6 ms·

So when does it make sense to make a single page web application? Are there any guidelines you folks like to follow?

swah 14y ago
Wikipedia Gmail <-------------------------------------> Traditional SPA Those two I'm pretty sure what I would use, but the other applications in between those extremes I'm not that sure...
- romaniv 14y ago
  I wouldn't mind at all if Gmail was a traditional multipage app that works without JavaScript. Google Maps is probably a much better example.
  - prodigal_erik 14y ago
    Gmail does work without javascript, it has long been the example I give of competent web authoring. As for when it makes sense, I suggest this guideline: if what you're building is to be a worthwhile contribution to the World-Wide Web, it should have a mode with server-rendered semantic markup behind URLs which are stable forever. Client-side rendering is an enhancement to build after that works well. Your content is more important than the custom behavior you're adding to the the browser the user already chose.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
    - carlosedp 14y ago
      This is exactly the approach I'm doing. I'm writing the app entirely server based, just a couple of ajax do avoid loading unnecessary data at some time. The time I finish the app, I will tweak and optimize loading either by AJAX or implement something like backbone views.
  - robmcm 14y ago
    Yeah you should try the HTML version of Gmail, it sucks.
minikomi 14y ago
When there is music playing for a start!
WiseWeasel 14y ago
Whenever you can. It allows you to animate transitions during navigation, and to give your website more of a dynamic application feel instead of a static site. If done well, you encourage deeper interaction, as navigation feels more intuitive with smooth loading performance, without a jarring page reload, and with animations indicating what's going on.
mxxx 14y ago
Well, for a start, when you've got a fully developed API. We recently built a project that used a Backbone SPA for _some_ views, but was primarily server side. Now we're building a mobile version, and having built the API in the first phase, we've got enough to go on to do it all via Backbone. Additionally, when developing for mobile you're much more aware of bandwidth restrictions, so the ability to load only what you need becomes useful. When you're flicking through a bunch of pages that use the same view but with different data, an SPA lets you load only what you need.

swah 14y ago

Wikipedia Gmail <-------------------------------------> Traditional SPA Those two I'm pretty sure what I would use, but the other applications in between those extremes I'm not that sure...

romaniv 14y ago
I wouldn't mind at all if Gmail was a traditional multipage app that works without JavaScript. Google Maps is probably a much better example.
- prodigal_erik 14y ago
  Gmail does work without javascript, it has long been the example I give of competent web authoring. As for when it makes sense, I suggest this guideline: if what you're building is to be a worthwhile contribution to the World-Wide Web, it should have a mode with server-rendered semantic markup behind URLs which are stable forever. Client-side rendering is an enhancement to build after that works well. Your content is more important than the custom behavior you're adding to the the browser the user already chose.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - carlosedp 14y ago
    This is exactly the approach I'm doing. I'm writing the app entirely server based, just a couple of ajax do avoid loading unnecessary data at some time. The time I finish the app, I will tweak and optimize loading either by AJAX or implement something like backbone views.
- robmcm 14y ago
  Yeah you should try the HTML version of Gmail, it sucks.

minikomi 14y ago

When there is music playing for a start!

WiseWeasel 14y ago

Whenever you can. It allows you to animate transitions during navigation, and to give your website more of a dynamic application feel instead of a static site. If done well, you encourage deeper interaction, as navigation feels more intuitive with smooth loading performance, without a jarring page reload, and with animations indicating what's going on.

mxxx 14y ago

Well, for a start, when you've got a fully developed API. We recently built a project that used a Backbone SPA for _some_ views, but was primarily server side. Now we're building a mobile version, and having built the API in the first phase, we've got enough to go on to do it all via Backbone. Additionally, when developing for mobile you're much more aware of bandwidth restrictions, so the ability to load only what you need becomes useful. When you're flicking through a bunch of pages that use the same view but with different data, an SPA lets you load only what you need.