Creating site maps and wireframes for web sites can be a tedious process. In the past I've experimented with using various programs (Photoshop, Illustrator, Vizio) to get through the stages of the design process, but always found them lacking in one way or another. When Omnigraffle was released several years ago I started experimenting with it instead. With each new release, additional features and functionality have been added.  However, the program never seems to get too bulky like its Adobe counterparts. Here are the top 5 things I love about it:

Laying out a site map can quickly turn into an exercise in anger management, as new pages are added, pages are removed, categories changed, and so on. The Omnigraffle layout engine allows you to automatically create a site map easily using a basic system of outlining. Adding an item to the outline instantly adds a new page, including any connections to higher level objects. Moving a page under another category automatically adjusts the hierarchy of pages and connections to reflect that change. No dragging & nudging required!

Often there are shared parts of a web design that remain consistent throughout all pages, such as a header and footer. Making an update to the same header in ten different mockups is no fun. Omnigraffle now features shared layers across canvases in a document, so that when I need to update a section that is shared I only need to do it in one place. Unlike Photoshop, shared layers don't have to be featured on every single canvas. Similarly, you can turn a group of objects into a Master and even change the position across canvases while the content remains the same. To create a shared layer, simply right click in the Canvas pane and select "New Shared Layer."