Designing a website that looks amazing, and meets all the usability criteria, across all devices is the key aim for all quality web design teams. And it should be your key aim too, as a small or local business owner. Mobile search has been outperforming desktop search for more than two whole years now. And it is a trend that doesn’t seem set to go anywhere soon. So until some tech giants come up with a device so awesome we can all ditch our laptops and desktops, its essential that all your company content online, is designed with both mobile and desktop searchers in mind. And this means you can choose between responsive, or adaptive web design. But what is the difference between these two? And what type of design does your business website need? Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design experts. And we produce stunning websites, and web marketing packages, for a range of companies across the region. As a result, we have produced this guide to responsive web design or adaptive design.
What is responsive web design?
So before we compare the two, lets take a look at what each design trend is all about.
Responsive web design is all about flexibility and fluidity. A website that uses responsive design will alter the appearance of the web page, depending on the device used to access the website. So a mobile searcher will see an altered version of the desktop website, that has been dynamically rearranged due to the smaller width of the device.
In practice, this often means that elements will become stacked, one on top of the other, instead of being displayed in a horizontal layout. And this suits the simple scrolling action associated with mobile devices.
What is adaptive design?
So, what is adaptive design? Well, adaptive design is also about adjusting the way that the website looks depending on the screen size being used to view the website. And again, width is the key measurement that controls what is shown. However, in adaptive design, the web designer will create multiple versions of the same website, designed for different screen sizes. They then use an anchor point to determine which version of the website to show, depending on the width of the browser. This can be an effective way to determine which layout should be used for any browser size. However, it does depend on the web designer choosing the best panel widths for the majority of devices and desktops. And any that are missed out will display incorrectly. And while new devices are constantly being created, this method can become overwhelming.
Responsive web design or adaptive design
So which type of design would best suit your company or business website? Well, in terms of user experience, there will always be one winner. Responsive design is guaranteed to best serve any user, on any device. While adaptive design can occasionally miss out some devices, and prevent users from accessing the information they need.
Why not get in touch with the experts here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, for your professional, and responsive, web design?