Responsive Design Vs Mobile Sites Vs Apps: What’s the Difference?
It can sometimes be confusing to battle through the jargon when it comes to finding out the best way to engage with your users through the usability of your website. This article offers an essential breakdown of the different approaches.
Responsive Design
- automatically evaluates key information about the device that is being used
- presents an optimised view to the user, providing a great mobile experience
- pays particular attention to the browser window’s width, adapting both page layout and text flow accordingly
- uses the same URL for smartphones, tablets and desktop computers
Mobile Websites
- websites designed specifically for mobile devices
- companies with both desktop and mobile websites will detect the device and direct the user there automatically, or give the user the option
- unlike a desktop website, they can find your location and offer services based on this (e.g. ’your nearest store’)
- they push the relevant content without the user needing to install an app
Apps
- most content is available offline, so users can access it anywhere
- can do things that websites can’t do with ease (e.g. take photos)
- has access to core functions on a smartphone (e.g. address book, GPS), which can be very useful
- ideal for things that need to be used on a daily basis - e.g. money management apps, travel timetables
Each approach has different advantages that work for different types of companies. If you’re not sure which one is best for your business, we can help.