Ajax, website design techniques used to create interactive web pages, has recently created a flurry of interest. More and more organizations are employing Ajax design strategies to enhance their sites. Ensure that your site can compete by employing Ajax website design strategies as well. This article presents a short overview of this new technology as well as lists the benefits of using it.

Familiarize yourself with Ajax

Before choosing a website design strategy to employ, you need to know what Ajax is and how it can improve you website. Ajax is an acronym for asynchronous JavaScript and XML. It is the primary technique used to make website designs highly responsive. Google Maps, for example, was built using Ajax and thus has a highly responsive user interface. You can simply hover your mouse over a particular location on a map and the page will respond immediately, by displaying information about that location.

Do away with CTRL + R

With Ajax, there is now a minimal need to hit CTRL + R to refresh a page. Instead, pages with Ajax elements refresh automatically, on their own. On regular pages, when users fill out forms they have to click the ?Submit? button before anything happens.

Although some website designs with Ajax technology still use submit buttons, many of these pages can simply update parts of the page at any time, giving users an immediate response to their inputs. This allows users to react right away to the errors or information displayed. This is very helpful, for instance, when users are selecting a desired username. Website designs that employ Ajax can show users right away if the desired username is available. By doing so, users don't have to wait until they submit the entire form before they find out that the username they want is taken.

Simple interfaces

Another benefit of using Ajax in your website designs is the simplicity of a single-screen interface. Research shows that users favor web pages with just one screen, as opposed to having to click through several pages without knowing what lies ahead. Single screens allow users to see the big picture of what they're working on and the steps needed to be completed.

Ajax single-screen interfaces allow users to accomplish the tasks when they want and in the order they want, while traditional website designs force users to follow a certain series of steps. In an online e-commerce system, for instance, users may choose to input their contact details first rather than adding their billing information. Users could also decide to go back and change something they previously inputted. With Ajax website designs, this is easy. Conventional web pages, on the other hand, would require that users use the site's specified flow of procedures.

Everyone for Ajax

The web today is all about giving users the best possible surfing experience possible. Ajax can accomplish this and more. Ajax website designs have a desktop application-like feel to them, which makes them so much more favorable than traditional web pages.