Single-Page App vs. Multi-Page App: What to Choose for Your Business

Web apps have set a new digital trend for businesses around the world. Instead of the old desktop applications, enterprises are opting for apps that can be accessed from any device. Web apps offer a range of benefits, such as no installation and no update required (from the users’ side). If you are looking for mobile app development services, you should consider hiring one of the top app development companies and building a web application for your business. 

UX is the key to achieving digital success for businesses of all sizes. Web applications are developed in two ways: single-page web applications and multi-page web applications. Deciding which is better for your business is difficult yet crucial. This article will help you understand what a single-page application is, what is a multi-page application, and which one is better for your business.

What is a Single-Page Application

A single-page application is a web application that operates inside of a browser and doesn’t require page reloading while in use. 

Dynamic rewriting with JavaScript enables users to launch SPA without reloading the page or loading additional pages. Users view all of the main content in the browser, and the relevant elements must be loaded when scrolling or switching to other sites instead of the entire program.

Some of the Single page web applications that we regularly use are Facebook, Gmail, Google Maps, and GitHub. With no page reloads or added wait times, SPAs are all about providing a seamless user experience to the users. Users need to visit one web page, and they strongly rely on JavaScript will then be used to load all subsequent information. You can hire one of the top app development companies to develop a fantastic SPA for your business. 

Advantages of Single Page Web Applications:

One of the primary advantages of SPA is that such web apps are convenient to use on mobile devices as native mobile apps. Here are some notable benefits of using SPA for your business:

  1. Seamless User Experience: These applications offer consumers a linear experience that is easier to understand. An adaptable and responsive interface can be created with AJAX and Javascript frameworks. 
  2. High Performance: All resources are loaded in one session, and only the relevant data is modified when a user interacts with the website. This method considerably improves the performance of web apps.
  3. Development is Simplified: In the SPA development process, you can reuse some code and build and test fewer app components.
  4. Data Caching: All necessary local data is stored in the cache after the initial request to the server, enabling users to have the option to work offline (one such example is GoogleDocs offline mode).
  5. Easy to Debug: An SPA is developed using popular frameworks based on Google Chrome that provide debugging tools. 

What is a Multi-Page Web Application

A multi-page web application is an application that has multiple pages that are entirely refreshed each time data changes on them. A new page is shown in the browser whenever data is modified or transferred to the server. 

Some multi-page web applications we regularly use are online shops such as eBay or Amazon. MPAs are larger than SPAs. Due to the content volume, these programs feature a complex user interface (UI). AJAX is used to solve this problem. This solution works better and enables you to update specific areas of the application selectively. However, as per developers providing mobile app development services, MPA is more sophisticated and challenging to design than SPA.

Advantages of Multi Page Web Applications:

Here are some notable benefits of using multi-page web applications for your business:

  1. Better SEO Optimization: The application has multiple pages, and each may be optimized for a different set of keywords to receive free organic traffic from Google.
  2. Available CMS: A lesser technical stack is needed for MPA development, and several ready-made systems (CMS) are also available.
  3. Ease of Scaling: MPAs allow you to add as many new pages as your business requires and make any adjustments you want to any product or service page.
  4. Analytic Capabilities: MPA enables you to easily integrate web analytics tools like Google Analytics, allowing you to measure the success of each page.

Single-page application vs. Multi-page application: What Is Better?

MPA or SPA? There is no clear winner between them because it all depends on the web app features you develop and the tasks the application needs to perform. However, you should go with multi-page application development if your business offers a wide range of products/services. It’s a better choice for eCommerce businesses and huge web portals. If you want a dynamic platform for your content, you should opt for a dynamic single-page application. You can also choose SPA if you need to promote an event, product, or service for a specific and narrow user base. In some cases, the decision between MPA and SPA might be challenging. Hiring one of the top app development companies can help you decide and build the correct web application for your business.