While the term AJAX may possibly be a little overhyped and overused these days, when AJAX is used appropriately it can really enhance the usability of an application and make many tasks far quicker to complete than they otherwise would have been. One of the first examples of this would be auto-completing search fields but for anyone using Facebook, Flickr or any number of Web 2.0 applications they probably forget how tedious some of the things they do now used to be.

This list of 20 great AJAX effects has many of the effects you’ll see on the larger sites that are truly embracing AJAX such as better form validation, auto-completing text box lists and file uploading. If you’re looking to create a truly awesome experience for your user on your websites you really need to be implementing these UI patterns in your websites now!