Rather than make this even more complicated, I am going to try to break it down in the simplest possible terms.

Mobile Friendly Websites

A mobile friendly website does not include content that will fail to load when pulled up on a mobile device. In other words, all of your content will load but probably not in a way that presents the text optimized for a smaller screen (some people have compared the experience to trying to view the ocean through a porthole).

Mobile Adaptive Websites

An adaptive website will redesign page elements as your screen size shrinks. In other words, as the screen shrinks the display elements will change. In other words, each column will adjust to fit the screen size. The content doesn’t resize, but page elements do.

Mobile Responsive Websites

Mobile responsive websites are programmed to conform to the physical dimensions of whatever screen that people view it on. The actual dimensions of the content change to become optimized for the screen being used.

So, mobile friendly means that the content and design will shrink to fit the viewing screen size.

Mobile adaptive means that the design elements will adjust to fit the viewing screen size.

And, mobile responsive means that everything is designed to adapt entirely to optimize content to fit whatever screen is being used.

So, what should you choose for your own website design? Obviously, the best design possible within your budget and for your desired audience. Consider what is both best for your customer and best fits your budget.

And, as always, if you need help or have any questions, contact us at Ring Ring Marketing!