We’ve talked about mobile websites before, and they’re still very much valuable to your business. However, one thing we haven’t really discussed are responsive websites or mobile websites in greater detail.

Is there a difference, you ask? As a matter of fact, there is! Learn more about the differences between responsive vs. mobile websites and why, at the end of the day, you could actually use one more so than the other.

What’s a responsive website?

A responsive website is a site that has a fluid, flexible layout and design that responds to a device’s viewport size. It can adjust and readjust automatically according to the device being used. It doesn’t matter what size screen or the content’s structure—the responsive website will ensure it works across all devices.

What’s a mobile website?

A mobile website is similar in that it responds to users the way a responsive website does, only in a slightly different manner. That’s because mobile websites are exactly what you think they are: they’re websites you can access on your smartphone, or a tablet, or a laptop computer, or any device that is portable and smaller than your average desktop computer.

The mobile website is designed to custom-fit into the limitations a mobile device has, meaning more often than not you need to zoom in to read the text by pinching your two fingers together on the screen. A mobile website is a fixed size, meaning that you would need to create and maintain websites for a variety of devices and screen sizes if you were to go this route as opposed to a responsive website.

The biggest difference

One thing that responsive websites can offer to site users that mobile website cannot is their ability to be functional over all devices—not just mobile. With our technology constantly advancing at a pace that feels impossible to keep up with, so too do the mobile devices we use daily change, meaning the technology and platform used to support mobile websites changes too.

If your site has been optimized for mobile, it could mean that certain features from an older phone will no longer be supported on the newest smartphone in the market. That’s one of mobile websites’ biggest disadvantages. A responsive website, however, is flexible enough that you don’t have to worry about newer tech making your website obsolete. That’s why more often than not you should ideally make sure your website is responsive more than anything else.

How could I possibly use both?

Let’s recap the reasons one can use a mobile website:

  • You want to be accessible to everyone, at any given time, most especially if your business offers services in case of emergencies (no one’s going to be searching for a desktop computer if their car breaks down, for example—they’ll use their phone!)
  • You want more traffic and sales, and the desktop version of your site isn’t generating enough.

You can read more of the reasons here in our article.

More than the mobile website however, you should definitely ensure your business’s website is a responsive one. After all, speed is the name of the game when it comes to providing customers with a great, not just good, website experience. If you’re not sure about responsive design in sites in the first place or why yours should be one, you’re in luck, because we wrote about that too!

So, are you ready to get a truly responsive website? Do you need yours to be redone from scratch so that its features can be ready for your customers’ use? If you said yes to either question, you’re in the right place. Give our professionals at V3 Media a call and we can get you a fast, fully responsive website. If you still want to learn more about mobile and responsive sites, why not talk with us one-one-one? Our consultations can be pretty enlightening on these sorts of subjects!