Too Much AJAX?
I am one of those people that thinks there is a point where one uses too much AJAX. When a site reaches this point it breaks the way a browser operated, by destroying the back/forward button, printing functions, and other basic browser concepts. AJAX to me is another tool that can be used to make the browsing experience better in some areas, but when used in comparison to an all Flash site things start to annoy me. Now that;s not to say applications like Writely fall under this category. To me Writely is an online web application/service and is a tool to be used. However when you get into sites that are all AJAX or Flash like every musician or band website out there, this start to bother me because as stated above it breaks the basic functionality of a browser.
A great example a an excellent use of AJAX is during a file upload process. AJAX brings a new element to this functionality, by allowing us to monitor the progress of an uploading file. An example of this neat enhancement can Sean Treadway’s blog. As posted before dhtmlgoodies has a great library of AJAX and Web 2.0 effects that can be used to accent your site. Obviously this is just my opinion, and I know there are a lot of people out there that have the opposite feelings which I respect.
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Comments
i agree, but if ajax is used is used in a proper fasion so that it does not cause any problems then it’s ok.
I agree, too much Ajax can get about as annoying as too much Flash. Nice at the beginning, and impractical after a while. It’s too be used intelligently and sparingly on web sites, but can be used more intensively in web apps.
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[...] Matthew Miller wonders, in his latest blog post, if there’s a point when there’s just too much Ajax involved with a site. Where is that tipping point for a normally developed site? I am one of those people that thinks there is a point where one uses too much AJAX. When a site reaches this point it breaks the way a browser operated, by destroying the back/forward button, printing functions, and other basic browser concepts. AJAX to me is another tool that can be used to make the browsing experience better in some areas, but when used in comparison to an all Flash site things start to annoy me. [...]