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Asked: 2026-05-29T07:56:05+00:00

I have recently been debating whether or not to use AJAX for my site

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I have recently been debating whether or not to use AJAX for my site navigation to only transfer over only needed updated HTML elements, or if there was not a significant difference between new elements and current elements to just load the page in its entirety (php generated or static html)

However, I thought how that if the new content was not large in size relative the current page…that perhaps I should send it has a hidden div (via CSS) along with the current page.

This 3rd way seems like a simple solution. For example just send the entire current page + any additional content that might be requested by the user as hidden divs.

When the user selects the content just hide the current content, and display the hidden content…

All in all, each way (normal, Ajax, CSS) would look the same to the user but a CSS / Javascript solution would be provide the quickest interface and be the simplest. Ajax might cut down on download for example if the content is never used.

This is a validation question. Is this a valid way to navigate a web application? By hiding/displaying divs using the display property or opacity property to flip through content?

Notes (response to answers)

  1. The Hidden divs would be static data that is not changed by the user. I thought this would be obvious but now I’ve made it explicit.

Thanks!

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    You need to think about it this way.

    If the hidden content is dynamic (changing) there is a need for AJAX because AJAX would usually be used to fetch updated content from the DB.

    If your content is static (not changing) then how much new content are we talking? Does the size of the new content have a significant impact on render time if it was in a hidden DIV? If its very little, then I would say use a hidden DIV. If its alot, then mabye it’s time to consider AJAX to load it in from an external page.

    Here is a simple solution to get you started using a hidden DIV:

    <script>
     function setVisibility(id, visibility){
     document.getElementById(id).style.display=visibility;}
</script>

<div id="message1" onclick="setVisibility('message1', 'none');setVisibility('message2', 'inline');"> >Hey What's Up?</div>

<div style="display:none;" id="message2">Not Much You?</div>
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