Recent Trends in Mobile App Development That You Need to Know

As the “Internet of Things” is emerging; the future of technology looks brighter for IT companies.  Mobile technology growing in such a high speed; and we cannot deny that it has become an integral part of the digital ecosystem. People increasingly expect that mobile apps will allow them to do virtually everything their laptops can do (if not more), in a smooth, integrated experience. Recent trends already proved that the future is mobile.

 

Thus, to ensure a sustainable success to your business, it has become more than necessary to stay updated with the latest mobile app development trends. We are already past halfway through 2015, and here are some of the recent trends that you can look up to.

 

1. Rise of Hybrid Apps:

 

If you haven’t considered hybrid app development then you should now. In the recent months, hybrid apps is on rise as it includes both native and web apps. The great advantage is; it can be developed with limited resource and can be launched on multiple platforms.

 

Notable Features: Best fit on multiple platform, classy features and robust performance.

 

Technology/Framework: PhoneGap, Mobile Angular UI, IONIC, HTML5, Intel XDK, Appcelerator Titanium

 

2. Enterprise apps:

 

Enterprises are having a tough time keeping up with the demand for mobile apps. So this has given an amazing opportunity for developers. Many big organizations and companies are using customer focused enterprise apps to add value in their businesses; this trend is all set to continue in for next couple of years. Moreover businesses are introducing enterprise mobile apps and bring your own devices (BYOD) concept for their employees to improve the work efficiency and productivity.

 

See Also: Essentials Guide for Developing next generation Enterprise Applications

 

3. Internet of Things:

 

Mobile devices will not be limited to being smart phones. This one of the biggest change and trend everyone is experiencing. IoT has changed the way we see our lives and interact with things around us. According to recent statics more than 4.9 billion mobile devices make up Internet of Things. Mobile apps are now acting as a bridge between smart phone and various electronic items allowing you to control them. Using existing mobile platforms—mainly iOS and Android— developers and enterprises finding lots of opportunities for building mobile applications based on proximity locations, home automation, computing, retail etc.

 

Technologies:  iBeacons, BLE, NFC, Wearable’s.

 

See Also: How Everyone Life is Influenced by IoT - 8 Real Life Examples

 

4. Don’t Stop; Go Cloud:

 

Cloud technology is playing a major role in mobile app development. Now every one need mobile applications that can be accessible from anywhere, on multiple mobile devices with same feature sets and functionality. This mean everything should be placed on cloud. This technology brings a positive change in every business.

 

5. Wearable Technology:

 

Mainstream technology for upcoming years. The wearable is going to move beyond Google Glass, Samsung Galaxy Gear, Apple Watch, Mi wrist bands or more; this technology will surely explode with a variety of wearable’s including those focusing on healthcare and fashion. Now, it will come to developers to build wearable apps functioned or synchronized your present mobile applications. It is expected that wearable industry will cross several billions within the next few years. Hence mobile developers need to keep a close eye on the latest wearable technology and its ecosystem, in order to walk together competitively in this fast-moving technology market.

 

See Also: 8 things to explore for awesome wearable app development

 

6. M-Commerce and Payments:

 

This is the most emerging trend we have ever seen recently. This is a term or can say technology almost every one of us is using for online payment and goods purchase. Now businesses are shifting towards world wide web and want their presence online so as to increase their business value. Hence it is obvious that they will be in need of having mobile app that can help users to explore their businesses, purchase goods and make payments accordingly. This has created an opportunity for developers to build mobile apps that can process transactions without the need of physical debit/credit cards or cash.

 

7. App Security is very essential:

 

Developing a mobile app is not enough, making it secure from vulnerabilities is more essential. Long back, Gartner predicted that 75% of mobile applications will fail in basic security tests. As the online transactions are keep on rising, so making enough efforts to secure data is necessary. If you are a developer then make sure to perform complete Static application security testing (SAST) before releasing your mobile app.

 

See Also: Six Principles of Mobile App Security Testing

 

8. Mobile Apps Acting local growing global:

 

This is new to know, but yes apps based on locations are growing fast. Years ago Foursquare, Yelp, Quicker and many more shared the space, and flourished the new way for real-time location apps. Identifying the potential in expanding the local business by developing mobile apps based on locations and proximity, now it has picked the full speed. Don’t miss it; keep an eye on this local trend. Some rising examples: Zomato, Ola Cabs, Foodpanda.

