Clemens Helm

Snappy UI needs no Single-Page Application

Single-Page Applications are often overkill. Build faster, simpler UIs by sending HTML over the wire instead of JSON.

Snappy UI needs no Single-Page Application
#1about 1 minute

How SPAs came to dominate frontend development

Modern frontend development has become synonymous with frameworks like React and Angular, shaping developer identity and career paths.

#2about 8 minutes

The evolution from server rendering to AJAX

Web development moved from full-page reloads to asynchronous updates with AJAX, which improved user experience but introduced complexity like callback hell.

#3about 10 minutes

The rise and trade-offs of single-page applications

SPAs offer fast navigation and offline capabilities but create challenges with large bundles, SEO, complexity, and memory leaks.

#4about 3 minutes

Demonstrating a snappy UI without a single-page application

A task list application demo shows how to achieve a highly interactive user experience without a full page reload.

#5about 7 minutes

How Turbo Frames work under the hood

The demo works by having the server return HTML snippets wrapped in `turbo-frame` tags, which a small JavaScript library uses to update the DOM.

#6about 4 minutes

The benefits of a server-centric interactive approach

Using a server-driven approach like Turbo Frames results in faster initial loads, less complexity, and centralized application logic.

#7about 1 minute

Identifying the right use cases for SPAs

Single-page applications are the right choice for applications requiring rich interactivity, complex state management, or offline support.

#8about 3 minutes

When to use alternatives to single-page applications

Server-rendered approaches are ideal for page-based applications like e-commerce sites where fast initial loads and SEO are critical.

#9about 2 minutes

Choosing the right tool and managing architectural complexity

Developers should consciously evaluate trade-offs and avoid adopting trends like SPAs or microservices without considering the added complexity.

Related jobs
Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.

Matching moments

Organizing a developer conference for 15,000 attendees
01:32 MIN

Organizing a developer conference for 15,000 attendees

Cat Herding with Lions and Tigers - Christian Heilmann

Selecting strategic partners and essential event tools
03:17 MIN

Selecting strategic partners and essential event tools

Cat Herding with Lions and Tigers - Christian Heilmann

Increasing the value of talk recordings post-event
04:57 MIN

Increasing the value of talk recordings post-event

Cat Herding with Lions and Tigers - Christian Heilmann

Automating video post-production with local scripts
02:54 MIN

Automating video post-production with local scripts

Cat Herding with Lions and Tigers - Christian Heilmann

Rapid-fire thoughts on the future of work
02:44 MIN

Rapid-fire thoughts on the future of work

What 2025 Taught Us: A Year-End Special with Hung Lee

The only frontend stack that truly matters
11:10 MIN

The only frontend stack that truly matters

WeAreDevelopers LIVE – Frontend Inspirations, Web Standards and more

Breaking down silos between HR, tech, and business
03:39 MIN

Breaking down silos between HR, tech, and business

What 2025 Taught Us: A Year-End Special with Hung Lee

Why HR struggles with technology implementation and adoption
04:22 MIN

Why HR struggles with technology implementation and adoption

What 2025 Taught Us: A Year-End Special with Hung Lee

Featured Partners

Related Videos

See all videos
Why HTMX is crushing React, Vue & Svelte.29:04

Why HTMX is crushing React, Vue & Svelte.

Felix Eckhardt & Benedikt Stemmildt

Multiple Ships to the Island - Micro Frontends & Island Architectures59:03

Multiple Ships to the Island - Micro Frontends & Island Architectures

Florian Rappl

Catching up on the basics you don't really need that much code14:44

Catching up on the basics you don't really need that much code

Chris Heilmann

WeAreDevelopers LIVE – Frontend Inspirations, Web Standards and more1:06:20

WeAreDevelopers LIVE – Frontend Inspirations, Web Standards and more

Chris Heilmann, Daniel Cranney & Jan Deppisch

Front-End Micro Apps35:17

Front-End Micro Apps

Serg Hospodarets

The Lean Web46:46

The Lean Web

Chris Ferdinandi

Independently together: how micro-applications improve developer experience + app performance28:05

Independently together: how micro-applications improve developer experience + app performance

Bilal Cinarli

Why I Recommend Svelte to Every New Web Developer31:21

Why I Recommend Svelte to Every New Web Developer

Markus Hatvan

Related Articles

View all articles
BR
Benjamin Ruschin
The HTML Elements That You’re Probably Over-Engineering
As frameworks have become more and more commonplace in the world of web development, so too has the over-engineering of features made possible by our humble old friend, HTML. The mental models that come with using state management in React, Vue and o...
The HTML Elements That You’re Probably Over-Engineering
CH
Chris Heilmann
Building a "shoutout" component in plain HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Every Wednesday we meet at noon to talk about a lot of tech news, tools and resources in something we call WeAreDevelopers Live . We go live on YouTube and afterwards we cut out short videos to post on social media. What we needed was an obvious “sho...
Building a "shoutout" component in plain HTML/CSS/JavaScript

From learning to earning

Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.

Angular Developer

Angular Developer

Picnic Technologies B.V.
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Intermediate
Senior
RxJS
Angular
TypeScript