What is a wireframe used for in the context of website development?

A wireframe serves as a visual blueprint for a website, illustrating the layout and functional elements before any design or development takes place. It focuses on the structure of the site, showing how different components such as menus, buttons, and content areas will be organized and interact with each other. This allows developers, stakeholders, and designers to discuss the overall functionality and flow of the site, making it easier to identify potential issues and make adjustments early in the planning stage.

The other options relate to different aspects of website development or tasks that do not align with the primary function of a wireframe. For instance, creating marketing content involves developing text and media aimed at promoting the website, which is not part of wireframing. Running user tests typically requires a functional website or at least a prototype rather than a wireframe. Encrypting sensitive information pertains to data security practices, which is unrelated to the visual representation of a website's layout and functionality. Therefore, the primary and accurate role of a wireframe is indeed to display the functional elements of a website for planning purposes.