possible to avoid whole page refresh?

is there an acceptable way in php to not have to re-draw a header - logo and company name, and navigation buttons everytime a user goes to a different page?

i presume it can be done, by having only one php file, and all the text and scripts for all the pages in that one file, so when a link for a differnt page is clicked it doesnt actually re-draw the header and nav menu, only the text underneath them

i just want some advice on if there is a good way to do this, or if the whole page being re-freshed and 'flickering' is just 'how it is'?

many thanks