use $('div').load('phpfile.php')
$.load
is used to load data from the server via an html file or a server-side script like php.
Just to have an overview of what you can do with $.load
you can also load page fragments by including a selector after the page you want to retrieve. This way only the contents of the selected element will be loaded into your container. You can also pass in data and execute functions after the request has complete(callbacks).
$.html
is different because its only used to get or set the contents of an existing element.
You can however use it with ajax methods like $.post
, $.get
, $.ajax
to update the contents
of an existing element.
Read up jQuery's documentation on the $.load and $.html methods
if you want to have an in-depth understanding on how these method works.