 

Just reading about the mobile app development trends isn’t enough; it is the need of today. Don’t wait. Pace up your self for your next amazing mobile app. Share your idea now.

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8 Things to Explore for Awesome Wearable App Development

Enterprise mobility is a summation of wearable devices and related technology and mobile applications that are slowly transforming the equations and interactions of work in enterprises. The mobile applications for wearable applications is an extension of the mobile Android or iOS app. However, it is further condensed to integrate it with the wearable device ecosystem. Our app development team's  ideation and research has led us to identify these 8 factors which must be explored to develop a perfect wearable app.

1. Create a Use Case: Draft a set of questions identifying the relevance from the wearable context. From this you can identify the best available wearable hardware, API/SDK, development frameworks/ platform and other measures for app development.

2. Choose a Correct Platform and API: There are several tools and API available in the market like Android, Salesforce, Apple. It is essential to choose the correct platform  based on requirement. Instead of having multiple versions for different devices, end users like to have one single app that is compatible with every device and with quick response. The more cross-platform capability and compatibility a wearable app has; the better possibility of its success.

3. Design and User Interface: As the wearable device is small in size, it is challenging to implement several feature sets with limited physical space. Design and User interface of the app is also a big factor as the users interacts with wearable gadgets in different manner from smart phones, tablets and other devices. While developing the app, designers focus should be towards streamlined end user experience with limited physical visible space.

4. Data Security: Wearable technology is still on the upward swing of the growth phase and hence security risks are to be anticipated. Wearable tech devices cannot connect to the Internet on their own. They require multiple synchronization or third party functions in order to connect with apps installed on Internet-enabled devices. This is the major concern when end user purchases the wearable app. Developer should accomplish all the necessary security measures to protect sensitive information.

5. Functionality and Features: “Ease of use and its mobility” this is the ultimate goal of any wearable device app. Before developing, the first step is to add a rich features set and functionalities that add value to end users. Developers must understand user needs and make it real.

6. Keep Updating with Latest Technology: New wearables are arriving in the market so is the technology. To sustain in the market and for long term success; fulfilling end users need, updating the app for the latest technology is essential. While developing the wearable apps, developers should consider these future updates.

7. Battery Consumption and Memory Space: Battery consumption is a big factor in all smart devices. It is always desirable for applications that they should consume less power and memory. While developing the wearable app, developer should optimize the code in such a way it takes less memory and battery; appositely performs more effectively.

8. Testing: “Users want mobility and businesses need efficiency”. The only way to measure success of wearable app is its performance, which can only be achieved with robust testing. At present, wearable devices are primarily attached with other devices, small screens with limited functionality that rely on another device. What happens if the associated device with wearables stops working? This will surely create a lapse in efficiency. So, before releasing an app for wearable device it is must to undergo robust testing for all possible functionality and compatibility with other devices.

Wearable app development is very challenging. These are few measures that our experts identified during wearable app development. As devices and platforms change, developers need to be ready to meet the demands. Business success relies on keeping up with these latest trends and technology.

Give flight to your business with these current trends. If you have amazing Wearable App Idea don’t hesitate to share with us. We will surely transform your idea into reality.

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Top 6 eCommerce Platforms to Lighten Up Your Online Store

The major requirement in using an eCommerce framework is the flexibility to add functionalities according to business needs, strong content management system and security. Here, we have listed 6 eCommerce frameworks or platforms to enhance the development of your online store.

1. Hybris: The future of eCommerce, delight of your online business, Hybris is the simple solution for all your development needs. It is completely customizable, secure and Omni channel online store development platform. Hybris helps you target and engage your customers more effectively. Hybris eCommerce solution ranks among the top commerce software platforms worldwide. The main strengths of hybris are Omni-Channel offering, master data or product information management, order management, hybris marketing conversion tool, powerful search and merchandising. Know more:https://hybris.com/en/commerce

2. Magento: Magento has already benefitted many businesses and is often called as the king of open source framework for eCommerce website development. It is a very powerful eCommerce solution that includes almost all features set that can help you build the web store of your dreams. Magento has easy customizable feature set, secure tools, and offers flexiblity when it comes to integrating with third party tools.

