AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. Its major benefit is that it allows dynamic content to be displayed on a website without the need for a page refresh. Therefore pulling details from a server such as data from a database can be done after a page has already been loaded.

Having the ability to stop the whole webpage from loading has many advantages in it self. There will be a saving in waiting time for the page to be reloaded, as there will be no need in retransmitting the content on the webpage that will remain constant, therefore this will reduce the bandwidth (the amount of data transmitted between client and server) used considerably.

This generates numerous improvements to the users experience on the website. It will improve usability, provider higher user satisfaction, create and interactive system and run much more efficiently. This will entice the user to revisit your website at a future date.

There are a few disadvantages of using AJAX. One that can affect user’s experience, by updating pages dynamically, this can cause problems with the browsers “back” button. By default, if the back button is clicked after the content has been dynamically changed; the browser is not able to refresh the dynamic content, alternatively the previous page will be loaded. However there are numerous work arounds for the potential disadvantages.