Clickable Prototypes You Can Actually Hand Someone
Linked screens built to full visual fidelity that open on a phone or laptop and respond to taps and clicks the way the finished product would, before a line of code exists. GullySystem builds these for approval, testing and pitching.
What Makes a Prototype Actually Clickable
A prototype is not a set of pictures shown in sequence by a presenter. It's a private link someone opens themselves, on their own device, and moves through by tapping the same things they would tap in the real product.
- Built after wireframes and visual design are approved, as the final proof before development
- The main paths are fully linked and navigable; secondary paths are scoped deliberately, not left half-built
- Opens directly on a phone or laptop through a shared link, without an install or an account
- Used for internal approval, usability testing, investor and pilot demonstrations, and as a developer reference
What a Prototype Replaces
Without one, these are the things that usually stand in for it, none of them well.
A Deck of Screens Pretending to Be a Product
Static images pasted into slides, shown in the order the presenter chooses. Nobody in the room gets to try it themselves, so nobody actually tests it.
Sign-Off Given on a Document, Not the Thing Itself
Approval happens on a written specification, and the first time anyone taps through the real flow is after it's built — when changing course means rewriting code instead of redrawing a screen.
Investors Asked to Imagine the Product
An idea explained verbally in a pitch is judged on the pitch, not the product, and a genuinely good idea can lose the room simply because nobody could see it working.
Feedback That's an Opinion Instead of a Recorded Moment
Without something to click, reviewers say 'I don't like this screen' rather than pointing at the exact step where they hesitated or got stuck — the difference between a vague complaint and a fixable finding.
What Goes Into a Prototype Build
The parts that make a prototype convincing rather than merely clickable.
Realistic Sample Data
Names, amounts and lists that resemble your real records rather than generic filler, so reviewers judge the actual screen instead of being distracted by obviously fake content.
Transitions and States
The small moments — a menu opening, a form submitting, a confirmation appearing — built in, because their absence is often what makes a prototype feel unconvincing.
Scoped Dead Ends
Not every path needs to be clickable. We agree in advance which routes are fully built and which stop deliberately, so nobody discovers a dead end by accident during a demo.
Device-Matched Builds
A prototype meant to be shown on a phone is built and tested on a phone, not assumed to translate automatically from a desktop layout.
A Link That Just Works
A private, shareable link that opens without a login or an install, so anyone you send it to — a colleague, an investor, a pilot customer — can try it immediately.
What a Prototype Gets Used For
The same prototype often does more than one job.
- Internal approval meetings, where sign-off happens on something used rather than described
- Usability testing sessions, where real people attempt real tasks on it
- A concrete reference for a development quote, priced against a defined set of screens rather than a guess
- Investor and pilot-customer demonstrations, where the idea is shown rather than pitched
- Aligning a distributed team on exactly what's being built, without everyone picturing something different
What Shapes a Prototype Build
Two prototypes with the same screen count can be very different amounts of work.
- How many distinct paths need to be fully clickable versus how many can stay a deliberate dead end
- Whether it needs to hold up convincingly on the actual devices it will be shown on
- How close to production visuals the prototype has to look
- How closely the sample data needs to resemble your real records
- Whether the prototype has to survive several separate rounds of demos, or is built for one specific meeting
Where a Prototype Takes You Next
A prototype is usually the last step before development starts, or the input to a round of usability testing.
Frequently asked questions
Does a clickable prototype have real data or calculations behind it?
No. It uses realistic sample data and simulates the paths you'll click through, but there's no live database and no working calculation underneath it — it's a prototype, not a working application. That's exactly what keeps it fast and cheap to change before anything is built.
Can a prototype be used to raise investment or pitch a pilot customer?
Yes, and it's one of the more common reasons people commission one. Being able to hand someone a link they can tap through themselves, instead of describing the idea, changes the conversation in a pitch meeting or a first customer call.
Do all the screens need to be clickable, or just the main path?
That's agreed before we start. Many prototypes fully link the main path and leave secondary routes as intentional dead ends, which keeps the build fast without weakening the demonstration. We tell you exactly what's live and what isn't so nobody is caught out mid-demo.
What drives the cost of building a prototype?
The number of screens that need to be fully clickable, how much visual polish is required, and how closely the sample data has to resemble your real records. A prototype for one internal decision is a smaller build than one meant to survive investor scrutiny.
Can we test the prototype with our own staff before approving it?
Yes, and it's a good use of it. A prototype is the cheapest form the product will ever take to put in front of real users, and problems found here are fixed by redrawing a screen rather than rewriting code.
Does the prototype need an internet connection or an app install to open?
No. It's shared as a private link that opens in a browser on a phone or laptop, without anything to install. It does need a connection to open the link itself, but nothing further after that.
What do you need to give us before we start prototyping?
Approved wireframes and visual designs to build from, examples of your real data so sample content looks credible, and clarity on which meeting or session the prototype needs to be ready for, since that decides which paths need to be fully built.
Tell us what you need.
Send a short brief and one of our engineers will come back to you — usually the same day.
- No obligation
- We reply the same working day
- Your details stay private