3. BigCommerce: The ultimate framework for those who want to launch a web-store quickly and with little day to day maintenance for running the online business. BigCommerce is the best suited for small to mid size online business. The only difference between BigCommerce and above two eCommerce framework is that BigCommerce requires more time for configuration. The strength of this platform is its security, customer support, and beautiful free design templates that come inbuilt. These three features make BigComemrce a very good choice to setup shopping cart but with limited language support.

4. PrestaShop:  Another open source eCommerce platform, after Magento, it is the most adopted for online store development. PrestaShop comes with multiple integrated features, modules and templates that allow you to manage your online business in real-time. PrestaShop is mainly used for big size businesses and is the best program when looking for a one-stop shop. The way PrestaShop markets and supports their product is really impressive. Know more at prestashop.com.

5. Drupal Commerce: Drupal Commerce is an open source framework, built and integrated with Drupal, which makes it hard to beat when comparing it with dedicated eCommerce platforms such as Magento or Prestashop. It has awesome content management system, development time is less as compared to a two-platform system. Drupal Commerce gives a complete product administration system and ongoingmanagement and maintenance is much easier. Drupal commerce provides great customer and community support.

6. WooCommerce: An open source and very popular eCommerce framework that lets WordPress sites turn into online stores. This is used mainly for small businesses. Like WordPress, WooCommerce can be customized with different themes, extensions and plugins, giving you limitless options for your online store. Read more woothemes.com/woocommerce.

Conclusion: Each platform has its own strengths and which one you choose depends on your business requirements. If you are confused about which platform to opt for to expand your online business, just drop a message and our eCommerce consultant will resolve all your eCommerce store needs.

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6 Reasons to Choose Laravel PHP Framework for Web Development

Are you planning to start a new web development project on the PHP platform? Within the framework there are many platforms to chose from that have different features and functionalities. If you are a developer then you must have heard about Laravel, if not, this blog will give you useful insights and six strong reasons to adopt it for your development project.

What is Laravel?

As a PHP framework, Laravel is an open source web development platform. What sets it apart is the expressive and elegant syntax that has been designed to ease and speed up the web development process. The platform has a vibrant developers' community support and powerful features too. Described below are 6 Reasons to Choose Laravel PHP Framework for Web Development

1. Emerging Quickly: Many PHP development companies have adopted Laravel due to its dynamic capabilities to handle big web development projects. According to Google trends, Laravel is the most popular PHP framework among the developers. Check out these trends comparison among latest web development PHP frameworks.

2. Open Source: It is an open-source PHP web application framework, that makes it free and has easy process for building complex and large web applications with code maintainability.

3. Template engine: Laravel has lightweight templates with which you can create amazing layouts with dynamic content seeding. It has many widgets having JS and CSS code with solid structures. The templates of these frameworks are designed for simple webpage layout with different sections.

4. Modular: Laravel is built on more than 20 different libraries and is itself split up into individual modules. It has adopted modern PHP principles, which allows developers to build modular, responsive and user-friendly web apps.

5. MVC Architecture Support: It follows the MVC pattern, ensuring transparency between logic and presentation. This architecture improves performance, allows better documentation, and has multiple built-in functions.

6. Libraries and configuration: It supports many development environments and adjusts itself based on the appropriate platform where app is running. All this is possible because of the authorization libraries integrated inside. Laravel libraries are supported by auto complete features which are not found in other popular PHP frameworks.

If you are a developer and want to learn more about this framework then visit and join Laravel developers community. Don’t miss a chance to impress clients with your work using the latest PHP development technology - Laravel! SA specializes in responsive website development based on PHP. Get in touch for your next project.

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Silent but Exciting Features in new iOS Swift 2 language by Apple

A few weeks back, Apple announced Swift 2 at WWDC 2015. This is the latest version of its programming language for iOS. Apple designed Swift 2 to get the fastest and the most efficient performance from its devices. It consists the all-new Whole Module Optimization technology. “Swift brings back the excitement of something new to take technology industry ahead”.

 

Take a look at some of the silent but exciting features and improvements in new Swift 2 announced by Apple:

 

. Open Source: The biggest news from Apple is that Swift 2 is going to be open-source. Yes, developers will be able to look into the program, code and, potentially can extend it. Getting open source doesn’t mean you can run your iOS app on Windows Phone or Android.

