Web developers have become quite familiar with the term “Ajax” over the years, as it is increasingly used in their daily work.
Although Ajax technology is easy to use for web applications, it has great development potential. Let’s look at the pros and cons of Ajax technology. Find out how Ajax technology works in Magento 2.
Let’s get started!
What is Ajax?
What is Ajax?
We will only take a few minutes to look at Ajax. Asynchronous JavaScrip is the most basic acronym for Ajax. XML is the second.
It can be described as a collection of web development methods that can be used to create faster and better web applications using XML, HTML CSS, Javascript, CSS, and CSS.
Web applications use Ajax technology to retrieve and send data from servers without interfering with the display of existing pages.
Ajax’s Advantages and Drawbacks
Technology and its uses are often discussed in terms of the pros and cons. Ajax, like other technologies, has many advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s take a closer look at these two sides of Ajax technology.
AJAX has many advantages
Server traffic can be reduced and speed increased
Ajax’s primary advantage is its ability to improve performance and usability for web applications.
Ajax allows applications to render with no data. This reduces server traffic. Web developers can reduce the time taken to respond on both sides of the request.
Ajax implementation means that your website visitors won’t have to wait for pages to refresh or see a white window.
Enable asynchronous calls
Ajax is a web developer’s best friend because it allows lazy loading to be done. Lazy loading is an optimization technique widely used to optimize online content.
Ajax lets its users make asynchronous calls without having to reload the entire web page. You don’t need to wait for the page to load completely to be able to access all of the page content.
Lazy loading allows users to load only the necessary sections and delay loading the rest until they are needed. Ajax Lazy Loading improves the page’s load time and also increases conversion rates.
XMLHttpRequest
XMLHttpRequest can be used to send request Ajax pages. It can also be called Asynchronous HTTP Request. It is crucial in the implementation and maintenance of Ajax web development techniques.
XMLHttpRequest transfers XML data from and to a web service that uses HTTP. It establishes an independent connection between the server and client sides of the webpage.
Decrease bandwidth consumption
Ajax also offers bandwidth usage as an additional benefit. This is a great way to improve web performance and load speeds.
Ajax makes maximum use of the server’s bandwidth, fetching particles instead of sending the whole page. This allows you to retrieve data from the database, store it in the database and perform background tasks without having to reload the page.
Validation of Form
AJAX allows for precise and immediate validation of forms, unlike traditional submissions, which require client-side validations to occur after submission. AJAX offers speed, which is another benefit.
Ajax’s disadvantages
These are just a few of the many areas that Ajax has great potential for implementation. Let’s now discuss some of the potential drawbacks to Ajax.
- Open-source. Ajax code source can be viewed by anyone. This makes it less secure than other technologies.
- Ajax pages cannot be indexed by search engines.
- Ajax usage can make it difficult for web pages to be debugged and expose them to security risks in the future.
- Ajax is dependent on JavaScript. Therefore, only browsers with Javascripts support or XMLHttpRequest are allowed to use Ajax pages
- Due to the dynamic web page, users will have difficulty bookmarking a particular state of the application.
- Users may notice that clicking the back button does not allow you to return to the original page state. However, it can be a good idea for users to click the back button. This is because successive Ajax requests to the browser are not able to register with the browser’s history.
Ajax 2 for Magento:
Ajax can also be used in cases where small amounts of data need to be saved or received from the server. This is without the need to reload the entire page. Web owners can offer a seamless experience for customers browsing their entire store.
However, it can be time-consuming to develop a feature for web apps from scratch. Don’t worry, there are many extensions that use Ajax technology.
You only need to download the appropriate modules and install them. Below are extensions that make use of Ajax technology for Magento 2 stores.
Magento 2 Lazy Loading
Lazy loading, as mentioned previously, is Ajax coding that speeds up website rendering. The Magento 2 Lazy Loading extension improves web load speed by only showing web images at the most demanding times.
Lazy loading uses Ajax technology to load images. This means images on a website won’t load until the user scrolls to a specific browser’s view.
This feature is a huge benefit to eCommerce websites as it allows customers to browse without any friction.
Magento 2 Ajax Layered Navigation
Lazy Loading has the same merchandise, but Magento2 Ajax Layered Navig allows merchants to save a lot of time page loading.
This module uses Ajax technology to improve web responsiveness and deliver faster loading at every touchpoint.
Continue reading:
- How to Install Ajax to Load More Products from Magento 2?
- Improve Your Customers Experience With Ajax Layered Navigation For Magento 2
Magento 2 Ajax Cart extension
Ajax Cart Magento 2 improves the customer shopping experience by optimizing image loading speed.
Your customers will be able to instantly add products to their cart using an add-to cart popup. This popup uses Ajax technology. It is included in:
- Add to Cart
- Compare
- Add to Wishlist
This module will allow you to enhance your customers’ shopping experience with a user-friendly shopping website.
Magento 2 Ajax Search
With the Magento 2 Ajax Search extension, consumers can get auto-complete results for their searches as soon as they type a word into the search field.
Search results will appear in a drop-down menu right below the search field. It includes all information about each item, especially:
- Image
- Name of the product
- Price
- A short description
This feature is extremely beneficial to web visitors as they can find the products they are looking for quickly and easily.
Bottom line
Ajax technology offers online businesses an innovative way to communicate with web pages in a way that improves the user experience.
We hope this guide helps you to learn and use it effectively. We appreciate you taking the time to read it!