Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Programming Discussion : Starting new site and have a question?

[stacytaylora]

I'm going to try and explain this the best I can...lol.

Starting a new site and debating on whether to use ajax?

Can anyone help me decide whether to use ajax and not have as many page views but have faster uploading of content for viewers or having entire page upload for more page views and new ads.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[JAMLayer]

What are you going to have on the site I guess would be a good way to determine if its necessary.

[stacytaylora]

Articles with several pages of information. Picture submissions for members to view and rate.

[mattle]

As a general strategy, I usually dedicate each page to a particular function, so I might have an article page, a picture submission page, a picture rating page, a user sign-up page, user preferences page, etc. Then within each page I would likely use AJAX for dynamic elements and form submissions.

[stacytaylora]

Thanks for the help

[alons]

AJAX is to be used to help simplify things when multiple pages are to be loaded e.g. in a form when someone selects from a menu another menu dependant on the first menu would load via AJAX.

But you neednt make every page load with AJAX.
Also there are browser differences in Javascripting, you got to take care of that.

Regards,
Alons

[siv9]

I agree. Ajax is a neat, and very beneficial method of speeding up a variety of things on your website (E.g. a login form, a star rating system, the dropdown selector, etc). However, it doesn't need to be sprinkled unnecessarily. Efficient and beneficial Ajax can sometimes take a bit longer to implement than a standard form, so using it unnecessarily would waste valuable programming time. There are many, many methods for speeding up your website (mod_gzip for Apache and Minify http://code.google.com/p/minify/ for a couple examples).

My guess is if you don't have a specific thing in mind to use Ajax for, I wouldn't worry about it. Meaning, if you don't think you need it, don't use it.

However, I would like to recommend jQuery if you decide to use Ajax, or javascript at all. It can really make a huge difference in your time, and efficiency. Very powerful, simple javascript framework.

[ankit_frenz]

Well it depends on what you need more ?? more add views or users returning regularly?
Well i believe Ajax makes site more user friendly..buts that's only my view

[siv9]

http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/AJA...ty-Guidelines/

Ajax can be beneficial, but as I stated, it shouldn't be used unnecessarily. It should be well thought out.

Ajax can actually HURT your site if not implemented correctly. Try searching for 'ajax usability issues' on google.

One important thing to remember, is 99% of the time Ajax BREAKS the BACK button in your browser. The back button is one of the MOST used navigational features for all of your users. So if you take that away in critical areas, this could cause extreme detriment to your website.

Ajax can also cause search engine issues, resulting in less people being able to find your site.

There are many studies on Ajax usability. Most studies reveal ajax to be harmful in most cases, however, when applied correctly, it can be extremely beneficial.

Just keep in mind your users! Test,test,test, and more test! Don't launch your website without having a variety of people play with it and see what they like, don't like, etc.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009...-a-low-budget/

This is probably one of the most valuable pages on the internet

[Qandil]

Originally Posted by siv9

http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/AJA...ty-Guidelines/

Ajax can be beneficial, but as I stated, it shouldn't be used unnecessarily. It should be well thought out.

Ajax can actually HURT your site if not implemented correctly. Try searching for 'ajax usability issues' on google.

One important thing to remember, is 99% of the time Ajax BREAKS the BACK button in your browser. The back button is one of the MOST used navigational features for all of your users. So if you take that away in critical areas, this could cause extreme detriment to your website.

Ajax can also cause search engine issues, resulting in less people being able to find your site.

There are many studies on Ajax usability. Most studies reveal ajax to be harmful in most cases, however, when applied correctly, it can be extremely beneficial.

Just keep in mind your users! Test,test,test, and more test! Don't launch your website without having a variety of people play with it and see what they like, don't like, etc.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009...-a-low-budget/

This is probably one of the most valuable pages on the internet

Great Reply

[aaron1988]

I agree with siv9 so great job