What is the best way to structure the layout: Subdomains or External CSS for Web and Mobile Web?

I'm currently working on designing an application that needs to be compatible with both web and mobile web browsers. Due to the differences in screen sizes, I understand that I will need to create different layouts and views to ensure optimal user experience on each platform. Additionally, I'll need a way to detect whether the request is coming from a web or mobile web client.

I've come across two common solutions for this:

  • Routing HTTP requests based on the detected client type (web goes to www.example.com, while mobile web goes to m.example.com); or
  • Serving different CSS stylesheets depending on the client type (use app-styles-web.css for web and app-styles-mobile.css for mobile web)

My question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy? Using subdomains may add complexity, especially when managing multiple CSS files, but could it provide benefits such as separating concerns effectively? I appreciate any insights you can share. Thank you!

cssmobile-website

Answer №1

Many major vendors opt for using sub-domains to ensure that the end client's browser is correctly redirected to the right version of their site. Look at today's internet giants - Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo - they all have their own mobile-friendly sub-domains.

Imagine I visit a website, www.example.com, on my smartphone. The site detects my device and redirects me to the mobile web sub-domain m.example.com. However, if I were to access the same site on a different handset with a custom browser that hides user-agent data, it may load the desktop version instead, risking display issues. Thankfully, I know about the mobile sub-domain and can manually navigate to it in my address bar.

Additionally, there are significant SEO considerations, as a sub-domain is treated as a separate entity by search engines. By not utilizing a sub-domain, you could potentially harm your site's ranking.

I too encountered a similar dilemma some months ago, but after considering these factors, I chose to go with the sub-domain approach and now have many satisfied customers :-) If you want to play it safe, consider using a sub-domain.

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