Top Axure Libraries & Widget Resources for Wireframing

Posted on July 19th, 2013 by Quertime Writer in Web Design

Axure is without a doubt one of the most popular tools today for wireframing and prototyping both websites and desktop software. When using Axure, users will make use of reusable elements called “widgets” – and the application itself comes with a basic set of these widget libraries pre-installed.

Not all users realize this at first, but there several quality resources at your disposal to help improve your wireframing efficiency and help improve the quality of your wireframes from the initial concept. These resources provide community and user submitted widget libraries (most available for free) which can extend your wireframing skills and really impress your clients.

These widget libraries for Axure include extra icons and UI elements for different operating systems, applications as well as mobile devices like iPhone, iPad and Android – and the need to wireframe for these items is becoming more and more apparent every day.

Using these resources will help you, whether you are already competent and efficient at creating wireframes, or maybe a less experienced prototyper who could do with some help with elements and icons.

Total Wireframe

Although this website only contains a few free libraries (the rest need to be purchased), the quality of the widgets is highly impressive and hence the reason this site is featured in this article.

Regis Freyd clearly puts his heart and soul into creating widgets for Axure and he has libraries available containing widgets ranging from checkout elements and maps through to email templates and even the fully featured “Website Builder Toolkit” which contains a whopping 347 widgets!

Do yourself a favor and visit this site, and at the very least download his free libraries for an idea of the quality available.

Axutopia

Axutopia claims to be “The largest collection of Axure UI widgets on the planet” – and they might just be right. Upon browsing down the widget library page, you can see they offer libraries for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, and more.

The quality of their widgets looks great, and if you have the money available, buying their entire package would set you up for any kind of wireframing you could imagine doing in the near future!

Most of the widgets included in these libraries are very hi-fi however, which is an important fact to consider if you are at the requirements gathering stage of the project, and trying to flesh out functionalities rather than design. Users have the tendency to focus on graphical elements (even in wireframes), which can come back to haunt the project when it comes to design time!

AxureLand

Axureland is more than just a widget library site, and is geared towards becoming a hub for the Axure prototyping community. They are trying to promote a place where users can share widget libraries, design patterns, user submitted blogs and more.

Axureland has recently launched a new prototyping gallery, where users are showing off their creations – and currently on the first page such projects appear like scrolling marquis, animated movie credits, a high fidelity online banking project and even games!

This site is recommended to people who are intermediate at Axure and are ready to take the next step in their wireframing careers, and experiment with some new ideas.

Official Axure Site

Last but not least, we have the official axure site. Community submitted widget libraries as well as official releases can be found here, along with instructions on how to create, share and load custom widget libraries.

I would encourage users to thoroughly check out the official site, as it is a goldmine of information and inspiration for using Axure. It also features “Axshare” which is a cloud based hosting service for aXure files, where you can host up to 10 prototypes and facilitate discussion for free!

So that about sums it up – the sites listed above are fantastic resources to help expand your wireframing, improve fidelity of prototypes and really impress your clients at your next meeting.

So what are you waiting for? Get exploring!

Author: Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor is a full time employee with web development company – Leading Edge Web – as a digital producer and UX specialist. Working closely with global brands and leading Australian businesses, he helps define the optimum digital solution for their online presence. Mark also liaises with internal developers and creative teams in managing project scope.