White Hat vs. Black Hat vs. Gray Hat SEO: What’s the Difference?

Summary: Search engine optimization (SEO) is enhanced by Server-Side Rendering (SSR), which generates and sends entire HTML pages from the server. To load content in the browser, Client-Side Rendering (CSR) uses JavaScript, which can complicate search engine indexing and slow down the initial page load. Because SSR delivers content more quickly and is easier to index, it typically provides greater SEO benefits.

Web development is fast evolving with modern application architecture. In this, methods to render content play a key role in determining the websites’ performance and user experience. Two well-known website rendering methods include server-side (SSR) and client-side (CSR). Each website has a different set of requirements so understanding the difference between the two types of rendering will help choose the best suitable one.

This blog post will give a better understanding of server-side rendering vs client-side rendering, the way both work, their pros, and cons, and which one can match your business goals.

What Is Server-Side Rendering, And How Does It Work?

Server-side rendering involves generating a webpage on the server and delivering it to the client’s browser. All web pages are created and merged on the server before they are transmitted to the client’s browser. This reduces client-side processing to an extent. Since it is pre-rendered, search engines index the content effectively which improves search speed and ranking. SSR is generally considered the best approach for JavaScript frameworks when creating SEO-friendly websites, particularly when page speed is critical.

Here is how the SSR works-

• The user types the URL in the address bar that they want to visit.
• The server serves an HTML response which is ready for rendering to the browser.
• The browser publishes the page to be viewed and downloads the JavaScript.
• The browser completes React which makes the page interactable.

What Is Client-Side Rendering, And How Does It Work?

Client-side rendering is a relatively new method to render websites. It renders a website’s JavaScript in your browser instead of the browser. Here, the server responds with an HTML document that contains JS files. It does not receive the content from the HTML document. Initially, the website upload time is slow but the subsequent page-loads are quick as they depend on a different HTML page on every route. CSR websites do everything on their own as their page is available after the execution of the code. CSR websites create the URL of each page visited by the user dynamically.

The client-side rendered website works in the following manner-

• On entering the URL in the address bar by the user, the server receives a data request at the specified URL.
• The server delivers static files like HTML and CSS to the client’s browser at the client’s request for the first time.
• The client browser will first download HTML content and then JavaScript. The HTML files connect to JavaScript and start the loading by displaying loading symbols defined by the developer. Here, the user is unable to view the website.
• Then, content is generated dynamically once the JavaScript is downloaded.
• The web content is now viewable to the user.

What Are the Differences Between Client-Side and Server-Side Rendering?

A comparison between server-side rendering and client-side rendering will help in understanding the concepts easily.

Client-Side vs. Server-Side Rendering: Which is Better for SEO?

Making a comparison of client-side vs server-side rendering requires a thorough understanding of their strengths and shortcomings. This will help to choose the correct option from the two that suit your website and match the business goals.

Server-side rendering ensures fast page loading which is critical in delivering a good user experience. Pre-rendered content in SSR helps in search engine visibility which enhances a website’s visibility and ranking. SSR is ideal for websites with relatively static content that does not change frequently.

This ensures a consistent website experience for the users over time. SSR reduces the load on users’ devices by handling more content on the server and simplifying the interactions. SSR’s pre-rendered content helps in easy caching and reduces the load on servers on subsequent user requests leading to improved performance.

However, SSR cannot render third-party JavaScript due to which reviews or personalized recommendations from outside will not be visible on a fully rendered website on the server. Reduced interactivity and delays in content updates are some of the limitations of the SSR.

Client-side rendering uses JavaScript to render dynamic content that enables an interactive user interface. CSR allows content updates without complete page reloads that enhance user experience. CSR is suitable for websites that update the content frequently. It empowers applications with rich features within single-page or single-page applications that increase user engagement. CSR optimizes server resources as it distributes rendering processes. This is especially beneficial for content that the users update frequently.

Client-side rendering might face challenges related to SEO services and initial load times for websites that contain heavy content. It has issues with scalability under high website traffic without effective utilization of resources.

Client Side vs. Server Side: Does it Matter to Google and Ranking?

JavaScript SEO services help optimize the rendering and indexing of heavily coded websites by search engines like Google. For further optimization in SEO and Google Ranking, understanding client-side vs server-side rendering is equally important. Server-side rendering is the first choice in the context of SEO and Google ranking. SSR generates a whole set of HTML markups that make it easier for search engine crawlers to search and index HTML content. It quickens the search for a website and SSR also enables faster loading that increases the chance of ranking on Google. However, CSR relies mainly on JavaScript to render the content on the client side.

The table below includes a detailed comparison between SSR and CSR of Google ranking and SEO considerations

Optimize Your Site for Better Performance

Rendering in SEO has become one of the important factors for ranking on search engines. Client-side and server-side rendering are the two rendering techniques implemented by SEO experts to increase user experience and ranking. You can choose SSR for faster initial page load, good SEO crawl ability, higher search engine visibility, and user-friendliness.

Select CSR for higher flexibility, real-time updates, interactive applications, and reduced server load. Selection from the two rendering types depends on your website, business goals, and development considerations. You can consider the above pros and cons and make an appropriate comparison between client-side and server-side rendering.