. Tools for Linux: Apple is going to release developer tools for Linux, which indicates, writing apps for Apple platform will no longer require owning an Apple device.

. Error Handling Model: There are new routines to throw, catch and manage errors in Swift. These enable your code to deal with recoverable errors like "file-not-found" or network timeouts.

. Syntax improvements and Language: Swift has syntax features that let you write more expressive code. Apple claims this will improve consistency across the language.

. Availability: Using the latest SDKs ensures you get access to new features and information about platform changes. Swift 2 will be used to write or create apps for Mac OS X and iOS devices. Swift source code will be released under an OSI-approved permissive license.

. Protocol Extensions: Swift is very focused on protocol. You can now add methods and properties to any class that conforms to a particular protocol. This will enable developers to reuse more code.

. SDK and Integration: Integrated development environment that contains a suite of software development tools for OS X and iOS. Swift 2 has new features that will enable developers to write even better code. It works even better with the Apple SDKs. 

 

Swift 2 will be released before the end of the year, while iOS 9 will be a public beta starting in July. This is just an overview of what’s new in Swift 2. Learn more about the new Swift Programming”https://developer.apple.com/swift/

 

If in case you are looking for iOS Swift application development, don’t forget to drop a message. Solution Analysts can provide you best solutions based on latest technology.

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Top 5 Enterprise Mobility Trends & Capabilities To Watch from 2015 Onwards

It’s June and we have already crossed half of 2015. Enterprise mobility is a trending topic and banner year for every enterprise app development company across the world. Enterprise mobility is changing the way business operates. It comprises mobile, social, cloud, security, analytics among other services. All enterprise giants step ahead to transform mobile need into innovative digital business.

In this blog post, we have put together some of the most exciting enterprise mobility trends and capabilities to look forward to in this year. This will give you an idea of how important enterprise apps for businesses are.

1. Bring your own device- (BYOD): Long ago, Technology Research Gartner  summarized the concept of BYOD “Employees are bringing their own devices, downloading their own applications and creating their own IT”. BYOD and the adoption of IT have changed all the rules of enterprise management and operations. As a result, business IT developers are being asked to develop enterprise mobile solutions and strategy to improve workflows, seamless connectivity, increase productivity and differentiate themselves from market competitors.

2. Big investment on Enterprise Mobile Cloud: Business are moving away from legacy technology towards the mobile cloud, this will drive some of the biggest enterprise IT expenditure ever witnessed. Enterprise mobility is a part of Internet of Things. According Cloudtweaks infographic, IoT will be top technology investment. Corporate giants need to get serious about spending big in enterprise mobility to stay in line with top competitors

3. Mobile Backend as Service Capabilities: Recent trends reflect mobile backend as services as a standalone category in enterprise mobility. It offers richer connectivity to the enterprise. Enterprise app developers need to do more than just application development. For developers here is the guide to develop next generation enterprise applications. It is essential to develop and leverage multichannel mobile backend process that encompasses app management, device and content management, app distribution and other security services.

4. Integrating context in apps: While defining the enterprise mobile strategy, one will need to understand the user’s context like what they want, when they want and how they want the context. By factoring together all of this data, enterprise app developers can create compelling and contextually aware app experiences for users. We, as an enterprise development company, think carefully about context, consider user behavior, their location, time of day and provide mobility solutions accordingly.

5. Adoption of IoT and Wearable’s in Enterprise Mobility: As the adoption of IoT and wearable technology took place in Enterprise mobility, the consumer space is also increased accordingly. Frost and Sullivanreported enterprises will embrace wearables at a much faster rate in next couple of years. To take advantage of IoT in mobility, enterprises need to understand the importance of making standalone mobile system strategy and deployment method that connect and remotely monitor real time data processing.

Whether you are an early startup or a successful corporate giant, you will need enterprise mobility solutions. Solution Analysts can help you to stay ahead of your market competitors by providing latest enterprise solutions. Contact us today to start the conversation.

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How Everyone's Life is Influenced by IoT - 8 Real Life Examples

Internet is wielding a great influence in every aspect of our day to day lives and has become the primary communication medium that connects people with one another and the future. Internet of Things (IoT) is a rising new wave in automation that will influence us in our business, resource management, and lifestyles with smart homes.

