People have started using mobile devices for browsing the web, and a lot of people spend more time on their mobile phones than on their laptops. When browsing the internet on the phone, everyone would like to view a website that is optimized for viewing on a mobile device. If you try to open the full-desktop size website on your mobile device, it might come out not-so-well formatted. This is because that website was built with keeping a computer screen in mind.
To solve this problem, there are two ways that you can follow. The first one is to create a dedicated mobile website that the user is redirected to if he or she tries to open the website on their mobile device. Usually, this is implemented as “http://m.example.com” or “http://www.example.com/mobile/”. The other solution is to create a responsive web design, which can adjust to no matter whatever the screen size may be. This is the modern approach for building a website these days. Let me talk in detail about these two styles of website development.
Dedicated Mobile Website
A dedicated mobile website is a website that is designed with keeping a mobile device user in mind. The number of images used is less, and more priority is given to the main content that you want the user to see. It requires writing the entire code for a mobile device independently, and if the website is a static website, and the content is hardcoded in HTML, then that also needs to be replicated. It is in no sense related to the actual desktop website. Also, it is implemented as “http://m.example.com” or “http://www.example.com/mobile/”.
Responsive Design
A responsive design is a design which adapts itself to the user’s screen size. Be it a small screen laptop or a mobile device. Responsive designs are highly in demand these days, just because of the adaptability factor they have. You can create your design responsive, if you follow an earlier tutorial I wrote. Go ahead and check it out. When you create a responsive design, you create the exact same design for the computer and mobile devices, but you just re-position or re-size the elements of the webpage.
Responsive Design v/s Mobile Website
Responsive Design versus Mobile Website is a debate that I definitely can’t bring to an end. However, in my opinion, creating a responsive design can be tough at times, and creating a mobile website is a better option. However, if you want uniformity of your design, it is advisable to create a responsive design. A responsive design not only caters to mobile devices, but to different size screens on the laptop or the desktop. So in my opinion, Responsive Design is the winner of this battle.
Well, that’s all I have for this article. I hope I was able to help you decide which one to go with for your website or at least helped you know the difference between a Responsive Design and a Mobile Website. If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends over social networks. Don’t forget to subscribe to Slash Coding for latest post updates via RSS Feeds, Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.
