AJAX—it's the buzzword that hit the Web with a bullet in 2005, thanks to Jesse James Garrett, a user-experience expert who founded AdaptivePath.com. If you're totally new to AJAX, I'll just point out that; at its core, AJAX is nothing that scary or horrendous. AJAX isn't even a new technology or language!
Essentially, AJAX is an acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, and it is the technique of using JavaScript and XML to send and receive data between a web browser and a web server. The biggest advantage this technique has is that you can dynamically update a piece of content on your web page or web form with data from the server (preferably formatted in XML), without forcing the entire page to reload. The implementation of this technique has made it obvious to many web developers that they can start making advanced web applications (sometimes called RIAs—Rich Interface Applications) that work and feel more like software applications, instead of like web pages.
Keep in mind that the word AJAX is starting to have its own meaning (as you'll also note its occasional use here as well as all over the web as a proper noun, rather than an all-cap acronym). For example, a Microsoft web developer may use VBScript instead of JavaScript to serve up Access Database data that is transformed into JSON (not XML) using a .NET server-side script. Today, that guy's site would still be considered an AJAX site, rather than an AVAJ site (yep, AJAX just sounds cooler).
We're going to take a look at the most popular methods to get you going with AJAX in WordPress using plug-ins and widgets to help you include dynamic self-updating content and create interactive forms in your WordPress site. While we're at it, we'll also look at some cool JavaScript toolkits, libraries, and scripts you can use to appear 'Ajaxy'.
Preparing for Dynamic Content and Interactive Forms
Gone are the days of clicking, submitting, and waiting for the next page to load, or manually compiling your own content from all your various online identities to post into your site.
A web page using AJAX techniques (if applied properly) will give the user a smoother and leaner experience. Click on a drop-down option and the checkbox menus underneath are updated immediately with the relevant choices—no submitting, no waiting. Complicated forms that, in the past, took two or three screens to process can be reduced into one convenient screen by implementing the form with AJAX.
As wonderful as this all sounds, I must again offer a quick disclaimer. I understand that, as with drop-down menus and Flash, you may want or your clients are demanding that AJAX be in their sites. Just keep in mind, AJAX techniques are best used in situations where they truly benefit the user's experience of the page, for example, being able to add relevant content via a widget painlessly or cutting a lengthy web process from three pages down to one. In a nutshell, using an AJAX technique simply to say your site is an AJAX site is probably not a good idea.
You should be aware that, if not implemented properly, some uses of AJAX can compromise the security of your site. You may inadvertently end up disabling key web browser features (like back buttons or the history manager). Then there are all the basic usability and accessibility issues that JavaScript, in general, can bring to a site.
Some screen readers may not be able to read a 'new' screen area that's been generated by JavaScript. If you cater to users who rely on tabbing through content, navigation may be compromised once new content is updated. There are also interface design problems that AJAX brings to the table (and Flash developers can commiserate). Many times, in trying to limit screen real estate and simplify a process, developers actually end up creating a form or interface that is complex and confusing, especially when your user is expecting the web page to act like a normal web page!
You Still Want AJAX on Your Site?
OK! You're here and reading this chapter because you want AJAX in your WordPress site. I only ask you take the just discussed into consideration and do one or more of the following to prepare.
Help your client assess their site's target users first. If everyone is web 2.0 aware, using newer browsers, and are fully mouse-able, then you'll have no problems, AJAX away. But if any of your users are inexperienced with RIA (Rich Interface Application) sites or have accessibility requirements, take some extra care. Again, it's not that you can't or shouldn't use AJAX techniques, just be sure to make allowances for these users. You can easily adjust your site's user expectations upfront, by explaining how to expect the interface to act. Again, you can also offer alternative solutions and themes for people with disabilities or browsers that can't accommodate the AJAX techniques.
Remember to check in with Don't Make Me Think, that Steve Krug book I recommended in Chapter 7 for help with any interface usability questions you may run into. Also, if you're really interested in taking on some AJAX programming yourself, I highly recommend AJAX and PHP by Cristian Darie, Bogdan Brinzarea, Filip Chereches-Tosa, and Mihai Bucica. In it, you'll learn the ins and outs of AJAX development, including handling security issues. You'll also do some very cool stuff like make your own Google-style auto-suggest form and a drag-and-drop sortable list (and that's just two of the many fun things to learn in the book).
So, that said, you're now all equally warned and armed with the knowledgeable resources I can think to throw at you. Let's get to it; how exactly do you go about getting something 'Ajaxy' into your WordPress site?
Plug-ins and Widgets
In these next few sections we're going to cover plug-ins and widgets. Plug-ins and widgets are not a part of your theme. They are additional files with WordPress compatible PHP code that are installed separately into their own directories in your WordPress installation (again, not in your theme directory). Once installed, they are available to be used with any theme that is also installed in your WordPress installation.
Even though plug-ins and widgets are not the part of your theme, you might have to prepare your theme to be compatible with them. Let's review a bit about plug-ins and widgets first.
Plug-ins
WordPress has been built to be a lean, no frills publishing platform. Its simplicity means that with a little coding and PHP know-how, you can easily expand WordPress's capabilities to tailor to your site's specific needs. Plug-ins were developed so that even without a little coding and PHP know-how, users could add extra features and functionality to their WordPress site painlessly, via the Administration Panel. These extra features can be just about anything—from enhancing the experience of your content and forms with AJAX, to adding selfupdating 'listening/watching now' lists, Flickr feeds, Google Map info and Events Calendars; you name it, someone has probably written a WordPress plug-in for it.
Take a look at the WordPress Plug-in page to see what's available.
Widgets
Widgets are basically just another plug-in! The widget plug-in was developed by AUTOMATTIC, and it allows you to add many more kinds of self-updating content bits and other useful 'do-dads' to your WordPress site. Widgets are intended to be smaller and a little more contained than a full, stand-alone plug-in, and they usually display within the side bar of your theme (or wherever you want; don't panic if you're designing a theme without a sidebar).
If you're using WordPress version 2.2 and up, the widget plug-in has become a part of WordPress itself, so you no longer need to install it before installing widgets. Just look through the widget library on WordPress's widget blog and see what you'd like!
Trying to download Widgets but the links keep taking you to Plug-in download pages? You'll find that many WordPress Widgets 'piggyback' on WordPress Plug-ins, meaning you'll need the full plug-in installed in order for the widget to work or the widget is an additional feature of the plug-in. So don't be confused when searching for widgets and all of a sudden you're directed to a plug-in page.
WordPress Widgets are intended to perform much the same way Mac OS's Dashboard Widgets and Windows Vista Gadgets work. They're there to offer you a quick overview of content or data and maybe let you access a small piece of often used functionality from within a full application or website, without having to take the time to launch the application or navigate to the website directly. In a nutshell, widgets can be very powerful, while at the same time, just don't expect too much.
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