On Adaptive vs. Responsive Web Design - The Easy Designs Blog. In the past few months, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time discussing the differences between the “adaptive” and “responsive” web design philosophies.
Don’t get me wrong, I love having these discussions, but I felt the need to set the record straight: these two philosophies are not at odds, despite numerous blog posts and tweets to the contrary. “Responsive web design,” as coined by Ethan Marcotte, means “fluid grids, fluid images/media & media queries.” “Adaptive web design,” as I use it, is about creating interfaces that adapt to the user’s capabilities (in terms of both form and function). To me, “adaptive web design” is just another term for “progressive enhancement” of which responsive web design can (an often should) be an integral part, but is a more holistic approach to web design in that it also takes into account varying levels of markup, CSS, JavaScript and assistive technology support. Responsive Web Design. The English architect Christopher Wren once quipped that his chosen field “aims for Eternity,” and there’s something appealing about that formula: Unlike the web, which often feels like aiming for next week, architecture is a discipline very much defined by its permanence.
Article Continues Below A building’s foundation defines its footprint, which defines its frame, which shapes the facade. Each phase of the architectural process is more immutable, more unchanging than the last. Creative decisions quite literally shape a physical space, defining the way in which people move through its confines for decades or even centuries. Working on the web, however, is a wholly different matter. But the landscape is shifting, perhaps more quickly than we might like.
In recent years, I’ve been meeting with more companies that request “an iPhone website” as part of their project. A flexible foundation#section1 Let’s consider an example design. Becoming responsive#section2 responsive architecture . Difference Between Fixed, Fluid, Adaptive, and Responsive Web Design. As a web designer, it’s important to embrace that your website is going to look different in various browsers and on different devices. Focus on making your website change layout to match the device that your visitors are viewing it on.
Here’s the difference between different types of web design and layouts: Fixed websites have a set width, and resizing the browser or viewing it on different devices won’t affect on the way the website looks. This can require horizontal scrolling and a site that doesn’t look good on tablets or smartphones. Fluid websites are built using percentages for widths. Adaptive websites introduce media queries to target specific device sizes, like smaller monitors, tablets, and mobile. Responsive websites are built on a fluid grid and use media queries to control the design and its content as it scales down or up with the browser or device. Designing with Progressive Enhancement: Building the web that works for everyone. By Filament Group: Todd Parker, Patty Toland, Scott Jehl, Maggie Costello Wachs.
Adaptive vs. Responsive, what’s the difference? Posted on 23 February 2012 There seems to be some confusion about these terms and what they mean, so here’s my thoughts on the subject and few links to back them up.
I’m usually not very keen when it comes to debating over what something is called, but this time I wanted to make it clear, as I hear this question quite often. “Responsive design” is a subset of a larger concept which is called “Adaptive design”. When talking about responsive we refer to the layout only (Ethan Marcotte, fluid grids, flexible images & media queries). “Adaptive design” on the other hand includes much more than just fluid layout. Finally, “Adaptive layout” means a layout done by combining multiple fixed widths. Links/sources: Update v1. . ← Blog.