Prototyping tools that ship

Rung one. Boxes and arrows, testing flow and structure before anyone gets attached to a visual direction. Skipping this step is why so many prototypes get feedback on the wrong thing.

Rung two. Figma Make gets you to something clickable fast, and because it's the same file, your library and variables come along. Start from an existing frame rather than a blank prompt — the results are dramatically better.

Rung three. A working prototype that can also become the real implementation. That dual use is the whole argument for it over a throwaway demo tool.

Rung four. For interaction logic Figma can't express — sensors, conditional state, device-to-device flows. Still unmatched when the interaction itself is the design.

The one that removed a handoff entirely: the file the designer makes is the file that runs in production. State machines, real runtimes, tiny payloads.

The fastest route to a real, published marketing site. A founder can ship something credible in an afternoon and a designer can then make it good.

Free, precise, and still the best tool for getting timing and easing exactly right. Steeper learning curve than everything else here, and worth it if motion detail is your job.

When the prototype needs real data and a URL you can send someone. Put a visible banner on it — these are good enough now that a prototype gets mistaken for a product.

For the 3D end of prototyping — real-time scenes you can actually embed rather than render out as video.