Mayank Patel
May 17, 2021
7 min read
Last updated Nov 8, 2023
Server-Side Rendering i.e. SSR is a process through which the server transfers data to the browsers in order to draw a layout. With the help of SSR, an application opens a web-page directly on the server rather than rendering it on browser of the system.
Without the implementation of SSR, an application will have a group of static files that slows down the loading speed of the application.
Here, we will explain the worth of rendering and how it plays an important role to improve the lighthouse score. Apart from that, SSR enhances the SEO score for a website, and hence it becomes more significant.
Basically, the search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing crawl a website in order to validate its authenticity. Also, while crawling they depend on the data that comes from the server. And also, they rely on the data that is appearing after the first 8 seconds.
The crawlers of the search engines run Javascript in order to get the data, and if it takes more time in fetching, the crawler ignores the data. Thus it compromises the performance of your web page or application.
Hence those who want excellent SEO performance should always render the website or application directly from the server.
Also, we all know, the present time is too competitive and people are expecting you to be smart enough. Hence, in order to win the race, you must go smart and make your online presence vibrant and solid.
Generally, server-side rendering generates a quick FP (First Paint) & FCP (First Contentful Paint). Because of the rendering on the server, there is no need to send lots of Javascript code to the client.
As a result, we get fast TTI (Time to Interactive). Moreover, the techniques become more useful where we have to incorporate a wide range of devices and network conditions.
So, we can say that, in response to the navigation, SSR generates the full HTML for a page. Also, the activity saves time by avoiding multiple round-trips in order to fetch data on the client-side.
If we talk about the internal process of SSR, here it goes. Based on the command of the user, the server generates a fully loaded page in which the application is rendered as raw CSS & HTML.
Afterward, the parsing of the application starts, and meanwhile rendering of DOM initializes. Once all these activities complete, users get a view in order to interact with the required interface.
Moreover, the most extraordinary concept of SSR is that it doesn’t allow the users to wait for the Javascript in order to load the entire content as the server executes it already.
Are you aware of the benefits of SSR? If not, we are here to explore the same. We have noticed people try to incorporate SSR but, they are not aware of its advantages. So here you go:
With the implementation of SSR, the productivity of the application or website increases. It loads the requested content on the server-side.
Also, it quickly opens the requested web page and thus offers a better user experience. As we all know, when a web page takes time to open, users become annoyed. And it is not the case here.
In spite of having low internet connectivity, SSR helps in loading the
requested page quickly. Moreover, despite having the older device, it offers proper assistance to load the requested page.
As we have mentioned earlier, SSR loads application or web pages even more quickly, and thus it helps in improvising the position of the page on various search engines.
It happens because search engines like Google give preference to the online product that opens quickly.
As we know, the era is technology-driven, and we all know that each device has its own configuration and worth. If we talk about client-side rendering, there is a lot of dependency on the capability of the device.
Also, we have experienced lots of cases where the devices were not capable to render the entire application in the given time. As a result, the quality of the application compromises.
Also, the bounce rate and loading time are directly proportional to each other that ultimately decreases the performance of the site.
However, SSR works differently because it allows the loading of data on the server-side that does not depend on the configuration of the hardware or devices.
Hence, server-side rendering is capable of delivering a consistent result that further brings more clients’ engagement on the page. As a result, the performance of the site increases.
Lighthouse: Before going into the deeper discussion, let’s understand what is Lighthouse? As per the definition of Google, the lighthouse is an open-source, automated tool that helps in improving the quality of your web pages.
Also, Lighthouse runs tests and share its audits that helps developer to make a website even more user-friendly.
Furthermore, Lighthouse plays an important role in examining the important elements of a website. If we focus on its result, and make required improvisation, the overall performance of a website improves.
With the help of Lighthouse, we can analyze our web pages on various parameters, and those are
The report of Lighthouse offers recommendations to optimize the web page on the required parameter.
For example: Suppose texts are not properly visible when Webfont loads. In such a case, Lighthouse will diagnose the problem and ask the user to take the required action to resolve the issue.
If you are browsing to know about the technologies that help you to set up SSR, this section is for you.
Here we are elaborating the two important leading technologies that will surely help in setting the SSR for your web pages and applications. Let have a quick look.
You must be aware that Next.Js is a framework that helps in creating SSR React applications. Moreover, the framework is also very useful to create a full backend of the applications because of being server-side.
Basically, the Next.Js is divided into 2 sections in which the former is “SSR” (Server-Side Rendering), and the latter is “The Backend Server”.
Being a server-side, the framework generates HTML and sends it to the client while, as a backend server it supports APIs.
Also, Next.Js has two modes to fetch data i.e. getServerSideProps and getInitialProp
The server-side rendering (pre-rendering)
There are two ways through which Next.Js renders the web pages. These are
As the name states, one can generate HTML only once on the server at run time. Also, the same HTML will be reused upon each coming request.
We recommend this approach where we need better performance and cache. Obviously, the method has some limitations because one can use it only at run time.
Under this process, the formation of HTML takes place on the server corresponding to each request of the client.
Here, the generated HTML will be dynamic in nature and relies on the data. Every time, it generates the new HTML by considering the data fetched.
Do you know, why should we prefer Nuxt.Js? If not, check out the reasons now. Nuxt.Js has certain capabilities that make it advantageous, and these are:
Using Vue with Nuxt.Js makes SSR implementation even more advantageous. Also, at the same time, we would suggest deciding the technology for SSR at the very beginning of the project otherwise things will become messy.
As we are dealing with technology so, we always are proactive and make plans prior to moving into the development
So, here we have mentioned the concept of SSR and how it helps in improving the Lighthouse score. We certainly hope that you have got an idea about the concept.
As the time is changing, we all should also use the best method in order to sustain our product in the market.
Linearloop is one of the progressive IT companies across the globe, and we always encourage people to follow the best practices of the technology. Feel free to write us if any query hits your mind.
We will always be there to help you out. Also, keep yourself safe from this pandemic. Things will be better soon. Keep boosting your knowledge. Stay connected.
