Responsive vs. Adaptive Design
Nisha Gopinath Menon
May 31, 2018
Both responsive and adaptive sites adjust differently to the browser environment they are being viewed on. Responsive design strives to be device agnostic in the sense that it seeks to create an optimized experience for any screen. It pushes us to develop sites that shift context depending on how the site will be consumed. Meaning, our containers have to be fluid, using percentages as unit measures, the assets we serve have to be flexible, the right devices have to be served the right assets at the right time, and our media queries have to be defined at places where the content breaks, and not the width of a particular screen size. Contrast that to an adaptive style, which is neither flexible nor fluid, but watches for specified points at which to adapt. Here, adaptive design relies on predefined screen sizes. Both these design choices significantly impact the UX in their own way.
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