Reactive vs. Adaptive: How To Choose the right design approach

Just a few years ago the designers were able to create one rigid version of their website and call it an hour. This is no longer the case. Nowadays, people must be aware of the countless mobile phones, wearables, tablets as well as other devices that are smart -- and so do you.

The question is, how do you make sure that your design looks great across any device and is able to meet the various needs of your users? Does responsive design have to be the best option? Couldn't adaptive design be an option in certain instances? And how are the adaptive and responsive design styles distinct?

Let's see what we can find out.

Reactive vs. Adaptive Design What's the difference?

Before moving on before we do anything, it's important to know what we're dealing with.

The term "adaptive design, means that your content adjusts to user's device parameters but in a predetermined method. There are not just one, but numerous ready-to-use layouts in order to accommodate different sizes of screens or orientations, and so on. It is your choice to determine how the content will be displayed in the web browser that is depending on the device they use.

The comparison of the two sides will help you understand the fundamental differences between responsive and adaptive design.

The Pros and Cons of Responsive Web Design

Let's look at the pros of responsive design.

• It is possible to get the most out of the display space available. Responsive layouts give you more control and allow the management of empty space with greater efficiency. In the end, your designs will never appear messy or unfinished.
• Pages that are responsive require lower maintenance. Even if there's an innovative gadget available on the market and everybody is using it and a responsive site, you have nothing to fret about. You may need to make minor changes however, you don't need to redesign your whole structure.
• responsive design can speed up and speedy delivery. One layout simply needs less time than six. This means your web page could be ready and running in a matter of days.

Let's look at the negatives of design that is responsive:

• It creates fewer personalized experiences. You inevitably lose some level of individualization while trying to accommodate every device currently in use.
• Responsive design requires an extensive amount of planning and experimentation. It's not a non-deliberate approach. You have to check your designs on different dimensions of screens before going live. Make sure you have time to fix inconsistencies because they'll inevitably occur.

Responsive Design: Examples and Use Cases

The possibilities for responsive design are seemingly endless because of how adaptable and flexible the design can be. All commercial and personal websites are able to be benefited in being flexible and responsive such as the examples described here.

This responsive design from Los Sundays, a Tequila brand, is equally beautiful both on mobile and PC. The designer was clever in deciding which content to prioritize for different viewports and also ensured that the typography remained striking, but not overwhelming.

The hypnotic parallax effect can only be observedand appreciatedin larger screen sizes. Users get aesthetic pleasure and speedy user experience, even when they access the website from their smartphone.

The same can be said regarding the second example of Slam Jam, an online clothing shop. The site's appearance changes as the user switches to a device with a smaller screen. The items are shown in two columns, instead of four and the menu moves down to the bottom of the page to make it easier to search. The carousel allows users to explore new products without needing to zoom in and out.

The Pros and Cons of Adaptive Web Design

Be cautious about drawing conclusions yet -- there are plenty of successful businesses which employ adaptive design, and are successful in it.

Design that is adaptive has many advantages:

• It's a custom-designed method that is high-precision and precise. You have complete control of your layout's appearance and feel because it's static. You're the one who decides the devices you want to focus on. This enables you to design user-friendly experiences for your users and take their preferences into account.
• The ability to incorporate advertisements more quickly. It's easier to set up ads when you know the precise sizes and dimensions of the components that are surrounding them.
• Adaptive design is useful in retrofitting existing websites. You can create separate mobile and tablet versions as well as leave the main version the way it is.
• The user can modify the individual templates instead of having to recode your entire website or page. Making changes to your design is less painful in the case of static layouts that are individual, particularly when you want to correct a minor flaw.

Be conscious of the drawbacks of adaptive design:

• There is no ensure that your layout will appear as you intended. What if your customer is using an unintentionally-designed device that you did not account for? If this happens your outcome could be more uncertain.
• The process of creating separate experiences is laborious and time-consuming. Each layout has to be perfectly pixel-perfect the designers have to spend more time with and testing their designs.

