Make full-page and fragment responses explicit

Problem

The same URL serves normal navigation and an enhanced region update, but the server sometimes returns a full page where a fragment is expected.

Before you start

Define an explicit request policy using Accept, a documented request header, or separate routes. Do not infer intent from fragile user-agent checks.

Keep normal navigation available

<a
  href="/account/orders"
  ng-get="/account/orders"
  data-target="#orders"
  swap="innerHTML"
>
  Refresh orders
</a>
<section id="orders" aria-live="polite">
  <p>Current orders appear here.</p>
</section>

Server contract

Return a complete document for normal navigation and a valid application-owned fragment for the enhanced request. Set Content-Type, cache variation, and error responses consistently for both representations.

Failure path

Never swap a complete login, maintenance, or proxy page into the region. Detect authentication and server failures by status before rendering the body.

Apply it now

Capture the normal and enhanced requests for one route. Write down exactly which request signal chooses each representation.

Verify

Open the link normally, in a new tab, and through the enhanced interaction. Test signed-out and maintenance responses in all three cases.