

Remember, perfection isn’t the goal with storyboards. The purpose is to convey enough specifics to align all teams while allowing flexibility for evolution as the project progresses.

Editor Note: Follow these steps but don’t get bogged down in details early. Focus first on structure and flow. Refine iteratively with stakeholder input.

Storyboard Tools and Templates

Storyboards can be hand-sketched on paper or created digitally using a variety of dedicated tools. Here are top options for each approach:

Hand-Sketching Tools

• Pen and paper
• Whiteboards
• Sticky notes
• Index cards

Digital Tools

• PowerPoint
• Figma
• InVision
• Marvel
• Adobe XD
• Canva

Storyboard Templates

• Web storyboard template from Pinterest
• UX storyboard templates from Justinmind
• Website storyboard template from Venngage

Pro Tip: Embrace whiteboard sketching for real-time collaboration. Take photos to share digitally with broader team later.

Don’t get paralyzed by the wealth of tools and templates. Focus first on hand-sketching concepts, then refine digitally if needed. Leverage templates to accelerate creation once direction is established.

Editor Note: Avoid over-indexing on tools upfront. Start with paper sketches and whiteboard drawings to capture ideas quickly. Then evolve digitally.

Storyboard Best Practices

Let’s shift gears to cover some best practices for crafting storyboards that drive website success:

• Start early – Create storyboards in discovery before any visual design work begins. Get alignment first.
• Focus on simplicity – Convey the essence without getting distracted by details and aesthetics.
• Highlight key flows – Show primary user journeys rather than every possible path.
• Map interactions – Indicate how users engage with videos, carousels, accordions, forms, etc.
• Establish styles – Define colors, fonts, basic styles without distracting mockups.
• Review repeatedly – Seek frequent feedback from stakeholders. Refine storyboards continually.
• Conduct user tests – Validate storyboards with user tests. Fix issues before build begins.
• Maintain flexibility – Allow storyboards to evolve as insights emerge. Avoid a permanently fixed mindset.

Pro Tip: Treat storyboards as living documents. Continually iterate based on feedback and testing data to drive shared understanding.

Editor Note: Simplicity, collaboration, and ongoing refinement are key. Maintain flexibility as projects progress.

Turning Storyboards into Functioning Websites

So you’ve created storyboards, achieved alignment, and are ready to turn this plan into an actual website. Here is a high-level process:

1. Finalize sitemap – Expand the site map with all needed pages and details based on the storyboard.
2. Design screens – Create visual designs for each page following layouts, styles, and elements defined in the storyboard.
3. Develop front-end code – Use the storyboard as a blueprint for coding the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
4. Integrate CMS/back-end – Connect the front-end code to a CMS and content infrastructure.
5. Conduct quality testing – Thoroughly test based on user flows outlined in the storyboards.
6. Refine design – Make tweaks and enhance visual design based on feedback and testing.
7. Launch site – Release the complete site publicly once hardened after quality testing cycles.

Pro Tip: Reference back to storyboards constantly as you design and develop. They provide the solid foundation on which the website is built.

Of course, many additional steps are involved in full web design and development projects. But the storyboard serves as the North Star guiding all downstream activities and design decisions.

Editor Note: Let storyboards drive each project phase. They form the blueprint for successful web design and development.

Common Storyboard Mistakes to Avoid

Storyboarding is a powerful technique but only if done effectively. Watch out for these common missteps:

• Skipping storyboarding altogether
• Beginning design work before finalizing storyboards
• Making overly complex, hard to understand storyboards
• Diving into visual details prematurely vs staying high-level
• Getting distracted by tools and templates rather than focused on content
• Not reviewing storyboards with stakeholders for feedback
• Assuming storyboards can’t change once created
• Designing storyboards in a silo vs collaboratively

Pro Tip: Keep storyboards simple in the beginning. Start with basic wireframes and user flows. Layer in additional fidelity over time without overcomplicating.

Be aware of these pitfalls and course correct early if needed. Solid storyboarding practice is crucial for web design success.

Editor Note: Prevent downstream problems by focusing storyboards on conveying structure, flows, and interactions clearly and simply.

Storyboard Review Checklist

Use this comprehensive checklist when developing or reviewing website storyboards:

User Experience

•  Site map indicates all planned pages and structure
•  User flows highlight critical journeys
•  Interaction models defined for dynamic elements
•  Intuitive navigation between pages

Layout and Content

•  Wireframes define page layouts
•  Page objectives called out
•  Content plans detailed
•  Appropriate level of detail for project complexity

Visuals and Styling

•  Basic styles, fonts, and color palette indicated
•  Visual direction aligns to brand

Delivery and Process

•  Simple and easy for all stakeholders to understand
•  Planned stakeholder reviews and feedback cycles
•  Storyboards treated as living documents open to refinement

Sample Storyboard Checklist

Use this checklist when reviewing website storyboards:

✅ Site map indicates all planned pages

✅ User flows depict critical journeys

✅ Wireframes show layouts and element positioning

✅ Page objectives and content plans detailed

✅ Interaction models defined for key elements

✅ Style directions indicated without excess mockups

✅ Appropriate level of detail for project complexity

✅ Simple and easy to understand by all stakeholders

Pro Tip: Print this checklist and use it to critique every storyboard. Identify gaps before they become issues later.

