Use HTML to set up periodic notifications on the current webpage.
You should use HTML for your pinned sites customizations when your polling URIs or polling frequency are not subject to change.
Use JavaScript to set up periodic notifications on current webpage.
You should use JavaScript for your liveness when you required higher levels of customizability in turning live tiles on and off
or customizing the polling URIs. JavaScript also enables scheduled notifications or lets the webpage track the user's site pinning action.
Specify an XML file which contains your pinned sites customizations.
You should use the XML file if you want to turn on live tiles for your entire domain. You can specify the location of this XML file
through the msapplication-config tag as shown in this example. In the absence of this tag, IE will check the root of your server
for the file: "browserconfig.xml" and apply its contents to all the URLs on your domain. Use this approach for a simple live tile
implementation that is not subject to change and works on your entire website.
Pinned Sites API Reference
List of Tile Templates
BuildMyPinnedSite Wizard
IE11 Dev Guide: Pinned Site enhancements
Pinned Sites Developer Documentation