Adaptive web design

Adaptive web design (AWD) promotes the <a href="/facts/Web_development/UW5ypSzj">creation</a> of multiple versions of a <a href="/facts/Web_page/5JK7xQLe">web page</a> to better fit the user's device, as opposed to a single <a href="/facts/Static_web_page/BtP4660l">static</a> page which loads (and looks) the same on all devices or a single page which reorders and <a href="/facts/Resize/brTWIYNF">resizes</a> <a href="/facts/Web_content/u4p0t6kz">content</a> <a href="/facts/Responsive_web_design/gXbDHuno">responsively</a> based on the device/<a href="/facts/Screen_size/AE5x1nyp">screen size</a>/<a href="/facts/Web_browser/2pfyymLs">browser</a> of the user. 
This most often describes the use of a <a href="/facts/Smart_phone/cSIrBMWG">mobile</a> and a <a href="/facts/Personal_computer/koaYfNce">desktop</a> version of a page (or in most cases, the entire <a href="/facts/Website/SAsjJnca">website</a>), either of which is retrieved based on the <a href="/facts/User-agent/dFEyg2Xj">user-agent</a> defined in the <a href="/facts/HTTP_GET/TWtvf7JD">HTTP GET</a> request, which is known as dynamic serving. Adaptive web design was one of the first strategies for <a href="/facts/Optimizing/oRn8Iv5I">optimizing</a> a site for mobile <a href="/facts/Readability/4UHGydpM">readability</a>, the most common practice involved using a completely separate website for mobile and desktop, with mobile devices often <a href="/facts/HTTP_redirect/4o1p9l7C">redirected</a> to the mobile version of the site <a href="/facts/HTTP_server/A4GS6thA">served</a> on a <a href="/facts/Subdomain/BM8N9jvH">subdomain</a> (often the third level subdomain, denoted "m"; e.g. http://m.website.com/; and/or URL parameters like &app=m&persist_app=1 used on YouTube). Today the use of two separate static sites for mobile and desktop viewing is being largely phased out, with <a href="/facts/Server-side_scripting/JnLx8FnL">Server-side scripting</a> instead utilized to serve <a href="/facts/Dynamic_web_page/psjqGKBx">dynamically</a> generated pages or to dynamically decide which version of a static page to serve, although the use of independent sites for mobile and desktop can still be frequently observed. While many websites employ either responsive or adaptive web design techniques, the two are not <a href="/facts/Mutually_exclusive/v139z4dJ">mutually exclusive</a>, and <a href="/facts/Best_practice/HkqedbtQ">best practices</a> for the most <a href="/facts/Universality_(dynamical_systems)/SkgeJqF3">universally</a> readable designed content employ a combination of the two techniques to support a complete spectrum of <a href="/facts/Computer_hardware/8jSjsCNv">hardware</a> and <a href="/facts/Software/RP79lVSW">software</a>.
The existence of separate front ends allows clients who experience technical issues with either to fall back to another, with the chance that the issue does not occur.

Adaptive web design open-in-new

Adaptive web design