Social Networking made easy by AJAX and JavaScript
Manish Marahatta
The social networking websites have completely transformed the lifestyles of millions of people. There are many people who love to stay online on their favorite social networks 24 hours a day. At the same time, many users even look for effective options to fend off their social media addiction. The huge popularity of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn has further encouraged many companies to launch innovative social networking websites to easily attract, impress and captivate a large number of users.
With many people accessing social media on a variety of devices, it has become a daunting challenge for developers to pick the right technology to build successful social networking portals. A gradual increase is also noted in the social networking websites designed using JavaScript, XML, and AJAX. Some websites use AJAX in practical places to boost the user experience, whereas others use the technology in several places to optimize the overall look and feel of their website. If you are planning to build a social networking website, it is a great idea to use AJAX and JavaScript to meet the latest web 2.0 trends.
Actually, the term AJAX is used to describe the combination several technologies including JavaScript and XML. Being a mix of different technologies, AJAX makes it easier for website developers to incorporate dynamic data-driven features in their website to make instant changes to their websites. Further, the website visitors can view the updated information without initiating a full screen refresh. Along with saving the time and efforts of the users in performing a specific task, the technology will further boost their browsing experience, and convince them to login to the social networking website on a regular basis.
Why Use AJAX to Develop Social Networking Websites
Easy to Integrate Large Number of Forms: The popularity of a social network depends on the way it allows users to submit, view and share information. So each social networking website must be designed with efficient options to integrate all these forms. You can use AJAX to boost the user experience by integrating multiple forms. Also, the technology will make it easier for you to design longer web pages where the dynamic functionality will be displayed at the end of the page. At the same time, the user can easily view the updated information without clicking on the Refresh button.
Option to Use Instant AJAX Messenger: You also have options to use a number of AJAX effects to boost the look and feel of each web page. Most users also look for convenient chatting options to interact with their loved ones on a regular basis. When you are exploring ways to include an instant messenger client in the social networking website, your task will become easier by using the AJAX instant messenger. The instant messages works just like the Yahoo! Messenger, but you can embed it on your website to make it easier for users to interact with each other.
Requesting Photo and Media: Similar to text, photos and media are also an indispensable element of each social networking website. Often the popularity of a social networking website depends on the way it allows members to showcase images. You can use qGallery developed based on the prototype JavaScript development framework to allow users to easily request for images photos and media. The use of AJAX further saves users’ bandwidth through its cache function.
Innovative File Upload Option: Most users also look for more innovative ways to upload their files. You can use AJAX uploads to make it easier for users to upload files while seeing the progress of the upload. Also, you have options to choose from a variety of AJAX uploading options to meet specific objectives. The Fancy Upload option also enables you to modify and stylized the pages without writing any lengthy codes.
Edit Content Inline: You can further optimize the user experience by allowing them to edit some content inline. The feature may seem insignificant and small, but it will surely enhance the aesthetic appeal of the web page. Each user will love to edit something in an instant without clicking on the respective text fields. You can consider implementing the AJAX inline editor developed by Manoloweb to impress users. Despite being a small implementation, the inline editor will make it easier for users to modify the simple as well as complex data in an instant.