Benchmarking AJAX powered websites

18 June 2007 - By Sean Fishlock

If you're the least bit involved in the web, you've probably heard the word "AJAX" bandied around.

Is AJAX a little more than a buzzword and is the hype really justified ?  I'll cut through the technobabble and look at the real business benefits.

AJAX is one of those "Web 2.0" words that every web developer likes to drop.  It is one of those things that supposedly has the potential to revolutionise the web as we know it.

But what is it really ?  And are the benefits tangible ?

If you're like me and you can't wait a couple of seconds for a web page to reload, then this technology will make a difference to you.  AJAX has the potential to power the next generation of dynamic, interactive websites.  The primary benefit is faster interaction.  This is important in these days of instant information, broadband and ebusiness.  AJAX can significantly speed up webpages and enhance the usability web applications, because pages don't need to reload every time you interact with them. 

While AJAX actually stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, that is of little interest to those who non-technical background.   What makes it more confusing is that AJAX is not really a actually a technology at all, but a concept.   And the concept is actually not new at all, it has been around for a few years now.  In the past, programmers have used technologies such as Flash and Actionsript to achieve similar results.  The difference is that unlike Flash, use of today's dynamic scripting does not require any plug-ins now that more and more browsers support its advanced features.  In fact Datalink have successfully utilised AJAX on several of our projects.  You may not be able to spot them straight away, but plenty of classic AJAX is in use on the Athletics Australia website.  

The benefits are often difficult to sell and it can be expensive to implement.  As such, it is only just beginning to gain mainstream acceptance.  It is quite quite some way away from the ultimate goal of websites and applications responding completely without page reloading.

But there is some negative sides to this emerging technology which I'd like to share before explaining how Datalink and AJAX can help your next web project. 

Firstly, AJAX goes against the fundamental concept of the web as a series of interconnected pages and hyperlinks.  This presents some serious usability issues.  Most of us expect to be able to do something as simple as bookmark a page or click on the "Back" button for example.  But in the AJAX model, we can't.  It becomes as useful as frames were several years ago.  Your pages also may not always print properly.  So while you may use AJAX for the results of a web poll, you probably wouldn't use it to put an important business report on the web.

From a marketing perspective, the same frustrations can also sometimes penalise our important content with search engines such as Google.  Implement an AJAX rich site and you may risk sliding down the search engine rankings.  What is more is that your reports and statistics for your website may also be adversely effected, making it difficult for you to analyse your website's performance.

Some webmasters have discovered (our friends at AFL house should take note here) that overuse of AJAX can result in pages that literally chug.  They may interact faster once you are there, but the information still has to get to you one way or another, and this can mean increased bandwidth consumption.

For many older web browsers, AJAX can present significant problems.  This means lots of potential errors and bugs, which represents an unnecessary frustration for your website project.

So while AJAX equates to plenty of fun for computer geeks, you really need to be selective and consider best value when your web developer says you need it.  In my opinion, if I was to choose between waiting half a second for a page to load and a website giving me accurate information and working as I'd expect it to, I would happily wait.

Datalink know when it is and isn't appropriate to use AJAX.  While Our latests products, Freestyler, Central and Concord are beginning to migrate towards more speedy interactive interfaces.  You'll find that we use AJAX only in the websites where it is absolutely necessary, but more often use it with intranets.

That is what separates us from run-of-the-mill Web 2.0 shop and what keeps your customers happy and saves you time and money.

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