Today’s fierce market competition makes companies look for any possibility to improve their web application to meet ever-growing customer demands. They start to switch their focus from traditional multi-page websites to modern Single Page Applications (SPA).
SPAs are a growing trend in web development. Facebook, Netflix, and many other apps attract the attention of millions, bringing these companies stellar revenues. However, does it mean that a single-page application is an efficient solution for any company? In this article, we will look into the main features of single-page application development and explain if it’s worth building.
What Single-Page Applications Are
The single-page application history is not that long. Its prerequisites relate to the launch of the first JavaScript frameworks such as jQuery, KnockoutJS, and others. However, SPAs were introduced only in 2010 due to the introduction of the AngularJS framework.
A single-page web app works in the browser and consists of one HTML page that is fully loaded only once. Therefore, the bulk of the data remains unchanged (headers, navigation, logos) while only parts of information are fetched from the server. As a result, single-page apps are more time-efficient, productive, and engaging. Instead of redirecting users to other web pages they dynamically update the content retaining the maximum of customers’ attention.
Single-page architecture is widespread in social media app development (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Moreover, due to the ability to diminish interruption, SPAs have gained particular popularity among e-commerce companies.
What Multi-Page Applications Are
Multi-page applications (MPAs) have a complex structure and a big number of UI layers. In contrast to SPAs, they make numerous queries to the server and load a new page every time the user clicks on a different web app section.
MPAs are a common practice for e-commerce companies (Amazon, eBay), blogs, forums, etc. However, they have started to lose their leading positions due to some of their drawbacks:
i. Slow performance
Although the initial page of the MPA loads faster than its contractor’s all successive actions inside the app are more time-consuming. The browser reloads the whole page reducing app performance speed and decreasing customer experience.
ii. More complex development process
When creating an MPA developers face some obstacles on their way. The front-end and back-end of a multi-page app are tightly connected making the development process more challenging. Moreover, MPAs make developers build the server-side of an app from scratch while SPAs let them reuse back-end code.
Why Build A Single-Page Application In 2021?
SPAs have been adjusted to the latest customer demands offering them easy-to-use, fast, and full-featured web applications. SPA development offers businesses many opportunities thus helping them to gain the cutting edge in the modern market. Here are the main reasons why you should consider creating a one-page application for your business:
1. Faster loading
Loading time is one of the key criteria for robust app performance. Time is money and users don’t want to waste it on waiting for a web page to load. According to the statistics of the Hosting Tribunal, 1 second of delay decreases page views by 11% and reduces customer satisfaction by 16%. Single-page apps are the best solution to improve time-efficiency. After the initial load, the biggest part of the page stays unchanged, and only some pieces of content change when the users navigate within the app.
2. Fewer servers are needed
In contrast to multi-page apps, SPAs don’t send so many queries to the server. A big part of the data is processed in the browser. As a result, there is no need for the same number of servers since they don’t have to spend a large amount of energy to provide a new version of the page.
3. Simpler development process
When building SPAs, developers don’t have to write code for page rendering on the server. Moreover, it’s possible to use single-page application frameworks to benefit from code reusability when creating UI components.
4. Caching and offline support
SPAs send a request to a server only once and then keep all the received data in the device’s storage. This way, customers benefit from using the application offline while companies receive a consistent user experience even when the internet connection is lost.
5. Adaptability
Single-page web apps offer customers native-like features and responsive UI. Thus, they look similar to desktop applications. The possibility to reuse the back-end code from the web application lets developers adjust SPAs to various devices more effectively.
When to Use SPAs
SPAs are a fast-developing trend in web app development. Moreover, they are expected to get a bigger market share in the nearest future. However, they can’t meet the demands of every project. Therefore, it’s important to understand when SPAs can be beneficial to your company and when there is no need to use them.
If you are planning to create an interactive application with a small amount of information that should be dynamically updated, SPA will be the best solution in this situation. However, in case you expect your app to process large amounts of static data and you are interested in advanced SEO features it’s better to consider a more traditional multi-page application.
Conclusion
Single-page application development opens new horizons for businesses. It allows companies to create more interactive, responsive, feature-rich, and time-efficient applications that enhance company performance and meet growing customer demands.
Despite their short presence on the market SPAs have managed to draw much interest and attention. However, they can’t comply with the requirements of every project. Thus, when choosing the best type of web app for your company it’s necessary to analyze the features of both single-page and multi-page apps, compare them with the core goals of your project, and only then make the final decision. This way, your company will be able to achieve enhanced performance and stand tall in the competitive market environment.
