Ajax appends previous data to new post

The classic issue of "append instead of replace"!

When using AJAX to append new data to a page, it's common for the previous data to be appended to the new data, instead of replacing the old data with the new data. This can happen for a few reasons:

1. The AJAX request is not properly handling the response: Make sure that your AJAX request is correctly handling the response data. If the response data is not being properly parsed or processed, it may be appended to the existing data instead of replacing it.
2. The HTML structure is not being properly updated: When appending new data, make sure that the HTML structure is being properly updated to reflect the new data. If the HTML structure is not being updated correctly, the new data may be appended to the existing data instead of replacing it.
3. The JavaScript code is not properly handling the data: Check your JavaScript code to ensure that it is properly handling the data being returned from the AJAX request. If the code is not properly processing the data, it may be appended to the existing data instead of replacing it.

To fix this issue, you can try the following:

1. Use the .html() method instead of .append(): Instead of using .append() to add new data to the page, try using the .html() method to replace the existing data with the new data.
2. Use a container element: Wrap the data you want to append in a container element (e.g. a <div>) and then use .append() to add the container element to the page. This can help prevent the new data from being appended to the existing data.
3. Clear the container element before appending new data: Before appending new data to the page, clear the container element using .empty() or .html(''). This can help prevent the new data from being appended to the existing data.
4. Use a template engine: Consider using a template engine like Handlebars or Mustache to render the data on the client-side. This can help ensure that the data is properly rendered and updated on the page.

Here is an example of how you might use the .html() method to replace the existing data with new data:

$.ajax({
  url: '/api/data',
  method: 'GET',
  success: function(data) {
    $('#container').html(data);
  }
});

And here is an example of how you might use a container element and clear it before appending new data:

$.ajax({
  url: '/api/data',
  method: 'GET',
  success: function(data) {
    var container = $('#container');
    container.empty();
    container.append(data);
  }
});