Megan 2018-May-07 Web Design

The variety of devices to surf the internet is growing progressively. And thus there is a need to create solutions which can meet the requirements of all diversity of browsers and screen sizes. A website should look great on any device running any browser, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Safari and so on.

In this blog, we delve deeper into the definition of responsive and adaptive mobile web design, what their differences are and how to choose which one to follow. Despite both responsive and adaptive design strive to accomplish the same task; there are different methods within these approaches.

The idea of responsive web design is that you have one website for all devices and browsers where the content is like water and shapes perfectly according to the browser’s screen size. It is important for websites to have the following components: Flexible layout, Flexible media and Media queries.

All in all, mobile responsive design doesn’t really care about devices. Its main aim is to make a website which automatically conforms to changing browsers’ sizes and has one set of code.

Another approach to creating good looking web products which adjust their design to different screen sizes and browsers is to follow adaptive design. The main philosophy of adaptive design is creating the best user experience, where a website is accessible without any technical restriction.

This approach is based on operations with different layouts and certain pre-specified devices and screen resolutions. The adaptive design uses progressive enhancement and graceful degradation strategies of development within its approach.

When choosing which approach is suitable for your site, remember that none of them is better or worse than the other. Just take into action the following things before making the final decision.

Responsive websites are a good idea if:

• You are limited in time and financial resources
• You have a simple clean design and functionality without the necessity to adopt it to various needs
• You aim to increase the speed and ease of maintenance and the update process of your website            

Adaptive websites will be a great choice if:

• You are absolutely sure that you need an audience with wide spectrum of devices
• You have both, time and money to create and maintain several variants of your product.

 Our experts at Media NX develop websites that not only meets your requirements but also design it according to your goals. Contact us now!