3 ms·

Can you expand on why you prefer the JS-heavy SPA style?

sanderjd 5y ago
Because they are faster and easier to use. Using them is like using an application, rather than like using a website. I think a good rule of thumb is: am I mostly clicking or mostly scrolling? If I'm mostly clicking - say, something like AirBnB or Zillow or Discord - where I'm exploring things and interacting a bunch, that feels better to me as a rich client-side application. If I'm mostly scrolling, like a blog or substack or a newspaper or even twitter, that feels better as a website. I thought of a good concrete comparison: Vanguard vs. Coinbase Pro. Vanguard is a website, and it basically works for them because their business model is very passive, but you wouldn't want to do active trading there. Coinbase Pro is a web application where you can do lots of exploration and take actions quickly, and for me, it would be a major hindrance if they implemented it in a traditional page-based way.
- DeathArrow 5y ago
  If you want to use an application, then why don't you download and run an application? You will have a better experience running an application on desktop instead of running it on the browser.
  - streptomycin 5y ago
    Write once run anywhere. Nothing else comes close. A lot of web applications simply wouldn't exist on your platform if they were forced to be native applications.
    - wizhi 5y ago
      Except now replace "platform" with browser, and you have the exact same dilemma as if we still made desktop applications. It's sad how many "web apps" (and even more regular sites) only work in Chrome - try using Firefox or any non major browser, and quite a lot of the web simply doesn't work.
      - themacguffinman 5y ago
        Hardly the same. Desktop applications are still much more time-consuming to make. The differences between desktop platforms is on another planet compared to the differences between browsers, especially the difference between Firefox and Chrome, especially when you consider mobile.
  - sanderjd 5y ago
    Because the web is a revolutionary application distribution platform. It is a better platform in every way except that some things that should be applications are still behaving like websites (and vice versa) and that it is harder for developers to target than native platforms. But as a user, I don't care at all whether it is harder for developers.

Because they are faster and easier to use. Using them is like using an application, rather than like using a website. I think a good rule of thumb is: am I mostly clicking or mostly scrolling? If I'm mostly clicking - say, something like AirBnB or Zillow or Discord - where I'm exploring things and interacting a bunch, that feels better to me as a rich client-side application. If I'm mostly scrolling, like a blog or substack or a newspaper or even twitter, that feels better as a website. I thought of a good concrete comparison: Vanguard vs. Coinbase Pro. Vanguard is a website, and it basically works for them because their business model is very passive, but you wouldn't want to do active trading there. Coinbase Pro is a web application where you can do lots of exploration and take actions quickly, and for me, it would be a major hindrance if they implemented it in a traditional page-based way.

DeathArrow 5y ago
If you want to use an application, then why don't you download and run an application? You will have a better experience running an application on desktop instead of running it on the browser.
- streptomycin 5y ago
  Write once run anywhere. Nothing else comes close. A lot of web applications simply wouldn't exist on your platform if they were forced to be native applications.
  - wizhi 5y ago
    Except now replace "platform" with browser, and you have the exact same dilemma as if we still made desktop applications. It's sad how many "web apps" (and even more regular sites) only work in Chrome - try using Firefox or any non major browser, and quite a lot of the web simply doesn't work.
    - themacguffinman 5y ago
      Hardly the same. Desktop applications are still much more time-consuming to make. The differences between desktop platforms is on another planet compared to the differences between browsers, especially the difference between Firefox and Chrome, especially when you consider mobile.
- sanderjd 5y ago
  Because the web is a revolutionary application distribution platform. It is a better platform in every way except that some things that should be applications are still behaving like websites (and vice versa) and that it is harder for developers to target than native platforms. But as a user, I don't care at all whether it is harder for developers.