IoT is a network of multiple physical and electronic devices that communicate with another without any human interference. In the course of the communication, the devices have the capacity to make their own decisions and take pertinent actions. Hence, the name, Internet (connectivity) of Things (Devices).

Let’s check out some common examples where IoT is influencing everyone's life:

Health: with IoT, the communication device will automatically push notifications for blood pressure, sugar level monitoring, reminders for medication etc. these activities can also be remotely monitored by the doctor.

Wearable: Pebble, the wearable device, device for monitoring workout sessions, sleep patterns, hearing aids, etc are dominating the wearable technology and the complete potential is yet untapped. Check out our Wearable Application Development offerings.

Smart Electricity: High-energy consuming household appliances will automatically adjust at optimal settings based on the daily usage to lower electricity bills.  Electronic devices at home will be able to sense when nobody is in the room and turn off automatically, reducing costs and saving energy resources.

Life saving notifications: Synchronizing the latest technology with environment as focus led to creation of advanced detection systems for earthquakes, fires and even systems for silent infiltrations such as pollution. People can get early notifications that play an important role in saving life. 

Smart Cities: Many developed countries has already implemented this concept and used IoT for executing the operations and functions. Government have installed roadside sensors that gather traffic data which analyzes traffic patterns, dynamically adjusting the traffic light operations to minimize and reduce traffic congestion. 

Spaceship Automation:  When you fly, most of the trip is administrated by the plane’s auto pilot (device) and not the human pilot. NASA sent so many robots (Again a device) to other planets to explore what is hidden in the universe.  These are the space automation examples which are part of “Internet of Things. 

Monitoring your children or pets: Through Smartphone’s, parents can monitor their children's activities, like whether they reached school, class attendance, their current location etc. Children can send notification to parents when there is something abnormal or unsafe. In the same way pet monitoring systems will allow you to monitor your pet's activity and behavior from afar.

Retail Store: Automation in retail stores by enabling iBeacons application, gives customers a new way of searching their items and availing special offers. Stores owners also benefit by having push reminders to add items if any items are out of stock. The store manager can analyze customer’s choices, trends, their interest by having the specific data driven by the customers. iBeacon Applications is also an example of emerging “Internet of Things”. We have already applied this technology and have developed projects based on BLE check out: Smart Health Watch.

All the above examples show how everyone's life is already influenced by “Internet of Things” in a very positive way. 

If you need more information and want to get IoT services you can visit our Internet of Things Servicesofferings.

Do you have an example of how the Internet of Things is influencing your life in positive way? Let us hear about it, drop a comment or contact us. We would love to hear from you and share your thoughts.

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Let’s get closer to iBeacon: An example of the emerging Internet of Things

Do you know we are already using Beacons? Your mobile itself is a Beacon. Surprised? Yes it is. “Let’s get closer to iBeacon: An example of the emerging Internet of Things”

iBeacon- A new way to experience your surroundings, enabling physical experience using Digital Network.Apple has figured out the technology to use Bluetooth low energy (BLE) naming it iBeacon creating a buzz and getting credit as well. It was first introduced with iOS7. Many technology giants work on BLE but Apple now introduced “A way to connect with real life world”; digitally, based on proximity.

It gives context to users based on precise proximity to the things in the physical world. This is how iBeacon connects “Physical to Digital”. We can say that iBeacon is an example of the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), with this more physical things can be represented digitally.

To understand the functionality of iBeacon technology we need to be aware of few common terminologies:

Proximity (UUID Universal Unique Identifier):

We always talk about proximity but what is it?

“It is the distance between the device and a found iBeacon it uses for the far, near, and immediate values to describe the distance.” We can say this distinguishes your beacon from other Beacon.

Accuracy:

When two or more beacons are placed at the same distance from the device, or if they have the same proximity value, then the accuracy will be determined by the closest one. Its value represents the distance in meters.

Received Signal Strength (RSSI):

It’s the strength of the Bluetooth signal. It depends on two values:

• Major: Used to specify a particular beacon within group
• Minor: Used to identify specific beacon

iBeacon platform support and compatibility:  To use Beacons, everyone should have appropriate hardware and software.

