There's a good deal of confusion surrounding mobile terminology. What's the difference between responsive and adaptive? What makes an app hybrid? What does mobile first really mean? Here are 11 mobile terms that you need to know, and what they really mean.

1. 11 MOBILE
TERMS
YOU NEED TO
KNOW

2. 1 HTML5
HTML5 is the latest version of the HTML language for building
websites. In practice, “HTML5” has become the umbrella term
for app-like features on websites, even when it requires other
languages like JavaScript and CSS.
!
These HTML5 features enable web applications to match the
capabilities of native applications without plugins (e.g. web apps
that can work without a network connection, video playback
without Flash, etc.).
!
See also: “HTML5”
-­‐
HTML5
Rocks

3. 2 NATIVE APPS
A software application developed to run on a specific mobile
operating system, and which is downloaded, purchased, and
upgraded through a central distribution portal (such as the App
Store).
!
Native apps are developed using software and tools that are
unique to the target mobile OS. As a result, native apps easily
inherit the look-and-feel of the mobile device but are also hard
to migrate to other operating systems.

4. 3 HTML5 APPS
HTML5 applications (or “web apps”) are built with web
technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) but offer the interactivity
and experience typically associated with a native application.
HTML5 apps are generally considered easier to build than
native applications.
!
Because they only require a common web browser, HTML5 apps
are easy to distribute and require little effort to migrate across
platforms and operating systems.

5. 4 HYBRID APPS
An application built by combining HTML5 and native code. Like
a native app, hybrid apps are installed on a mobile device and are
distributed through a central portal (such as the App Store) but
offer the ease of development and cross-platform benefits of an
HTML5 app.
!
For more information, read Native vs. Hybrid vs. HTML5

6. 5 mBaaS
A mobile Backend-as-a-Service (mBaaS) bundles the common
functionality required to support mobile applications into a
single cloud platform.
!
mBaaS solutions do not build the app that runs on a mobile
device. Instead they accelerate app development by reducing
the effort to develop services such as user management and
push notifications that are typically needed by mobile apps.
!
See also: “The New Lightweight Middleware?” – Forrester
Research

7. 6 MOBILE FIRST
Mobile First is a technology-agnostic design principle. Designers
first focus on mobile, so that screen and bandwidth constraints
force designers to decide what user activities are most
important, which in turn, bring clarity to UX trade-offs on more
forgiving devices.
!
Further, the term Mobile First is sometimes used signify a shift
in which mobile becomes more important than the PC in an
organization's digital strategy.
!
See also: “What does mobile first mean to you? - FastCompany

8. 7 RESPONSIVE
WEB DESIGN
Responsive web design (RWD) is a client-side developer
technique that uses fluid grids, flexible images and CSS media
queries to dynamically adapt the front-end of a website to
different screen sizes in order to optimize the user experience
for that device. Requires net new development or a rewrite of
an existing site.
!
See also: “Responsive Web Design” – A List Apart

9. 8 RESPONSIVE
Responsive has become a broadly applied term to describe
various techniques and technologies in which a unified set of
website code produces web pages optimized for variety of
devices based on screen size and other device capabilities.
!
The application of responsive techniques to web development
was inspired by responsive architecture.

10. 9 ReSS
Responsive web design with Server-Side components (ReSS) is a
form of responsive that combines RWD client-side techniques
with server-side code.
!
With ReSS, the overall page is constructed according to RWD
principles but individual components within the page can be
optimized for a specific device by server side code. ReSS
solutions can result in better performance than pure RWD but
are more complex to implement.
!
See also: “Responsive Design + Server Side Components” – LukeW

11. 10
ADAPTIVE
WEB DESIGN
Adaptive Web Design is a method of creating multi-device
websites where the server uses a different template for each
device (or device class) to display the web page in a (typically
fixed width) layout appropriate for that device. Adaptive is
similar in goals to RWD, but accomplishes this with multiple
server-side templates vs. a single template with client-side
media queries.
!
See also: “Should Your Website Be Using Adpative Design” –
Harvard Buiness Review

12. RESPONSIVE
DELIVERY
RD is a form of responsive that proposes a single, unified set of
code that dynamically adapts to various endpoints. RD
accomplishes this goal by leveraging existing business logic
instead of rewriting a site. Software (typically in the cloud) adjusts
(in real-time) the front-end of a desktop site into customized
experiences for mobile sites and hybrid apps. CDNs, caching and
image optimization speed performance.
!
See also: “Responsive Delivery” - Moovweb
11

13. 11
MOBILE
TERMS YOU
NEED TO
KNOW
HTML5
!
Native Apps
!
HTML5 Apps
!
Hybrid Apps
!
mBaSS
!
Mobile First
Responsive Web Design
!
Responsive
!
ReSS
!
Adaptive Web Design
!
Responsive Delivery