CSOs were formerly defined as credit repair companies, and are any establishment that provides payment in order to extend consumer credit. CSOs are regulated by the government to ensure that all stipulations are met and that consumers don’t pay outrageous fees for help with credit repair.
Credit Access Business (CAB)
The term credit access business is used in some states to refer to the new model of CSOs. Payday loan companies and car title loan companies are required to have a CAB license that is more specific and detailed regarding the laws of these loans. A credit service organization (CSO) was the former model and was an all-encompassing establishment that did little to regulate how loans are given and paid back.
The CAB license was created by lawmakers in an attempt to define strict parameters and regulations for the borrowing industry.
There are more wireframing tools to choose from than ever. We find you the pick of the bunch.
Wireframing tools make the process of creating an app or website fundamentally easier, by visually stripping the product down and allowing all involved to focus purely on functions and user interactivity.
Clients need to understand how your proposed app or website will work. But simply explaining to them verbally or textually leaves the vast majority of functions down to their imagination. Wireframing tools can be extremely helpful in squaring that circle.
Choose wisely
There are more wireframing tools on the market than ever, each offering varying levels of functionality. Some software can be used purely for simple wireframes, while others will allow you to create a working prototype.
Being creative should come first over any part of the process. So taking advantage of trial downloads or free software and finding the one that fits in with the way you work is the only way of finding out which one is right for you. We've selected 20 of the best wireframing tools to get you started. Enjoy!
Wireframing tool Balsamiq Mockups is a firm favourite among the web design community
Platform: Mac, Linux, Windows & web-based
Price: $79
Balsamiq Mockups includes several drag-and-drop elements, from buttons to lists, each styled as a hand-drawing. The basic premise behind this wireframing tool is to keep the mock-ups "intentionally rough and low fidelity", to encourage as much feedback as possible.
Axure lets you create interactive HTML mock-ups for both websites and apps
Platform: Mac & Windows
Price: $289 - $589
As well as creating mock-ups, Axure allows you to add functionality to your layout and create an interactive prototype. Features of this wireframing tool include sitemaps and various 'widgets' in the form of various UI elements. Interactive HTML mock-ups can be created for both websites and apps; you can even view your app design on your phone with a built-in share function.
Pidoco includes a handy library of drag-and-drop interface elements
Platform: Web-based
Price: $9-$59 per month
Pidoco is similar to Axure, in that it includes library of various drag-and-drop interface elements, as well as the ability to add multiple pages and layers. Your prototypes can be shared online with clients, and includes functions for collaborative feedback and discussion. Viewing your prototypes on your phone is as easy as downloading the Pidoco app.
Visio's interface will be familiar if you're used to using Microsoft Word or Excel
Platform: Windows
Price: $599.95-$999
Visio's real strength lies in technical diagrams rather than wireframing; however, for those already accustomed with other Microsoft apps such as Word or Excel, the interface will be very familiar. It is quite clunky, Visio does offer add-on tools such as Swipr, which allows you to create and export a usable HTML prototype.
By including animations, video and object states, it’s very easy to create a mock-up of a website or app in the form of an interactive PDF with InDesign - read this review of InDesign CS6 here. The software also includes the ability to create libraries of page elements, so you can create collections of various reusable interface graphics.
Flash-base wireframing tool iPlotz allows you to make clickable wireframes with drag-and-drop components. Its main addition includes the ability to add tasks and notes for project managers and coders.
Never thought of Photoshop as a wireframing tool? Think again!
Platform: Mac, Windows
Price: £660.51 or as part of Adobe Creative Cloud
Photoshop doesn’t offer libraries of interface elements, but for straight-forward, fast wireframing, it is a very easy choice for designers - read our review of Photoshop CS6 here. Even for those not familiar with Adobe products, sketching out quick ideas, grouping various elements and layers affords a very quick process.
Fireworks allows you to design wireframes and prototypes for web, as well as mobile and tablet apps. CSS including colours, fonts and corner radius can be extracted so styles implemented throughout the process can be duplicated in the final build. Various symbols and templates are also included for quick wireframing.
Protoshare is an online tool, with a focus on collaboration and sharing. It includes a library of drag-and-drop elements, a sitemap, and the ability to use custom css and insert your own elements. Due to the emphasis on online collaboration, unlike some other tools, it can't export as a PDF, however it is worth considering for its prototyping features.
Wireframing for an iPad app? Then use an iPad tool!
Platform: iPad
Price: 69p
If you're working purely for iPad design, sketching out ideas directly within the device itself is the perfect way to ensure you’re working to the right ratio and with well-sized active areas. Sketches and ideas can be easily saved out and sent to clients for approval.
Pencil is free, open source and comes with a variety of templates
Platform: Windows & Mac
Price: Free
Pencil is a free, open source wireframing tool available for both Windows and Mac. Features include multi-page documents, external object import, as well as aligning, z-ordering, scaling and rotation. Various templates are included as well as the ability to export to HTML, PNG, Openoffice.org document, Word document, and PDF.
