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AJAX technology (AJAX) is a widely used technique in web design that improves service to users in various services. All people who enter the Internet use this technology in some way. When you have searched on Google, you must have noticed that as soon as you type the words, Similar suggestions are offered to you by Google. This possibility is provided behind the scenes by AJAX technology, and in fact, it is Ajax that calls and displays these results for you quickly.

Or you use this technology when you use the Gmail service and see new emails without refreshing the page. This technology is used in many sites and services, and we will talk about how to use this technology in detail.

What is AJAX technology?

AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML and is a method in which page information is updated without reloading. To fully understand AJAX, it is better to familiarize yourself with how pages work on the web.

When you enter the address of a site in the browser and press the enter button to confirm or click on a link in the Google search results, there is a rotating ring at the top of your browser tab to indicate that the browser is communicating with the site’s server. Loading site information is displayed on your system.

This action is called loading the page, but in terms of reloading, suppose you intend to register on a site; in this case, you will go to the registration page and send the form on the page after completing it, usually As soon as you click on the membership button, the sign of loading the page will be displayed again. This action is called page reload, which means reloading the page!

AJAX is a technology to remove extra loading when needed. Let’s say you didn’t choose a safe password during registration or don’t know how to choose a safe password. In this case, how often do you have to click on the membership button and wait for the page to reload and get the password selection error? This will annoy you to a great extent.

Using AJAX technology, the site designers communicate with the server after entering the password or other things such as username and show you the relevant errors simultaneously without clicking the submit button and reloading the page. Processes such as choosing a password and username without it technology sometimes become exhausting, and solving such problems is one of the biggest advantages of AJAX technology.

Now you understand the concept of it well, so you can say that whenever sending and receiving information from the site without reloading the page, AJAX technology has been used in that site or service.

Is AJAX a programming language?

No! It can be said that AJAX is a simple word, But behind it, some different concepts and technologies make the use of this technique possible. Ajax uses HTML or XHTML for content, CSS for presentation, DOM or Document Object Model, and JavaScript to display dynamic content.

In simpler words, Ajax technology requires HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and DOM languages for its implementation, which allows this technology to choose to load a part of the page using JavaScript language.

How does Ajax work?

The operation of this technology begins in several steps and by creating an event. For example, clicking on a button or link or focusing on typing in the username field in a registration form can be set as an event to execute JavaScript codes to send the data of a certain section to the server. The browser creates an XMLHttpRequest or XHR object using JavaScript.

This object is an API or Application Programming Interface that can be used with JavaScript, various browsers, and other languages to transfer and manage XML data sent and received from browsers via HTTP. In short, it can be said that this object is used to create an independent communication channel between the user’s browser and the server.

Ajax sends the desired data and information to the server through the created object. The request is received and processed on the server. Then the final result is returned to the browser. The browser receives the answer with the help of JavaScript and displays it in the section specified by the identifiers based on how the web developer designed it.

When should you use AJAX?

You may think that when big companies like Google and Yahoo, with all those experts, use Ajax, it must be a great option for my website. But don’t use AJAX just because it’s professional and user-friendly or because it’s one of the most widely used techniques in big sites and services like Google. Because along with its significant advantages, it also has many disadvantages.

Always remember to only use Ajax for what it was designed for. If you can do something without using AJAX, never force yourself to implement it by AJAX and only use this technology in cases where you need it (for example, checking the correctness of the data before sending them completely to the server).

Where should you use Ajax?

In general, it is better to use this technology in the user and management panel that does not need to be indexed and SEO and does not include content that users can read. In this section, we will review some of the applications in which it is better to use AJAX and AJAX is made for it.

Validation of forms

As mentioned earlier, if the validation is done only after submitting the form, it may be problematic for the user. So you can use AJAX in form validation.lightbox

Pop-ups are often annoying, and browsers usually block them. Therefore, a good and interesting alternative to pop-ups on the site isis lightboxes, one of Ajax technology’s most beneficial uses.

Lightboxes are the pages that are displayed after the site is loaded. These boxes are usually designed in such a way that the contents of the screen can be displayed behind them, and for this reason, they are called light boxes. Most lightboxes have a commercial purpose and are usually used for promotions and special offers.
Sort or filter

Sometimes you want to filter search results or something else based on date, popularity, cost, etc., in which case Ajax is a very good technique.
Vote or like

If you need a user to vote on something or rate your product, there’s no need to reload the entire site. Ranking and display can be done using AJAX.
Chat and conversations

Chatting is always implemented in real-time. The page should not be reloaded to receive and send messages. For this reason, if you plan to create a chat page on your website, you should use AJAX.
Captcha

It would help if you used Ajax to create a captcha (or reload a captcha). Captcha is the security code that distinguishes real users from bots on websites.
Special cases in dedicated projects

AJAX technology applications are not included in the above cases, and it may be better to implement some of them with AJAX according to the needs of certain projects. For example, displaying the completion of employee projects on the counter of a management portal to the project manager or displaying messages in real-time to managers is better to be implemented with Ajax so that there is no need to refresh the page to view them.

Advantages of AJAX

This technology eliminates the time needed to reload the page, shortens the path to the answer, and gets things done faster. It can prevent page contents from being re-downloaded on the user’s system, reduce server load, and save bandwidth. It is also very useful in tasks that require an immediate response.

Disadvantages of AJAX

Unfortunately, AJAX, along with its wonderful advantages, also brings disadvantages that force designers to use it in terms of crutches. One of the biggest disadvantages is the hits that come to the site because it is not SEO friendly. The search engine does not have access to the pages that are called AJAX. Also, AJAX increases the volume of pages due to the use of JavaScript and, of course, lowers the site’s loading speed.

A page loaded by AJAX cannot be bookmarked, nor can its content be linked. Because the address of the page is always fixed, but its contents are variable based on the received data. Therefore, all steps must be done from the beginning by reloading the page.

Screen readers designed for disabled users cannot access content displayed by AJAX, so this is not only a problem for SEO but also a problem for people with disabilities.

Also, only modern browsers support it, and if the user disables JavaScript, Ajax will not run, and your site will look incomplete and ineffective.

Conclusion

In general, it should be said that AJAX technology is not bad, but it is still immature and needs to be improved. So it will be very useful where you need fast and instant communication; otherwise, try not to use it because it can hinder your site’s SEO, and sometimes it can be not very pleasant for the user, but besides the things that have been said In search engines, notifications, Google Maps, etc., Ajax is the best option.

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