For growing businesses, developing apps has become one of the most important things as a statista report says that the cloud-based app industry will reach the profitability of $101.3 billion by 2022.
While building an application, you must ensure it runs smoothly without any lag or disruptions. Hence, choosing the right web application for your business is as important as choosing the right app.
This article will help you differentiate and choose between single-page application (SPA) development and multi-page application development (MPA) for your new business.
What is a Single-Page Application?
An application that runs on a single page is known as a single-page application. Browsers download app data when users open single-page applications. The program allows you to navigate between sections without having to reload every time. It displays all content on a single page.
Facebook, Twitter, and navigation apps are just a few examples of companies that use single-page development to save customers’ time and make the user experience as simple as possible.
Benefits of SPA
- Easy to use for mobile applications
- Saves time
- Faster development
- User friendly
- Allow users to work offline
Drawbacks of SPA
- It’s not SEO friendly
- Getting browsing history is complicated
- Takes a longer time to load
- Not much secure
What is a Multi-Page Application?
A multi-page application is the absolute opposite of a single-page application in that it uses multiple pages and takes a long time to load since it refreshes as the data changes. MPA is ideal for data or businesses with a significant amount of content. It features unique architecture and a big amount of information. It also includes internal links to other pages.
Benefits of MPA
- Great SEO optimization
- Works well with Google Analytics
- Provides visual map to users
- Good for custom web development
Drawbacks of MPA
- Takes longer development time
- Data keeps reloading which takes time
- Tricky maintenance
that we know what SPA and MPA are, and what their benefits and drawbacks are, let’s compare and find out what to use as a web application.
Single-Page Application vs Multi-Page Application
- Speed:Due to the growing impatience of people, speed and time are crucial factors to compare. SPA architecture is faster than MPA since it does not require reloading each time a new part of the web application is accessed.However, MPA reloads the entire page, which takes time. Using single-page app development is better if you have a large number of photos and videos in your online application.
- SEO:Being visible in search engines means gaining more consumers, which is why search engine optimization is so important for businesses. Search engines do not support SPAs as most of them are developed using JavaScript, which is not supported by search engines.MPA allows for website optimization through keywords and meta tags, which makes it easier to rank. Search engine crawlers are more likely to rank and position a web page as they download all HTML files.
- Security:Managing security in SPA is easier as only one web page is needed to be secured, but it also involves the risk of malware and is prone to a hacker attack. Whereas, MPA needs to secure every single web page which requires more effort.So, in terms of security, both have some drawbacks.
- Dependency on JavaScript:SPA is highly dependent on JavaScript which makes it difficult to recognize by the search engines. An SPA can not be developed without JavaScript or disabling it on browsers can create problems in the functioning of the app.Development of SPA requires JS, but MPA does not require JS for its running.
- Coupling:SPA has a separate frontend and backend which makes the app decoupled, but MPA has a more interdependent frontend and backend that requires all the coding to be done under one project.
- User Experience:Satisfying user needs is the topmost priority of a company. SPA provides a more user-friendly experience as it allows the functioning of mobile phones. Since most businesses today consider mobile apps, SPA development makes it possible.MPA’s architecture allows users to create pages with lots of information without any limitations. If your business contains a large amount of information and the data is valuable to your audience, then they will not hesitate to browse more. Hence, MPA also impacts a better user experience.
- Process of Development:Single-page application development gives a greater advantage when it comes to coding as it has reusable backend code. The process is simplified because the same code may be used for both mobile and web applications.A multi-page application takes longer to develop since the procedure must be coded from the start.
Final thought
This article gives you an overview of both web applications, including their benefits and drawbacks. If you are confused about what to choose for your start-up, then keep the company’s goals and objectives in mind to understand where your business can generate more revenue and recognition.
