Single-page applications, or SPAs, are becoming increasingly popular among the IT development trends nowadays. They have multiple advantages, both in terms of the development process and usage. In this overview, we are going to focus on the reasons for their popularity and specify several tools that might be helpful while creating them.
What are single-page applications?
An SPA is a website or a web application that works within a browser and loads only a single document. When users appear on an SPA, it does not need reloading. Some content may be updated, but not the whole page. As a result, there are no delays in the process of navigation. The user experience is improved due to the high speed of the processing and the overall dynamic interaction with the page. From the technological side, the operations are happening between the server and the client sides. When a user googles a request, the browser addresses the server, and the latter replies with an HTML document. For the following requests, JSON data is sent. Thus, the content of the page is updated without reloading the complete document. You open an SPA every time you check your Gmail account, or scroll through the Facebook feed. On the contrary, an example of a multipage application is Amazon.
Why create an SPA?
- Speed
They say you only have 8 seconds to grab the attention of a potential lead. If your product does not attract a person in that short time period, you fail. Imagine those seconds were spent on loading your website. Unfortunately, in that situation, the chances of your product’s commercial success are really slim. However, if you have an SPA with your service’s catching description, your position is more stable.
- User experience
This reason is the outcome of the previous one. If users like the speed of your SPA, the user experience is enhanced. Potential customers are happy with what they get. They can navigate your site quickly and get what they need in no time. As a result, they are satisfied, which is the first milestone passed in your marketing funnel.
- Cache
As we have mentioned in the beginning, the data is loaded from the server only once. It means that even if your connection is lost, the data is synchronized with the server when the internet is back up and running. Cache processing is more efficient.
- Development
Due to the simplicity of the structure of an SPA, it is easier to develop. The ease lies in the fact that the front-end and back-end can be developed separately. There is no need to render the pages on the server side. While operating, the backend is not much modified, so it may stay as it is when users register or fill in the forms online. The content stays the same, you just need to change the way it looks.
- Debugging
The process of debugging is an essential part of any website’s maintenance. As for SPAs, it is easier to debug them because there are dozens of ready-made tools for that. Generally, SPAs are designed with the help of well-known JS frameworks, which means there are special programs to scan the app and find the bugs instead of the tiring process of reading hundreds of lines of code.
- Resources
SPAs load the data just once. It enables users to benefit from them even in situations with poor internet connection. The data is synchronized when the connection is back online, which makes SPAs ideal for any situation, be it transport, secluded areas, etc.
- Compatibility
There are no special conditions for creating SPAs. Thus, they can run on any device and comply with any browser.
It seems like SPAs are ideal. Let’s look at the flip side.
SEO issues
As long as an SPA has a limited number of pages, the possibilities for SEO are limited. The search bots may not notice an application, so it will be difficult to optimize the organic traffic.
Hacker attacks
Such an unpleasant thing as cross-site scripting may happen to SPAs more often than to ordinary sites. Data security is also under threat. Therefore, an SPA is not an option for a site with serious requirements for safety regulations.
To sum up, SPAs are perfect solutions for websites with a limited amount of data and if you seek fast navigation and interaction with users. Besides, they are good for social networking sites, as they do not need profound SEO. SPAs are easy to integrate into a more complex site.
To-go technologies that are useful
There are various JS frameworks and libraries that significantly facilitate the process of SPA development. The logic of working with a library is a bit different from that of a framework. However, both of them offer ready-made components for designing applications that will guarantee a great customer experience. Let’s have a look at some modern and powerful projects.
The Webix UI Library is a toolkit full of handy components, widgets, and templates to be used in the development process. Complex widgets are single-page applications themselves that are designed either to work independently or to be implemented into any new environment. The widgets include the most typical apps, such as the Chat widget, Spreadsheet, Kanban board, etc. The library also offers multiple built-in solutions that are very convenient to use. Webix Jet is a microframework that allows users to combine widgets fast and effectively. The UI Designer enables the creation of appealing prototypes to share with the customers. The library is distributed under a commercial license and offers a free trial period.
This product is different from the previous ones. It is an open-source framework supported by a huge community of followers. The framework is mostly oriented towards the frontend. The pages are reloaded interactively, which allows faster development. The URL routes are developed first, allowing the support for deep links. The layer to deal with data is based on the JSON API, but it may be connected to any API. In general, the framework is very modern and progressive in its methods and techniques.
React
This is one of the most well-known open-source libraries today. With Facebook (Meta) developers behind it, it would be difficult to be less popular. A huge community of React supporters allows young developers to learn quickly and gain the required skills. Most of the solutions available on the market today are integrated with React.
Conclusion
Single-page applications are perfect for creating social networks and responsive websites with live updates. However, they are not suitable for sophisticated projects that involve dealing with large amounts of data. Thus, make sure you understand the requirements of your project and choose an appropriate tool to assist the process and help the development team. For more information and read about Ryan cartagena bio visit Magazine for All it an Innovative Content Magazine.