The Adaptive Design Method: Examples and Use Cases

For the most frequented adaptive websites, just head to Amazon. From a desktop computer, you get a great experience. The main page can be quite busy however it's not overly crowded, and it's easy to locate what you're searching for.

But, let's see what happens when you attempt to change the size of your browser window:

It's only possible to see only a small portion of desktop content because this uncommon browser width was not taken into account.

Do these strategies hurt Amazon? It's not in any way. The company's revenue has quadrupled since its inception, due to the fact that its mobile-friendly website as well as app offer straightforward, fast, and convenient purchasing experience.

Amazon is a huge company. Amazon is able to afford to abandon the "one size fits all" approach and be a bit conservative with its site design, so that it remains its website accessible and easily available to millions of users across the globe, which includes elderly users or those who have vision issues.

Additionally, if you study carefully, the Amazon website is partially responsive -- it has additional and existing elements that can be added or taken away, depending on the viewport.

Having a somewhat rigid website isn't stopping Ryanair from setting records in traffic speed time after time because most travelers prefer to book flights using a computer device or through the Ryanair mobile application.

The addition of too many modifications on this site could result in confusing users who are already used to the look and feel. Instead of replacing it with the latest, modern, and responsive design, Ryanair intentionally chooses to maintain its existing website layout and instead concentrate on keeping ticket prices at a minimum.

What is the difference between responsive vs Adaptive Design

Use these guidelines to decide which design strategy would work the best for your needs:

1. Concentrate on your particular usage. For example, If you're selling contemporary art prints, you should be focusing on creating flawless user experiences on your desktops because they'll be looking at your prints on large screens prior to purchasing anything.
2. Do not go too far with an approach that is mobile-first. It's easy to simplify mobile layouts in an attempt to remove all possible frictions from the user experience and then apply the same logic for a desktop-friendly version. But a simple one-column layout that includes a hamburger menu is likely to look too bland on a computer screen.
3. Review your available capabilities and limitations. Before you even think about investing in adaptable layouts, you must determine the budget you have, your current requirements as well as your long-term objectives. Are you obligated that your company has an ultra-modern website that can appear stunning even on an super-large television? Do you simply require an effective and reliable way to market items to the existing customers which will buy from you no matter the circumstances?
4. Make your load speed a priority. Commercial websites may contain embellishments or not however they should speed up their loading to avoid an increase in bounce rate. More than 50% of visitors will quit websites if they take longer than 6 minutes to load.
5. Run competitor analysis. Most likely, your top rivals have conducted their own research on their users and have it well-organized. Do not just replicate their methods Instead, you should determine which segments of users they're catering to , and why.

The trend of responsive design hasn't even begun anymore -- it's gradually becoming a golden standard of web design. And its minor drawbacks will soon become a thing of the future.

You can get the very best of both -- combining adaptive and responsive strategies for different kinds of searches. By doing this, adaptive layouts can have media queries, as well as responsive websites may include adaptive elements. We can safely say that the adaptive vs responsive question isn't so relevant any more an optimal website layout is an expert blend of the two.

How to tell if the Website is Responsive or Adaptive

Check out what happens when you resize your web browser's windows from your desktop computer. The responsive web will effortlessly adjust to your viewport size and you'll see how responsive it appears immediately.

A website that is adaptive won't alter until you reach a certain breaking point or change to a different device. Until then, some of the content is not visible, and will be resized instead, which means you'll need to click the horizontal scroll bar to be able to see the information.

You can also search for media queries within the code for the home page by clicking CTRL + U on Windows or Options + Command + U on Mac. If you want to, right-click the page , and choose " View Page Source" from the dropdown menu.

One of the easiest ways to observe how websites behave across different screens is to emulate mobile devices by using Google Chrome Device Mode. Go to the site you would like to testand then hit the CTRL key + Shift button + in Windows or Command + Option + I on Mac to open the tools for developers.

Summary

You might have heard that Google's search engine algorithms favor responsive websites just because they're

responsive. It's not the case at all. The adaptive site can be just as SEO-friendly as a mobile one. Google says it is more prone to responsive websites that provide a positive customer experience, however it doesn't limit you to the only way to achieve that.

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