Mobile vs. responsive website

It often happens that both names are used interchangeably, but this is a mistake. Looking at the functionality of the pages and the way in which the pages were built, you can see many differences between them. Those companies that are serious about online marketing should invest in one of them. But which one to choose?

Proper website design is important not only because of the comfort of their use, but also because, according to the recently introduced Google requirements, those pages that are not adapted to display on mobile devices are invisible in the search engine on mobile devices. Additionally, those websites that do not adapt to mobile devices are considered old-fashioned.

Looking at the future benefits, the costs of preparing a responsive or mobile website are relatively low, especially since the group of people using mobile devices is constantly growing.

Responsive Pages

Like everything, each of the two types of pages has its advantages and disadvantages.
Responsive websites have greater possibilities than mobile ones, but they are more expensive and their preparation time is much longer because they are not based on already created templates. Which one will be better?

The term “responsive”, although it may sound a bit foreign, is easy to explain. These are websites that can adapt to any type of mobile device and its resolution. In practice, this means not only popular smartphones or tablets, but also netbooks or e-books. From a technical point of view, it is not necessary to enlarge or reduce the page, because it will automatically adjust to the size of the display. Additionally, regardless of whether we view it on a computer or using a mobile device, its address remains the same.

Responsive websites also have disadvantages. The main one is the fact that the preparation time of such a website takes much longer than in the case of a classic one and it ranges from a few to even a dozen or so weeks. Before this website is created, it is necessary to test it in many browsers and on various devices, and the costs of its creation alone cost from several hundred to even several thousand zlotys, but over time these costs will pay off.

Mobile websites

What distinguishes a mobile website from a responsive website is the fact that the former is a completely separate website from the main www page and has a different domain.

Implementing this model is cheaper and faster than in the case of responsive technology. However, it should be taken into account that in the future, when changing the content on the website, it will have to be changed twice, due to the fact that the “regular” website and the mobile version are two completely different websites, located on separate domains. Mobile websites will therefore be suitable for those who do not plan to change the content on their website in the near future.

A mobile website does not have large files and contains few graphics, so it will be perfect when using the Internet outside of a Wi-Fi network, when you have to pay for each downloaded data.

The problem may be that in the case of this model, it is necessary to use a different code for Google Analytics, due to the fact that technically, the site is located on a different domain. In practice, this means difficulties in analyzing advertising campaigns that will be conducted on both versions, because the data measurement must take place in two places.

Mobile sites are a good solution for those who want to attract mobile users, but, due to financial or time constraints, do not plan to rebuild their site. However, it is worth considering whether the effort associated with constant updating and measuring the effects of the campaign is worth having two versions of the service.