Where you can feel how the store works before code begins
This is the third step of how we run a Magento project. We work out who is actually buying, then lay the store out page by page as wireframes and a clickable prototype. By the end you can click through it and get a real sense of how it will work, before anyone writes a line of code.
The layout, settled before the visuals
This is the phase where the store stops being a document and starts being something you can navigate. We map out the pages and how someone moves through them, focused on what each page does rather than how it looks. That comes later, in UI design.
Keeping function and visuals separate is deliberate. It means the decisions about how a page works get made on their own merit, instead of getting tangled up in a debate about colours. When the layout is right, the design has something solid to sit on.
From who buys to a prototype you can click
Usually two to three weeks, led by a UX lead. The steps run in order, because each one builds on the last.
Who actually buys
We pull three to five customer types out of your CRM data, sales calls and support tickets. These are drawn from real people, not invented personas, and every layout decision after this points back to them.
Page-by-page wireframes
Plain layouts for the home page, category, product, cart, checkout and account. No styling yet, just what goes where and where the visitor goes next.
The look, in outline
A style direction and a starter set of components and interaction patterns, signed off before the detailed visual design starts so we are not redoing it later.
A prototype you can use
A clickable Figma prototype that walks each customer type through their main journey end to end. You and your stakeholders can test it before development begins.
What you sign off at the end of Phase 3
You get the customer profiles with their goals and the things that frustrate them, the full set of page wireframes covering home, category, product, cart, checkout and account, a documented direction for the look and behaviour, and a shareable Figma prototype your team can walk through.
Everything is in Figma and it is yours. If a different designer or agency picks it up later, they can.
Common questions about this step
Are wireframes and UI design the same thing?
No. Wireframes are about what each page does, what content lives there and where the user goes next. UI design is the visual layer that comes after. We keep them apart so the functional decisions do not get derailed by colour debates.
What do you design in?
Figma. Everything is shared as Figma files you own, so a future agency or your own designer can pick them up.
How many rounds of revisions?
Two structured rounds at the wireframe stage and two at the direction stage. We rarely go past that when the customer profiles were nailed down first.
Can stakeholders test before code starts?
Yes, that is what the clickable prototype is for. We often run a handful of sessions with real customers before the design is locked.
Want to see the store before it is built
Tell us what you are planning and we will set up a session. You will get a feel for how the store will work before development starts.