One of the most recent and popular trends in today’s world of web development is a Single Page Application.
The expectations of end-users have drastically changed with time, and the look and feel of using the web have changed substantially since its inception.
In the early phase, the web was just a means to provide information, and there was no interaction with the user.
As the demand for users keeps growing and technology emerges, the web has been continuously evolving and changing significantly to contribute to the user experience. The outcome is that the user can actively interact with the content presented on the websites. So, what is the deal with a single page application? Let us throw some light on it in this blog.
Single Page Application Content
- Introduction
- Working of a Single Page Application
- Creating a Single Page Application
- Why Do We Use A Single Page Application?
- Benefits of a Single Page Application
- Disadvantages of A Single Page Application
- Conclusion
Single Page Applications are found everywhere, and in the era of watching web series, we bet you are using Netflix every day, a single page web application.
A few most visited and known Single Page Applications include Gmail, Google Maps and Google Drive, Facebook, Twitter, AirbnbAirbnbagram, Netflix, Pinterest, Paypal, etc.
Their popularity is innumerable, such as good visitor experience, great speed, no page refresh, ability to work offline, fast response to user actions, and mobile-friendly. Along with escalating innovative web applications, Single Page Application takes the web development world on a typhoon.
In this article, we will discuss and give you a whole picture of a single-page application, the working of a single-page web application, a single-page application, and the advantages and disadvantages of a single-page application. In the end, let’s find out the acceptance of single-page web applications in today’s world.
Let’s start!
Introduction
Today, Single-page applications, also called SPA, are the de facto standard for creating modern web applications that create the mirage of a page change, and you are literally on one single page all the time.
SPA is a JavaScript framework (kudos to Mr. Brendan Eich, who developed a scripting language in just 10 days. JavaScript gained popularity and has risen to be the most popular programming language globally) for developing and distributing applications functionality across the web. They help eliminate the web app complexity such as requests, responses, and others, swapping only the user’s requested content and loading only HTML data in chunks.
Before developing single-page apps, applications were built and rendered on the server-side and delivered entirely to the client device. As the user navigated through the application, each page was created from scratch and required to be constantly refreshed, leading to a ‘flickering’ screen. Data-intensive web apps, which pulled data from multiple different sources, used to load slowly.
The Wikipedia definition below explains it very accurately.
A single-page application is defined as a web application or website that interacts with the web browser by dynamically rewriting the current web page with new data from the webserver instead of the default method of the browser loading entire new pages.’
A single-page application is an app that doesn’t need to reload the page during its use and works within a browser.
In short, a single-page application is made so that there is NO PAGE REFRESH/RELOAD.
To create single-page applications, developers use JavaScript and characterize the fact they don’t have a separation between the front and back end; instead, they are one thing. It is only one page, a single HTML page that loads once we open the website and never refreshes.
Working of a Single Page Application
Whenever you click a new page, the server renders a new HTML page in a traditional web application, causing a refresh.
If you look at the single-page application example, say Gmail, when you visit Gmail in any browser and navigate to the inbox, outbox, on some mail, the content changes. The URL also changes, but you do not sense that the page is reloading, and all this happens instantly in a fraction of seconds. It is one of the most significant benefits of SPA.
All information is located on a single page, and when you click different pages, the page will show them to you without refreshing. This shows how a single-page application works with the help of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), a set of web development techniques that makes single-page applications a reality.
BY USING AJAX TECHNIQUE, THE PAGE you’re currently USING doesn’t need to RELOAD/REFRESH, and AJAX retrieves the data in the background.
Creating a Single Page Application
To create a single-page application, you need 3 T’s: Tools, Team, and Time.
Tools
The first component you need is JavaScript or one of its frameworks. So to create a SPA, you can use either clean JavaScript or its frameworks like Vue, React, Angular, Meteor, backbone.js.
The second component Ajax is another essential technique to update parts of a web page without reloading the whole page.
The third component is the database, and the best databases can be based on the application you are developing. The most likely databases are MySQL or MongoDB, but the final decision is definitely up to you and your developing team.
Back-end technologies are based on experience, but my personal experience says that Node.js is the best option for a back-end development framework.
Team
You will need professionals, trained people, and designers to create classic websites to create a SPA.
