AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX is combination of web scripts and technologies that enables web pages to be updated without reloading the entire page.
In WordPress, you can see AJAX in action in the post edit screen, where you can add a new category while writing a post without reloading the page. It’s also used on the comments page, where you can approve or delete a comment without reloading the page.
What Is AJAX in WordPress?
AJAX is a combination of scripts and technologies.
“A” stands for “asynchronous”, which means that information on the page doesn’t load at the same time. In effect, that means that the whole web page doesn’t need to refresh when only a small amount of content on the page updates.
The “J” in AJAX stands for JavaScript. JavaScript is an important part of the asynchronous updating, since it’s used to add dynamic content to a website.
Then lastly, the “X” in AJAX is for XML. XML is a markup language similar to HTML. It allows you to store data in a format that doesn’t rely on any particular software or system to process it.
That’s what AJAX stands for, but it’s actually not limited to those technologies.
AJAX has evolved since it was first created. Although the “X” in Ajax stands for XML, some applications now use JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) as an alternative to XML.
In WordPress, AJAX is used by the WordPress core, and it can also be used by plugins.
For example, AJAX can be used in WordPress to submit contact forms without reloading the page.
What Are the Advantages of AJAX?
AJAX has many advantages, which is why it’s used so widely in WordPress core, themes, and plugins.
The techniques we have mentioned above help to make WordPress websites faster.
AJAX allows your visitors to see changes instantly, instead of being constantly interrupted by the page refreshing.
AJAX only sends the data it needs back and forth to the server, so it maximizes your hosting bandwidth and avoids larger data transfers.
We hope this article helped you learn all about AJAX and how it works. Check out the additional reading below to learn more.
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