• Android.
• Its own creation iOS.
• Forbes points out, Internet of Things Apple iBeacon is already in almost 200 million iOS devices, and that number is rising quickly as people are stepping out for new ones.

We are sure you must be eager to learn “How iBeacon Works”

We have streamlined things to understand the process and functionality of iBeacons

Step 1: Beacon transmits signal to app

Step 2: App traces the beacon signal and sends data to server

Step 3: Server traces app signal, checks beacon DB

Step 4: Server checks content DB

Step 5: Server sends information to mobile device which will be visible as push notification in Apps.

iBeacon is created to enable your phone to do things when you are close to specific location or things, for instance, alerts, notifications etc. Now phones and tablets can see what they are close to.

Where iBeacon can be implemented and use? Check out:

Watches, Tags, Detectors, Automations, Retail Stores, Parks, etc. 

Few examples to see how iBeacon app can be used and implemented: 

Retail store:

• Interact with customers virtually
• Give offers in new surprising way
• Greet customers when they enter and exit store
• Digital Payments

Sports + Entertainments Parks:

If people pass from sports venue they will get notification about upcoming events, opening day, ongoing events etc.

Automation:

Automatic payment if car passes from toll booth.

Hospitality:

Restaurant that offer ordering and pickup could improve customer experience by notifying guest services automatically and vice versa.

Hotels:

When a user is close or steps in - within a defined distance - the door unlocks.

Hope you understand Apples iBeacon. Now let’s enter into “The World of iBeacon Apps”

So far we have explained how iBeacon apps can change your real life experiences. If you are technology or enterprise giant or a “Creative Thinker” you can get in touch any time with our iBeacon development team.

If you are a developer and wish to learn more, please go ahead and search for more info in the Apple’s official documentation: https://developer.apple.com/ibeacon/. Let’s enter in to the world of “ Internet of Things”.

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Responsive Web Design (RWD) Vs Adaptive Web Design (AWD): Similarities and Differences

The Hot topic for web developers and website owners is the way that websites can now automatically respond and adapt to any device with any screen size. There is huge dilemma in proposing best web design method for Mobile responsive project to clients. There we are to help you.

RWD vs AWD

Lets discuss in detail about these two options for web design:

A) Responsive Web Design (RWD) 

B) Adaptive Web Design (AWD)

Here seems to be some confusion about these terms, and some may refer to “Responsive design” is a subset of “Adaptive design”. Understanding the key differences between Responsive design and Adaptive design will try to keep everyone on the same page and help you select the best approach for your project.

Responsive Web Design (RWD):

Responsive design is fluid, using CSS3 media queries to respond to any screen sizes. With the use of this CSS3 module, you can create flexible grids that use percentages to create a flexible foundation. Where text can wrap and images can shrink to adjust along with your browser.

Responsive design is client-side which means the page is sent to the device browser, and the browser then modifies the appearance of the page in relation to the size of the browser window.

The definition of a responsive website is that it will fluidly change and respond to fit any screen or device size.

Why You Need A Responsive Website?

• Growing Demand for Smartphones
• Multiple Screen Sizes and Mobile Browsers
• Wide Usage of Internet in mobile devices
• Permits wider browser support
• Compulsory for Getting Good Business

Adaptive Web Design (AWD):

Adaptive web design uses predefined layouts that have been carefully constructed for a variety of screen sizes. A particular layout is activated when the screen size of the device viewing the website is detected and matched with a style sheet.

Adaptive design is predominantly server side. This means that the web server does all of the work of detecting the various devices and loading the correct style sheet depending on the attributes of the device.

The major drawback of AWD is to create multiple layouts hence the maintenance and updation are also costly and time consuming.

Similarities and Differences:

The biggest similarity between the two methods is that they both allow websites to be viewed in mobile devices and various screen sizes. They also provide visitors with an enhanced mobile-friendly user experience.

They are different in the way that they deliver the responsive / adaptive design to the user. RWD is dependent on fluid grids and AWD is relying on predefined size layouts. 

Another major difference is usage of client side or server side is another way in which they differ. 

The visible difference is that responsive design will fluidly alter its layout while you resize your browser window whilst adaptive design will load a specific layout for the device you're viewing the site on. 

Contact Us for more details or inquiries on web design or mobile responsive web designs.

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