How Websites Prepare to Display: The Rendering Process
Before discussing SSR and CSR, let's take a brief look at what rendering is. When you visit a website, your computer requests the website's server to send the information. The server responds with files such as HTML (the structure), CSS (the looks), and JavaScript (the interactive bits). Your computer combines these files to display the website to you. It takes a couple of steps:
Reading the HTML: Your computer determines the page's general structure.
Reading the CSS: Your computer knows how the page should be displayed.
Determining What to Display: Your computer determines which elements of the page are exposed.
Placing Everything: Your computer computes what goes where on the screen.
Drawing the Page: Your computer finally displays the website to you.
This entire process happens super fast so that websites load almost instantly. Now, let's find out how SSR and CSR do this differently and why it's important for SEO.
Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Assisting Search Engines to Discover You
Server-Side Rendering is when the server of the website does everything to create the webpage. Think about the server constructing the whole webpage, with all the words and images, and then sending it to your computer. Your computer simply receives a completed webpage that it can display immediately.
How SSR Works:
You Ask: You click a link or enter a web address.
Server Works: The server employs special computer instructions to construct the webpage.
Server Sends Completed Page: The server sends the finished webpage to your computer.
You See It Quickly: Your computer displays the webpage to you quickly.
Website Becomes Interactive: Then, some additional computer instructions (JavaScript) make the page interactive so you can click buttons and do stuff.
Why SSR is Good for SEO:
Easy for Search Engines: Google and other search engines can easily read and comprehend the entire webpage that the server is sending. This makes them aware of what your website is all about.
Faster First Look: Since the server is sending a completed page, the website loads quicker when you first go to it. This matters since search engines prefer fast websites.
Clear Structure: SSR makes it easy to create a clear structure for your webpage, making it simpler for search engines to know what matters.
Improved Sharing: When your webpage gets shared on social media, the previews are nicer because the content is already there.
But there are some potential downsides:
Server May Become Busy: If many individuals access your website simultaneously, the server may become busy since it has to accomplish all the tasks of constructing the pages.
Later May Be Slow: Although the initial page loads quickly, navigating other links on the website may take a little longer since the server may have to work more.
Client-Side Rendering (CSR): Making Websites Interactive
Client-Side Rendering is different. The server delivers a very minimal webpage and some instructions (computer code) to your machine. Your machine uses these instructions to construct and display the whole site to you.
How CSR Works:
You click on a link or enter a website address.
Server Sends Basic Page and Instructions: The server delivers a basic webpage and some computer code (JavaScript).
How It Works: Your computer uses the JavaScript code to construct the webpage and display it to you.
Updates Quickly: When you click buttons or do other stuff, the JavaScript code alters the webpage without requesting the server for a completely new page.
What to Consider for SEO with CSR:
While CSR has the ability to make websites actually interactive and silky-smooth, it may be slightly troublesome for SEO:
Search Engines May Have Issues: Search engines may not always be able to perfectly comprehend websites that are constructed primarily with JavaScript.
Slower Initial View: When you initially visit a site with CSR, the page may load slightly slower because your computer needs to download and execute the JavaScript code before you can see anything.
How to Assist CSR Websites with SEO:
Use SSR for the Initial Load: Construct the initial page with SSR so that search engines can comprehend it easily.
Prepare Pages in Advance: Prepare completed versions of your webpages in advance so that search engines can locate them.
Create Pages on the Server When Requested: Implement a mechanism where the server can generate a completed webpage for search engines when requested.
Update Pages Gradually Over Time: Create simple versions of your pages first and subsequently introduce more interactive elements later.
Utilize Special Codes: Introduce special codes into your site that enable search engines to identify what your pages are about.
Speed Up Sites: Ensure that your site loads quickly by avoiding the loading of everything at one time.
Cause JavaScript to Run Smoothly: Ensure that the JavaScript code in your site is organized properly and doesn't hold it back.
Make Search Engines Discover Important Pages: Let search engines know which pages on your website are the most important.
Making Intelligent Decisions: SSR vs. CSR for SEO
Here is a brief comparison of SSR and CSR for SEO:
What Aids SEO | Server-Side Rendering (SSR) | Client-Side Rendering (CSR) |
Discovering Your Website | Easier for search engines to discover and comprehend. | May be more difficult for search engines to discover everything without additional effort. |
Website Speed (First Time) | Typically loads quicker at first. | May take a bit longer to load initially. |
Showing New Content | Good because the server can generate pages with new information. | Requires special configuration to ensure new information is crawled by search engines. |
Good on Phones | Works well on all devices since the content is already present. | Needs to be carefully designed to work well on phones. |
Needs JavaScript? | Doesn't require JavaScript to display the first content. | Uses JavaScript extensively to display content. |
More Than SEO: How Quickly Your Site Feels
In addition to SEO, how quickly your site feels to users matters as well.
SSR: Typically feels quicker when you first open a page.
CSR: May feel quicker when you click around on the site after it has loaded.
Choosing the Right Way: When to Use SSR vs. CSR for SEO
The better choice depends on what your site needs to accomplish:
Use SSR if:
It's very important to get found on search engines.
You want your site to load fast the first time a person visits.
Your site's content doesn't update much.
You want your site to function well on all types of phones and computers.
Use CSR if:
Your website is highly interactive, such as a game or an app that you access on the internet.
You require your website to post new information every time without loading the entire page.
You get many users of your website and would like to ensure that the server is not too overloaded.
You know how to employ unique techniques to allow search engines to interpret your CSR website.
Occasionally, the best strategy is to employ a combination of both SSR and CSR. For instance, you could employ SSR for the main pages that you desire for people to see on Google and CSR for the more interactive aspects of your website.
Conclusion
Deciding between Server-Side Rendering and Client-Side Rendering is a major decision that impacts how well your website does on search engines and how much users like using it. By getting to know the differences and considering what matters most to your website, you can make intelligent decisions that will enable you to achieve success online.
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