Time
Based on research, application development can take from two months to a maximum of twelve months.
Why Do We Use A Single Page Application?
In addition to avoiding reloading the entire page, SPA brings other benefits. One of them is a faster display of the information. Most resources SPA needs are your HTML, CSS, and Scripts. These resources are loaded at the launch of the app and don’t need to be reloaded again and again during usage. The only thing that changes is the data transmitted to and from the server, which makes the app very responsive to the user’s interactions and doesn’t have to wait for client-server communication.
This reduces server load as the initial page load finishes. It does not have to process HTML codes during each request, and hence page rendering is moved from the server to the client.
Same back-end that SPA uses can be used for a mobile application. If appropriate tools are chosen (say Node.js, MongoDB), it is possible to develop an entire application using only one programming language, i.e., JavaScript.
If the application has been loaded on any browser, it is possible to use it without the Internet unless new data from the server is required.
Benefits of a Single Page Application
Single-page applications have abundant benefits, which is the main reason for SPA’s widespread use and popularity.
Loading Speed
As discussed above, a single-page application is faster than a traditional or multi-page website because SPAs only have one HTML page. There is no need for client-server interaction every single time. People spend hours together on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These popular social media platforms use SPAs and must be as fast as possible.
User Experience
SPA provides a great user experience because they never refresh and save the user time. Combining the loading speed and zero refreshes makes the application appealing to use and explore various web page components.
Ease of Creating and Debugging
SPAs are easy to create as they consist of only one HTML page and take less time to build applications, and the powerful tools/frameworks like Angular, React, and Vue used make debugging within a browser easier.
Cross-Platform Support
SPA illustrates the cross-platform approach as well. It works across different browsers and operating systems, and a single codebase is used by the developers that run across browsers. It helps deliver a great user experience since the adaptable app layout matches devices of every dimension.
Low Bandwidth Usage/Work Offline
SPAs consume less bandwidth since the page load happens once. SPAs can be used in areas with a slow internet connection and are convenient for everyone to use, regardless of internet speed. It also provides caching ability as the application has to request data from the server only once on the first download. Hence, the webpage can be accessed with a poor internet connection, even if the user is offline.
However, this doesn’t mean that just anyone can make an excellent single-page application – they still need to be polished and work as smoothly as they are supposed to.
With all the great benefits listed above, single-page applications aren’t perfect. Let’s see what the disadvantages of SPA’s.
Disadvantages of A Single Page Application
Search Engine Optimization
The most significant disadvantage of SPA is the way they work with SEO. SPA doesn’t have the traditional layout and pages that crawlers index, making search engine optimization problematic. Moreover, SEO depends on HTML content and SPAs run in JavaScript, and the data gets loaded without reloading a page. So there are no individual URLs for search engines, making it difficult to search the content.
Slow Initial Loading Time
Since the entire application loads in as you click it, it can be slow, even though it’s not a long loading time. Moreover, if the app is too complex, its initial load slows down.
Must Support JavaScript
If users disable JavaScript in their browser, they cannot use SPA fully or can’t leverage the complete functionalities of a particular application.
However, single-page apps are suitable for small and mid-size applications, not enterprise-based ones. They have more maintainability issues due to the usage of third-party plug-ins. These are just a few pointers to keep in mind if you’re planning to make a single-page application for your business.
Wrapping It Up!
The key to having successful businesses in today’s fast-changing, dynamic, and competitive digital world is a testimony that being customer-centric is the only remarkable way of growing a business. Moreover, end-users rapidly declining attention spans are pushing enterprises to dive into newer and better ways of providing high-quality, real-time experiences to customers.
The two giant companies, Google and Facebook, apps that drive your daily dose of the Internet and social media activity, have also been built using SPAs. Single-page applications are becoming more and more prevalent, with many popular websites using them.
On a concluding note, whether Single Page Applications have been widely accepted in today’s world or not is a big YES! As the demand for a better user experience has evolved, Single Page Applications are a perfect choice and have been widely accepted by various business verticals. Besides the disadvantages of SPA, many leading businesses use SPA to provide the user with a better and more fluid experience.
We hope this article has helped you learn about single-page applications and why it has become the first choice among different business verticals.
Thank you for your time!
