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Would you explain difference between RWD (Responsive Web Design) and AWD (Adaptive Web Design) in a simple way?
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A responsive design can change its layout and appearance based on the screen size of the device it's accessed on, from a large desktop computer to a small mobile phone. An adaptive design requires the creation of a different layout for each device the website will be accessed on.
Responsive doesn't offer as much control as adaptive, but takes much less work to both build and maintain. Responsive layouts are also fluid, and whilst adaptive can and do use percentages to give a more fluid feel when scaling, these can again cause a jump when a window is resized.
Responsive is the same layout in a fluid or snappy way responding to the browsers size. Adaptive is the same but it adapts also to the way the user interacts with the website. Like you say “larger buttons on touch devices”. But that way of adaptive can also be fluid or snappy.
One of the world's biggest hotel booking sites uses adaptive design to serve its users with a device-optimized experience. Booking.com on mobile allows its users to "Search nearby for tonight" which recognizes the user's location based on GPS or the current internet provider if GPS location is not available.
Adaptive (AWD): Not necessarily set on a fluid grid; targets specific device resolutions (320, 768, 1024, et.al.); can have set widths (fixed) or relative widths (%), controlled by media queries.
Responsive (RWD): Built on a fluid grid; will change with the browser, no matter what the screen resolution; content can break apart and realign if need be.
In short: RWD is like AWD, except taken a step or two further, in order to future proof design for unknown devices as well as known devices.
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