10 Most Useful Axure Widgets and Libraries

As website & application prototyping becomes a more necessary & pivotal process in our design careers, we need to be able to impress our clients quicker and more effectively than ever before with our interactive prototypes. We can’t always start from scratch, so it helps to have a readily available collection of handy reusable Axure widgets & libraries to speed up our prototyping and allow us to make better use of our UX time.

Over the last 3 years of using Axure, I tend to come back to the same plugins and libraries that allow me to spend less time on the standard UI/UX design patterns and more time on the custom functionality & features specific to the site in question. I´ve compiled a list of my top 10 most useful libraries & widgets. Please feel free to add to this list by comment below if you feel there are any other worthy additions.

Some of these libraries are free, however the best libraries and templates do tend to have a cost attached, but I’ve kept a balance in the list, of free and paid for libraries, so there’s something for everyone, from complete Axure novice to seasoned user.

WidgetLib

A collection of over 70 free UI components that are sure to come in handy the next time you’re prototyping. This library features some great functionality as well as looks. Among the library there are examples of functioning alert boxes, animated progress bars and some crisp and clean nav and menu elements. You’ll revisit this free library countless times in the future.

Axure design pattern library v2.0

An oldie, but definitely a goodie. One of the very first Axure libraries I downloaded, and I still use some of the elements to this day. Some of the more interesting features are a funcitoning blog commenting widget, a date picker and a draggable map. These are the kind of widgets that I come back to again and again.

Axure widgets library & templates bundle

This one costs $ 99, which on the surface seems a touch pricey, but these are a real time saver. The download consists of 2005 widgets and 9 templates. If you want fantastic, clean and consistent wireframes you won’t go far wrong with this download. This is not only a great way to prototype a site within minutes/hours, but also to learn how to make your own widgets based on best practice.

Axure Icons Library

An sizeable and completely FREE icon library for Axure consisting of 540 original icons. This proudly sits in my Axure custom libraries folder, where it’s been used on countless occasions. The icons come in 3 differnet resolutions of 16×16, 32×32 and 64×64 pixels.

AXLIB

Not exactly new, but great nonetheless. A useful library of common interactive elements including calenders, booking forms, navigation and search functionality. These are the sort of useful widgets which cut your workload in half and leave you more time for the creative elements.

Axure Library

A Great little library of nicely created UI components. Great for quick prototyping of small to medium sized websites. There’s a small cost attached, of $ 11, but if you´re on a tight budget and even tighter time scale, this might just be the only purchase you need to get the job done to a high standard and on time. This one’s only for Axure 7 unfortunately, so if you haven’t upgraded, now might be the time to do so!

Fluid Widgets & Breakpoint Finder

A simple but effective template to establish the breakpoints in your responsive design. Handy if your in need of a quick working explanation for clients who don’t quite understand the techinical requirements or differences in a reponsive website design. The latest version of Axure (7) does have an adaptive views feature, but I find it a little to fiddly, so prefer the readymade fluid layouts widget.

Axure widget library from blankdots

A neat collection of 62 widgets, mostly flat, some with interactivity. The collection is based on the semantic-ui.com framework and comes in a free to use version which is free for personal use and a paid for version which comes with free updates and commercial usage.

iPhone-axure-widget-library

With more of our time being spent on application prototyping, every Axure user needs a solid library of widgets (or several) for mobile prototyping. This library comes with pretty much everything you need to create a working mobile application demonstration within a few hours, so definitely justifies the $19.99 price.

Axure library from Protofive

Another great download from Protofive.com, and this ones a freebie! The library consists of 50 dynamic widgets to get you up and running in your prototyping. A great starter pack as well as a worthy addition for any seasoned Axure user. Each element included has been nicely crafted and works well. Oh, and did I mention this ones free?

Complete prototyping solutions

There are numerous websites featuring a plethora of complete website design patterns and user journeys as Axure wireframes. Some of these are incredibly in depth, but also expensive. I´ve only included libraries and widgets I´ve personally used, so I haven´t featured some of the well known libraries such as the Website builder library on www.totalwireframe.com, which is expensive at $149, but looks very in depth. If you have a copy or have anything else to say about any of the featured widgets and libraries in this list, please feel free to leave a comment.