A Complete Guide on Single Page Application Development

When it comes to web apps, there is a lot of buzz around Single Page Applications (SPAs). These SPAs offer outstanding user experience and take websites to a new level. And these web apps are known for speed, less consumption of server resources, and a streamlined development process. No wonder Single Page Applications are becoming popular and implemented by many tech giants.

If you are considering developing a web application, a SPA would be a good choice depending on your need for a cross-platform compatible, faster, and feature-rich web app. Indeed, Single Page Application development is suitable for social networks, SaaS solutions, and other use cases.

But what exactly a SPA is?

Let’s find out everything about SPA and why you should build one.

What are Single Page Applications?

A SPA is a single website, web page, or web app that functions in a web browser and loads a single document. This web app doesn’t need page reloading because the fresh data is loaded onto the same web page. So, these web apps create the illusion of a page change while you remain on the same page all the time. SPAs are lauded for their responsiveness, high performance, and smooth user experience.

A user can access more and more content on a SPA without reloading the entire web page. In technical terms, a SPA is a single HTML document loaded on a user’s browser that fetches JSON data from the server and rewrites it to the web page. SPA development is beneficial in terms of performance and user experience.

Let’s check out more benefits of developing a single-page application.

Advantages of Single Page Application Development

From a business perspective, you will always want to provide the best experience to users of your web application. A SPA has the right functionality and architecture to support better features and offer optimal user experience. Apart from user experience, there are lots of excellent benefits of single-page application development, as listed below.

Cross-platform compatible

You can opt for SPA web development to create a solution that would seamlessly run on different devices, operating systems, and browsers with a single codebase. So, these web apps add to the user experience as they can access these apps from any device or platform. Also, skilled SPA developers can build a fast and feature-rich web app solution effortlessly.

Quick loading

While loading speed is an essential factor in a website’s performance, it is often overlooked in web development. As compared to a traditional web app, a SPA loads more quickly and smoothly. Indeed, it has a faster loading speed comparatively that enhances the overall user experience. A single page application consists of a single HTML page, and the app’s content is updated after loading JSON data from the server in real-time. Conventional web apps have to load new pages for every user request, increasing the loading speed.

Efficient caching

A single-page application offers efficient caching resulting from a single request sent to a server for a web page and updating other data subsequently. As a result, the cached data can be used to deliver certain web app functionality even when the user is offline. Further, the data can be synchronized with the server once when the net connection is established.

Enhanced user experience

For a successful and impressive web application, user experience is a vital factor. There are many reports indicating that users are more likely to leave a web page quickly that isn’t easy to use or takes much time to load. With SPAs, users don’t have to wait to access a portion of content due to the reloading of an entire page. Users get the requested information more quickly, it enhances the overall experience of web app users.

Simplified development

SPAs (Single Page Applications) have a simplified development process because developers need not write code and render web pages on a server. With the use of SPAs, the server-side code can be reused. Also, the web apps are decoupled from the front-end. It means front-end and backend developers can work on their processes with concentration.

Less consumption of resources

SPAs consume less bandwidth because they load a page only once. Hence, these websites or web apps consume lesser resources. Apart from functioning offline, they can access the web app even with a slow or little internet connection.

You must have got familiar with some of the major benefits of SPAs; let’s now check out these SPAs differ from multi page web apps or websites.

Single Page Application vs Multi Page Application: The difference

Traditionally, multi-page applications or websites have ruled the web. However, today users’ expectations are increasing, and they tend to prefer solutions that provide quick services. A multi-page application or website has a lot of web pages that force users to redirect or reload an entire web page. It results in processing a lot of requests and hustling between server and client.

Single Page Applications, on the other hand, work on a different architecture. As we have discovered earlier, a SPA doesn’t require page reloads; only the required portion of a web page is updated. It uses AJAX that refreshes only a part of a web app.

Are you wondering what effective uses of Single Page Applications are? Let’s check some of the examples of SPAs in action.

Use cases: Example of Single Page Application

The speed and responsiveness offered by Single Page Applications have attracted many businesses to invest in SPA web development. Indeed, there are many Single Page Applications that people use daily without recognizing them as SPAs. Here is a highlight of the top examples of Single Page Applications.