Here are some additional details to expand the website storyboarding guide:

Detailed Storyboard Walkthrough

Let’s walk through a detailed example to illustrate how to create an effective website storyboard:

Define Goals and Target Audience

First, clearly define the goals for the site and intended target audience. For example:

• Goals: Generate leads for a consulting service, establish thought leadership
• Audience: Mid-size business leaders looking for help with digital transformation

Map Out All Planned Pages

Next, map out all the pages that will be needed to support those goals and audience:

• Homepage
• Services overview
• Detailed service description pages
• About us
• Team bios
• Case studies
• Blog
• Contact
• Pricing

Organize these into a sitemap showing structure and hierarchy.

Wireframe Key Pages

Now wireframe or sketch the most important pages like the homepage, services pages, and contact page.

Show where key elements will go e.g. main menu, calls-to-action, images, etc. Add notes to provide more context.

Define Page Content

For each wireframe, define the types of content that will populate the main sections, e.g.:

• Top banner – Hero image + headline + subhead
• Main content – Overview text + icons with linked service details
• Sidebar – Contact form, testimonials, bio links

Capture notes without writing full content yet.

Map Critical User Flows

Use arrows and diagrams to indicate primary journeys users will take, such as:

• Homepage -> Service detail page -> Contact
• Services overview -> Individual service page
• Blog -> Individual blog posts

Focus on the most important paths only.

Specify Key Interactions

Note how users will engage with dynamic elements like:

• Contact form – Required fields, validation, submit
• Blog page – Scrolling paginated posts, filtering
• Service pages – Accordion FAQs, video popup

This brings interactive features to life within the static storyboard.

Set Visual Direction

Lastly indicate the basic styles, colors, typography, and aesthetic without detailed mockups yet:

• Color palette – Blue color theme
• Typography – Professional, friendly, readable fonts
• Photos – Real business contexts, professional imagery

This establishes the look and feel while maintaining the focus on structure, content, and functionality.

Storyboard Collaboration Tips

Effective storyboarding requires active collaboration between designers and clients. Here are tips:

• Set up kickoff workshop to align on goals first
• Sketch concepts together on whiteboards if possible
• Share often and welcome candid feedback
• Prioritize regular stakeholder reviews and input
• Treat storyboards as living documents open to changes
• Leverage tools like Figma and Miro for remote collaboration
• Compromise on some elements but stick to critical UX needs

Work together towards the best solution. The more eyes and perspective, the better!

From Website Storyboards to Beautiful Designs

Once you have an approved storyboard, the visual design process can begin. Here are quick phases:

Information Architecture

Expand the sitemap to include all planned pages based on the storyboard structure. Organize content and define site navigation.

Style Guide Creation

Build out the brand style guide including typography, color palette, iconography, imagery style, etc. based on directions in the storyboard.

Page Layout Designs

Follow the wireframes to design page layouts. Maintain consistency with repeating elements like navigation and footers.

Visual and Copy Details

Add complete visuals, copy, and media content to pages based on content plans from the storyboard.

Testing and Refinement

Conduct usability testing based on user flows. Iterate designs based on findings and feedback.

Development Integration

Hand off final designs to developers for production coding and CMS integration.

Storyboarding for Agile Web Projects

Storyboarding brings similar benefits to agile software development workflows. Here are tips:

• Create storyboards for each sprint milestone vs entire site upfront
• Work collaboratively with product owners using whiteboarding workshops
• Focus storyboards on features/functionality targeted for that sprint
• Treat storyboards as disposable artifacts that evolve each sprint
• Incrementally increase fidelity and details sprint-over-sprint
• Validate with user tests at the end of each sprint

The key is creating “just enough” storyboards for the immediate sprint while retaining flexibility to adapt to learnings.

When to Bring in a UX Specialist

For complex projects, consider bringing in a UX specialist to lead the storyboarding process. Key scenarios where their skills add value:

• Large sites with intricate or multi-variant user flows
• Heavy emphasis on conversions like sales or signups
• Advanced interactivity like machine learning and personalization
• Apps and programs with extensive workflows
• Data visualizations and analytics dashboards
• Enterprise software with complex requirements

UX experts bring experience storyboarding complex use cases that require more specialized skill.

Storyboards for Landing Pages

Even standalone landing pages benefit greatly from storyboards during the planning process.

For landing pages, focus the storyboard on:

• Succinctly capturing the one key goal
• Mapping any steps in the conversion funnel
• Wireframing the layout and content flow
• Defining visuals that will attract attention
• Designing clear calls-to-action
• Depicting how users will engage with forms or interactive elements

Investing in storyboards pays off through increased conversions from highly optimized landing pages.

