All about Single Page Applications

Single Page Applications, or SPAs as they are commonly called are, is a new system if web-designing that is gaining a lot of popularity among web-page creators. Because of the simplicity and ease that it creates for internet users, SPAs are gaining more and more momentum by the day, replacing the former Multiple Page Application System at a fast pace.

What is SPA?

While in the case of traditional websites, that are usually created using a Multiple Page System, the website has to keep loading each time that an option is clicked, pages created with SPAs do not do so. Everything is on a single web page, thereby requiring you to load the page only once because the HTML codes and other elements do not need to keep reloading every now and them. This enables a person to use the page with greater ease and without all the annoying need to reload, backload and other annoying factors that have always been frustrating internet users.

How is it different?

SPA is harder to create: it is harder for a person to create a page that does not require the website to move from one HTML code to the other. In SPA, only the view of the same page has to change. This causes some amount of trouble for the person building the page. Despite this, it is the development process of pages with SPA is much more simplified because there is no need to write codes for the rendering of the pages on the server. Once the developer overcomes the difficulties of creating such a page, he/she will then find that the process is actually simpler and faster when compared to building pages with MPA.

Another major difference between SPA and MPA that has huge implications for the developer is that building a mobile-friendly version of the website becomes very easy. Until now, developers have been grappling with the problem of creating a mobile-friendly version of websites that give the same UX as the website would give on a PC. with SPA, it is possible to use the same back-end code for both, web applications as well as phone applications.

Pages created with SPA can even be used offline! Pages that have been built in a traditional way need constant internet because of the frequent reloading of the resources such as HTML and CSS. pages that use SPA, however, load only once, and so a user can turn off his internet without having to worry about losing the data.

Are there any downsides?

Like everything else, the seemingly-wonderful SPA too has its downsides. We have already seen that is more tricky to create when compared to MPA pages. Apart from that, there is also the problem of attackers because pages created with SPA happen to be lower on security. Moreover, if you are looking to create content with great SEO value, then pages with SPA are not what you should go for because SEO-optimization in SPA pages is hard. Moreover, there is always a chance that such pages will load slower, thanks to the heavy client frameworks.

Are you currently weighing your options of a SPA vs. a MPA?  Let us help you decide!  Contact us!  {contact-form}