Website design is always evolving. One of the things that has made a big impact on how we design websites is the devices we browse the internet on. We’re no longer restricted to desktop computers with large screens. We have laptops, tablets and mobile phones, all with varying screen sizes.

This means your website needs to look just as good on a mobile phone as it does on a desktop, and that’s where the challenge comes.

There are two main ways you can approach web design for varying screen sizes: adaptive and responsive. But do you know the difference between the two?

An article for Business2Community recently explained how these two approaches vary and ran through the pros and cons of each. If you’re not sure which is the best way to go, get assistance with your web design in Scotland from professionals who can not only come up with a creative design, but ensure that it works across all devices.

Responsive web design means that your website will automatically resize to suit any screen size. It is able to tell what size of device the site is being viewed on and will adapt accordingly. This means you only need one design for your website.

However, it’s essential that the coding is hierarchical, because it’s this that allows the modules to stack in the right order on a smaller screen.

Adaptive web design, meanwhile, requires multiple designs of your site to suit different screen sizes. This means that your designer will need to create layouts for the most common screen sizes, and that the website will then adapt to each.

While you might think that you should always opt for responsive design, the news provider pointed out that there are some situations where adaptive design can be the best option. For example, if you want to create a mobile version of your site without having to redesign your whole website.

The other time when adaptive design can be the best choice is if the user intent – i.e. what people do on your site – varies between mobile users and desktop users. In this case, adaptive design might be more appropriate as you can tailor your mobile site to the actions mobile users do most often, as opposed to the different actions taken by desktop users.

Of course, there are downsides to adaptive design, not least of all that you’ll need multiple design versions of your site and different sets of code for each screen size. The main issue isn’t so much the work involved at the time, but more the fact that it can make rolling out updates to your site more time consuming.

Responsive web design, meanwhile, is easier to update because there’s just one layout that will change depending on the screen type. It also leads to greater consistency for visitors when they’re viewing your site across different devices.

However, unlike adaptive design there are limited customisation options across different screen sizes, which means it may not always be the best choice depending on how people use your site on their various devices.

Earlier this year, an article for ITProPortal stressed that it’s not enough to just have a responsive or adaptive website these days, however. You need to make sure that not only can people view your website on a mobile phone, but that it’s optimised for this purpose too. This means taking a mobile-first approach.