Alternatives to Traditional Storyboards

While storyboards are highly recommended for web design, there are other planning approaches including:

Sitemaps

Visually outline all pages and how they interconnect without details on layout or content. Helpful for simplifying IA.

Wireflows

Combination of sitemaps and wireframes showing page relationships and structure without visuals.

UX Flow Diagrams

Focus purely on depicting user workflows and journeys through a product or website.

Mockups

Fully designed visual page samples. Overly detailed for early planning stages.

Prototypes

Interactive representations of a digital product created with tools like Figma and InVision.

These can complement storyboards but lack the complete picture. Evaluate based on project and team needs.

Storyboarding Tips for Web Designers

For designers responsible for creating site storyboards, remember:

• Set expectations upfront on purpose and level of fidelity
• Start broad and simple – refine details gradually
• Facilitate collaborative workshops with clients early
• Ask probing questions to uncover hidden requirements
• Avoid rabbit holes perfecting irrelevant details too soon
• Maintain flexibility and willingness to iterate
• Test storyboards with sample users and make improvements
• Set clients up for success by staying focused on the user

Solid storyboarding skills make designers truly effective partners.

Summary and Key Takeaways

Let’s recap what we covered in this comprehensive website storyboarding guide:

• What storyboards are – Visual plans for website structure and UX
• When you need them – On all web projects before design starts
• Key elements – Sitemaps, wireframes, flows, interactions, styles
• Tools and templates – Paper sketches to digital tools to accelerate creation
• Best practices – Simplicity, stakeholder collaboration, iterative refinement
• Common mistakes – Skipping, lack of detail, overcomplicated, siloed
• Working with storyboards – Living documents refined as insights emerge
• Building from storyboards – Blueprint through design and development
• Alternatives – Sitemaps, wireflows, prototypes, but less comprehensive

Investing in solid storyboards lays the foundation for web design success by facilitating alignment, planning, and user-centric designs.

You’re now equipped with best practices and knowledge to create simple yet powerful storyboards that support building amazing websites optimized for your users!

Conclusion

We’ve now covered everything you need to know about leveraging storyboards for web design success.

By taking the time upfront to create simple but thoughtful storyboards focused on site goals, user needs, and basic structure and flows, you set your web projects up for smooth sailing through design and development.

Remember to start collaborating on storyboards early, seek frequent feedback from stakeholders, maintain flexibility as ideas evolve, and focus on conveying the essence without getting distracted by details and aesthetics too soon.

Equipped with these tips and best practices, you can confidently storyboard your next website project like a pro! 💡

Website Storyboarding FAQs

What’s the difference between a storyboard and a wireframe?

Wireframes focus specifically on the page layouts and positioning of elements on each screen. Storyboards incorporate wireframes but also convey flows between screens, content plans, interactions, basic styles, and the overall user journey.

When should I create storyboards in the web design process?

Ideally in the discovery/planning phases before any visual design work starts. This provides time to gain proper alignment amongst stakeholders on goals and desired outcomes before creative begins.

What fidelity should my storyboards be?

Start low fidelity (hand sketches and simple layouts) and only add critical details. Avoid distracting mockups and visuals. Focus on conveying structure, purpose, flows and basic interactions.

Who needs to provide input on storyboards?

Website owners/leaders plus other teams like marketing. Essentially anyone with a stake in the outcome. Feedback from diverse perspectives results in better design.

How much time should be spent creating a storyboard?

Depends on the project complexity but typical ranges are 2-3 days for simpler sites and 1-2 weeks for complex web applications. More time upfront pays off exponentially.

Can I skip storyboarding and start coding my site right away?

Not recommended! Without the structure and UX considerations of a storyboard, the final website will likely fall short of user expectations.

Once I create my website storyboard, is it locked in place?

No, treat storyboards as living documents that evolve as insights emerge. Maintain flexibility vs getting permanently fixated on initial ideas.

What tools do professional web designers use for storyboarding?

A mix of paper sketching plus digital tools like Figma, Miro, InVision depending on designer preferences. Simple whiteboard drawings are extremely effective.

How can I practice and improve my storyboarding skills?

Storyboard websites you visit to understand their structure. Re-storyboard sites you’ve worked on to identify gaps. Sketch concepts frequently to build visual communication skills.

What makes an effective website storyboard?

Clarity, simplicity, focus on site goals and user needs, quick ideation through rough sketches, ongoing refinement based on feedback, maintaining flexibility.

How much detail should I include in my website storyboards?

Just enough to convey the essence and align everyone on structure and flow. Avoid intricate details that distract from the core focus of planning optimal user experience.

Can I storyboard responsive layouts for mobile and desktop?

Absolutely. Use separate frames to show responsive behavior across device sizes. Or create interactive prototypes with taps and swipes.

Who creates the website storyboard – clients or designers?

Collaboration between both is ideal. Clients communicate goals and requirements. Designers turn those into simple storyboard concepts and evolve the details together.

Let us know if you have any other website storyboarding questions!

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