Responsive Design vs. Adaptive Design: What is the Difference?

Back in the day, website design in Newark, NJ, and other parts of the world was pretty simple. There wasn’t any need to worry so much about interactivity, speed, and ease of use. But today, many people access the internet through various devices, forcing all web designers to adapt. A website only fit for desktop use wouldn’t cut it anymore. With most internet traffic coming from mobile devices, web designers must conform to the new standards to accommodate the needs of the modern internet consumer.

This dilemma gave rise to responsive and adaptive web design. You may have heard of these two terminologies, but what are they? What are their differences? In this article from Web Design Pros NJ, we’ll find out.

What Is Responsive Design?

Responsive web design is a design and development approach that leans towards how a website should respond to the user’s behavior and environment. One of the main focuses of this approach is how responsive the website can be depending on the user’s screen size, platform, and orientation. This means the page elements of a website design in Newark, NJ, such as images, texts, and videos, must shift accordingly to optimize to fit the user’s browser, regardless of whether they’re accessing a website through a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.

There’s so much more than meets the eye regarding responsive web design. It isn’t just about adjusting screen resolutions and resizing images automatically. Responsive design is more about a new way of thinking about web design that benefits both users and designers.

What Is Adaptive Design?

Adaptive design involves creating multiple different website layouts created for the use of different devices. While it’s loading, the website will identify what screen size the visitors have and adapt to it, serving a layout specifically designed for that viewport. 

Some of the most common screen sizes involved in adaptive web design in Newark, NJ, caries from small to very large, particularly:

  • 320px
  • 480px
  • 760px
  • 960px
  • 1200px
  • 1600px

Some of the most significant advantages of using the adaptive design is control. UX designers tend to gain complete control of the web page’s appearance since each template and layout is carefully designed for every designated browser width. Such freedom is helpful for use cases such as advertising wherein images, and banners are placed where the web designers intended them to be.

Additionally, people who want to retrofit their existing websites for mobile optimization will also find this design approach useful.

What Is the Difference Between Responsive and Adaptive Design?

The responsive and adaptable design aims to increase accessibility and functionality and deliver a consistent user experience across devices. Each approach may be different, but its goals are the same. They’re both equally handy, but they still have differences that make one more desirable than the other, depending on the use case.

For starters, a responsive website design in Newark, NJ, will require less work. Designers must only create a single design, one responsive enough to shapeshift according to their users’ needs, whether they need to access the site’s information using their smartphones or laptops. Responsive design is also the best choice for websites designed and built from the ground up.

As for adaptive website design in Newark, NJ, they tend to be more labor-intensive, considering how UX designers must create different layouts for each device. The design team must also consult their website’s analytics to determine what devices most visitors use and adapt to it accordingly. It’s common for adaptive website designers to create six different versions of the original layout to serve the other dimensions. Despite the burden of its workload, adaptive design’s capability for page optimization is invaluable.

Responsive Design vs. Adaptive Design: Which is Better?

While a responsive website design works best for bigger websites designed from scratch, adaptive design typically provides the best user experience possible, albeit the tedious process the web designers must face. Web Design Pros NJ provides both responsive and adaptive design for their clients, and they understand the benefits and drawbacks of using both design approaches.

Web Design Pros NJ

21 Broome St #101, Newark, NJ 07103

Phone Number: +12015100890