OmniGraffle has made a seamless transition from Mac to iPad
Platform: Mac and iPad
Price: $49.99
OmniGraffle is one of those perennial Mac favourites that makes a seamless and obvious transition to the iPad. It’s effectively an ideas tool that enables you to quickly bash together website wireframes, diagrams, process charts or page layouts. You select a document type, and OmniGraffle makes context-sensitive joins between separate elements, automatically linking lines in diagrams and aligning shapes and elements in wireframes or page layouts.
Gliffy pretty much pitches itself as a cheaper online version of Viseo. It includes drag and drop components, online collaboration, image export and version tracking. There's no ability to create prototypes, but if you happen to be looking for a cheaper version of Vimeo, then this is it.
Mockflow allows you to create working prototypes, and like Protoshare has an emphasis on collaboration and sharing. It includes features such as a sitemap creator for pages and folders, version tracking, image and component collections, chat, and HTML5 export.
Framebox is a good free solution for building simple wireframes
Platform: Online
Price: Free
Framebox is a great, free online tool for very simple wireframing. It includes a few drag and drop elements and allows you to share the web page as a unique URL. You can also give your elements titles and descriptions to help explain their function.
iPhone Mockup is purely a wireframing tool for iPhone app UIs
Platform: Web-based
Price: Free
Like Framebox, this is another free online tool, albeit even simpler and aimed entirely at iPhone interfaces. There are two visual styles to choose from - 'pencil' and 'illustration' - the latter being the cleaner version or the two. Designs can be shared via a unique URL.
Flairbuilder lets you choose between ‘high-fidelity’ and ‘low-fidelity’ style graphics
Platform: Mac, Windows
Price: $99
Flairbuilder works on the Adobe Air platform and features multi-page projects, site map and comments. Like the rest, components are placed using a drag-and-drop interface and a clickable prototypes can be exported as HTML or shared online. You can also choose between 'high-fidelity' and 'low-fidelity' style graphics.
Justinmind offers a library of UI elements and custom styling for use in your wireframes
Platform: Web-based
Price: $19-$29 per month
Web-based Justinmind includes a library of UI elements, from buttons and form, to generics shapes and a range of widgets for iOS, Blackberry, SAP, and Android. Custom styling is included, so you can add rounded corners, cropped images or colour gradients, or import graphics by dragging them into the browser. Prototypes can be exported as HTML.
Flash-based wireframing tool HotGloo offers a rich level of features
Platform: Web-based (Flash)
Price: $14-$54 per month
HotGloo's prototyping alone offers a rich level of features, going far beyond simple clickable buttons, such as the ability to change displayed elements depending on whether or not a user is logged in. Prototypes can be exported as PDFs, however given the fact HotGloo is Flash-based, most of the more complex interactivity that makes it great, is lost in the process; equally, viewing on iOS devices isn't an option.
JustProto offers live collaboration and chat features
Platform: Web-based
Price: $13-$63 per month
JustProto features include live collaboration and chat, functional prototyping, drag-and-drop component library and URL sharing. It also allows you to make custom elements and add them to a user library.
And don't forget... pen and paper
There's nothing quicker than grabbing a pen and paper
Yes. An actual pen. And some real made-from-wood paper. Okay, so these don’t allow you to make a prototype, and there’s no built-in elements. But, if you feel more comfortable using a more traditional approach, why not get your ideas down on paper first and refine them in software later?
Do you know what separates me from other entrepreneurs? No, it’s not that I am smarter or work harder. A lot of entrepreneurs have those characteristics. It’s that I have a much bigger personal brand.
You don’t want to build your personal brand to feed your ego. You want to build it so you can get more opportunities. The bigger your brand, the easier it will be to make deals for your company and gain opportunities that you couldn’t have before.
Chapter 1: How to create your personal brand vision – just like how businesses create vision statements for their companies, you need to create one for your personal brand. This will help lay the ground work for the rest of the steps you need to take.
Chapter 2: How to define your target audience – building a personal brand is useless unless you target the right audience. We’ll teach you how to target the right group of people so you can eventually monetize your brand.
Chapter 5: How to get free press coverage – press is going to be one of the most influential channels in building your brand. The beautiful part about press is that it doesn’t have to be hard to get or cost money.
Chapter 6: How to connect with mentors – you can always learn more by getting help from others. Mentors can guide you, show you what worked for them, and even open doors.
Chapter 7: How to monitor your brand – it’s important to keep a pulse on your brand as some people may see it in a positive light, while others may see it in a negative light. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to monitor your brand.
Chapter 8: Be yourself – being yourself and being unique are necessary components of your success. This chapter will show you how to identify what’s unique about you and how to leverage it.
Personal branding is so important that everyone should spend time and effort building it. Whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee of a company, having a strong brand will open more doors for you and help you make more money.
Just look at Aaron. He spends a large portion of his time connecting with influencers like me in order to associate his brand with successful brands. He will go above and beyond to help people out, and this strategy has been working well for him.
His agency has been generating more leads because of it, and his revenue has been climbing at a fast pace.
Not only should you read this guide, but you should also take a page out of Aaron’s playbook by connecting with influencers and piggybacking on their brands.
I am a technologist, deep in thought and contemplating on various subjects specially Social Networking, VoIP, Web2.0 and other emerging / disrupting technologies and through my blog I would like to converse casually to make social connections.
