Desktop First Design vs Adaptive Design
Developers should use Desktop First Design when targeting audiences that primarily access content on desktops, such as for complex web applications, enterprise software, or data-intensive dashboards where screen real estate is crucial meets developers should use adaptive design when targeting specific devices with known screen sizes, such as in mobile-first strategies or for applications requiring highly optimized performance on particular platforms. Here's our take.
Desktop First Design
Developers should use Desktop First Design when targeting audiences that primarily access content on desktops, such as for complex web applications, enterprise software, or data-intensive dashboards where screen real estate is crucial
Desktop First Design
Nice PickDevelopers should use Desktop First Design when targeting audiences that primarily access content on desktops, such as for complex web applications, enterprise software, or data-intensive dashboards where screen real estate is crucial
Pros
- +It's suitable for projects where desktop usage dominates analytics or when legacy systems require desktop-centric features that are difficult to implement on mobile first
- +Related to: responsive-web-design, css-media-queries
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
Adaptive Design
Developers should use Adaptive Design when targeting specific devices with known screen sizes, such as in mobile-first strategies or for applications requiring highly optimized performance on particular platforms
Pros
- +It is particularly useful for complex web applications where fluid responsiveness might not provide sufficient control over layout and user interactions, such as in e-commerce sites or enterprise software with distinct mobile and desktop versions
- +Related to: responsive-web-design, css-media-queries
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
The Verdict
These tools serve different purposes. Desktop First Design is a methodology while Adaptive Design is a concept. We picked Desktop First Design based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.
Based on overall popularity. Desktop First Design is more widely used, but Adaptive Design excels in its own space.
Disagree with our pick? nice@nicepick.dev