• Gmail

Gmail is an excellent example of a single-page application that almost everyone uses in daily life. A progress bar appears once you open Gmail, which means the app’s page is loading from the server. Once the loading is done, the right and left sidebars and a header remain static while you write and read emails.

• Facebook

A lot of discussion around Facebook is whether it can be called a Single Page Application. Actually, it is partially SPA. The news feed page where users can scroll, check friends’ posts, and comment without reloading the page because it loads the data dynamically. New publications will appear on the page as soon as they are available. Also, downloaded parts like captions and photos will still appear if your internet is out because of browser caching.

• Airbnb

It’s another classic example of a single page application used on a daily basis. When you search for apartments, check results and open a stay profile, you will check that the logo and header will remain the same every time you interact with content.

• Google Docs

Google Docs is among the many services that are also single page applications. No matter if you switch between tabs or are typing, the left sidebar and the header with text settings will remain the same. Only the last edit times and new comments are reloaded.

What Are The Best Single Page Application Frameworks?

Creating a SPA can provide numerous benefits taking user experience to another level. There are many tools and technologies for creating SPAs that you can utilize to develop robust solutions. Here are some SPA frameworks:

• AngularJS

Angular is a constantly evolving framework that is effective for creating numerous solutions, including Single Page Applications. This framework is popular among junior developers and startups. It is an open-source JavaScript framework for building feature-rich web apps. The data binding feature of the AngularJS framework removes the need to write much of the code. The framework helps in creating single page applications with fewer lines of code and delivers the best performance. Due to the component router, Angular web apps load quickly.

• ReactJS

ReactJS is a suitable choice for web applications due to its component-based architecture that makes maintenance easy for web apps built on it. Virtual DOM is the key advantage of ReactJS. It offers a rich set of external libraries and frameworks for any task. With a basic knowledge of fundamental web technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, developers can create simple React JS applications. However, it’s not suitable for complex web apps.

• Vue.js

It is the most recent front-end development framework with excellent features. Thanks to its simplicity and high performance, Vue.js has emerged as one of the most popular front-end frameworks. It supports MVVM (Model-View-viewModel) architecture that allows two-way communication making it easy to handle HTML code. Vue.js combines the power of both ReactJS and AngularJS as it uses Virtual DOM and is based on components that make it a fast-performing solution.

Check the comparison of Angular vs. ReactJS vs. Vue.js frameworks to choose the right one for developing your single web application.

• Ember.js

Ember.js or Ember is another useful JavaScript framework for creating single page applications. It’s a proven framework with a solid base to develop web applications. It has the features to build UIs that work on different devices. The architecture of this framework is scalable and has been used by firms like Netflix, Apple, Linked, etc.

When Should You Choose Single Page Application Development?

SPAs have both merits and demerits, so your choice of developing a single page application depends on your goals and requirements. So, before deciding on creating a SPA, you should determine how it will fit your business needs. The following are some situations where you can create a Single Page Application for your business.

• When you want a dynamic platform with small data volume: SPAs are used for SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions, storytelling websites, social networks, closed communities, etc, like Trello, Netflix, and Slack.
• With a focus on client-side functionality: Single Page Applications loads a web page once, and the data is updated constantly on the same page. It means it focuses on the client-side functionality and offers a seamless user experience.
• You need a fast solution.
• You have a ready-made API.

CSSChopper Brings The Best In Single Page Application Development

As technology is evolving, new, easy and fast solutions become swiftly available in the market. Similarly, Single Page Applications have become a sought-after solution for delivering super-friendly user experience and seamless services. CSSChopper has the best team at work to develop high-performance web applications. Our developers can build the right web app for your business based on your unique needs and preferences. With longstanding experience in the web development field, we have catered to various clients from startups to big enterprises.

Let’s Summarize!

Developing a robust web application with the right features and benefits is essential for a business to provide optimum services. You can choose to develop a single page application if you want a solution with better speed, user experience, and quick time to market. We have provided a quick insight into the single page applications with their use case scenarios to help you determine the best of these web apps. Moreover, to develop a successful single page application, you need to employ a skillful team of developers. CSSChopper has a team of professional developers with excellent experience in developing SPAs. You can rely on us for the best solution for your business.