Interactive prototypes: more than a preview
Clicking a design tells you things a screenshot cannot. Does the menu lead where you expect? Does the form ask for too much? An interactive prototype lets you work through those moments before they become production code.
Clear navigation
Useful content
Focused call to action
Error and success states
Start with the question, not the tool
Decide what you need to learn. If the question is whether visitors understand the navigation, a simple wireframe may be enough. If the question concerns visual hierarchy, mobile composition, or the confidence needed to submit an enquiry, more realistic content and styling may help.
High fidelity is not automatically better. A polished prototype can distract reviewers from an unresolved structure. Build enough detail to investigate the decision, and avoid spending time simulating features that have no bearing on it.
Define what the prototype actually does
List the journeys and states included in the review: opening the menu, choosing a service, completing a form, seeing an error, and reaching a confirmation. Important transitions deserve attention; a collection of linked homepages is not a complete journey.
Explain the boundaries. Sample account data, payment screens, and dashboard charts may be illustrative. A prototype does not prove that authentication, payments, email delivery, or data storage work. Those require separate implementation and testing.
Ask for feedback that leads to a decision
Give reviewers a task and ask them to use the prototype. Instead of collecting broad comments such as ‘make it more modern’, identify the point where the experience failed to meet an expectation. Which label was unclear? Which information was missing? What did the person expect after clicking?
Group observations by the underlying problem rather than by the person who reported them. Agree the priorities and record what will change, what needs more evidence, and what sits outside the current scope. Keep versions identifiable so feedback refers to the right design.
Carry the learning into development
The reviewed prototype should travel with its decisions: responsive behaviour, validation rules, content requirements, component states, and unresolved questions. The more important the interaction, the less safe it is to leave the developer to infer it from a screenshot.
Prototype approval means the agreed design direction is ready for the next step. It is not acceptance of production software. Keep that distinction clear in the brief, the portal milestones, and the final handoff.