Is Server-Side Rendering Making a Comeback in 2024?

Web design trends — like those in any industry — often behave like a pendulum. Something gains popularity, goes out of style but eventually regains interest as its successor starts to wane. Server-side rendering (SSR) is experiencing such a shift right now.

What Is Server-Side Rendering?

As its name suggests, server-side rendering means rendering a website’s elements on the server before sending it to the user. This is in contrast to client-side rendering (CSR), where servers send raw data that the browser then uses to generate HTML content.

In SSR, the server must execute script commands to load content like images and interactive elements on top of providing the underlying code. Originally, this was a matter of necessity. Browsers were not powerful enough to run these scripts quickly, and SSR leaves them with less computation to perform. While that’s no longer necessary today, it can still be beneficial.

Popular JavaScript frameworks like React and Angular — which is now in its 14th iteration — typically rely on CSR. However, they can support server-side alternatives. This possibility went unused by many developers for years but is starting to see a comeback as people begin to lose faith in CSR.

The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Server-Side Rendering

Server-side rendering was the standard for web development in the early 2000s. In fact, it predates JavaScript’s widespread adoption, with earlier programming languages like PHP relying on it.

SSR’s dominance stemmed from two main reasons. First and most notably, browsers and user-side connections had too little computing power and bandwidth to reasonably load everything. Secondly, websites then required far less code than they do today, so developers had the time and resources to execute scripts before sending them to the user.

The needle began to fall in favor of CSR around the 2010s. Node.js and Angular launched in 2009 and 2010, respectively, making JavaScript the language of choice for full-stack development. As JavaScript grew and browsers became more powerful, it made more logistical sense to simplify server-side operations and execute all elements on the client side.

However, developers have begun favoring server-side rendering again in the past few years. Much of this shift is because website sizes have grown faster than browsers’ ability to keep up. Average page weights skyrocketed by 356% in the past decade, and mobile figures have jumped even more.

As a result, CSR today creates slow loading times and unresponsive UX on many sites, especially for mobile. Going back to SSR is a natural solution.

Benefits of Server-Side Rendering

Despite its age, server-side rendering still offers several promising advantages to modern web developers. Here are a few of the most prominent.

Faster Load Times

The most obvious benefit of server-side rendering is that it’s fast. While it means more initial work on the developer’s end, users experience a more responsive, quick-loading website.

Load times are crucial to maintaining a positive UX today. According to one study, bounce rates increase by 32% when page loading time rises from one to three seconds. Anything beyond that is even more likely to drive visitors away. Of course, devs can always simplify their code, but this often comes at the expense of less engaging elements. Removing the need for browsers to render anything is an advantageous alternative.

These speed improvements are particularly noticeable on mobile sites and when users have poor internet connections. Making these typically inconvenient moments more seamless is an excellent way to retain traffic.

Improved SEO

SSR can also boost a website’s search engine optimization (SEO). Part of this boost comes from the improvement in load times, as a site’s core web vitals play a small but important SEO role. However, the bulk of SSR’s SEO benefits stem from easier indexing.

Search engines can parse sites more easily when all their content is already rendered by the time it reaches the client side. CSR can slow this process on large pages, as the crawler must load everything before it can analyze it. Consequently, bypassing this loading ensures a site gets the ranking it deserves.

Similarly, social media crawlers can index rendered elements more easily than they can manage raw JavaScript data. Capitalizing on that opportunity can help businesses boost their social media presence to bolster SEO efforts.

Better Accessibility

Server-side rendering can make websites more accessible to a wider audience, too. Recent strides in technology make it easy to overlook users with slower internet service or older devices, but these are still prominent groups. SSR ensures they can enjoy a similar experience to those with faster connections.

At least 7.2 million homes and businesses in the U.S. lack access to high-speed internet. Even those that do have broadband may not always experience reasonable connections, thanks to hardware limitations. Consequently, sites relying on client-side rendering may be inaccessible to a huge number of potential visitors.

Because SSR loads high-bandwidth elements before they reach the client, it overcomes this obstacle. The user experience becomes more consistent across all hardware and internet variables as a result.

Downsides to Server-Side Rendering

Of course, SSR has its fair share of negative implications, too. Web developers must consider these to determine if server-side rendering is right for them.

Additional Costs and Complexity

The most significant downside to SSR is that it means more work for developers. Executing command scripts before sending anything to the client takes time. It also complicates development environments, as devs must ensure all elements work correctly and can ship in one piece instead of offloading this work.

This added complexity is all the more concerning in light of IT labor shortages. Experts predict current talent gaps will increase in the future as demands grow and more of the workforce retires. Without adaptation, that shift could mean workloads pile up for development teams, leading to stress and turnover.

Naturally, increased complexity goes hand in hand with higher costs. SSR may not be the best financial decision for smaller businesses as a result.

Compatibility Issues

Developers can also run into some compatibility barriers when using server-side rendering. Because CSR has been the standard for so long, many websites and browsers have adapted to that method. Consequently, not everything supports SSR anymore, and some that do may introduce loading errors when trying to process it.

Some browsers may fail to load SSR content, counteracting its accessibility benefits. Similarly, not all third-party libraries and development tools support it. Anything with a hard reference to browser-only APIs, for example, might crash when trying to process SSR elements.

There are ways around these issues, but once again, this further complicates development environments. Agility-focused teams may want to avoid this complexity entirely.

How to Use Server-Side Rendering in 2024

Given these pros and cons, devs should consider server-side rendering for some instances but not everything. In general, SSR is ideal when SEO is a top concern, target audiences have slow or unreliable networks or when working with content-heavy websites. E-commerce and social platforms, in particular, benefit from this practice — that’s why Facebook and LinkedIn use it, even today.

Once devs decide that SSR is right for a given project, they should review their server resources. Hardware upgrades and performance optimization may be necessary to ensure a smoother rendering process. Similarly, ongoing monitoring post-rendering is important so devs can catch any errors that may have occurred.

Many developers today favor a hybrid approach. That may mean using SSR for the initial site launch but single-page application (SPA) for future updates. Hydration is another popular alternative. Here, devs use SSR for the first rendering but add interactive elements through client-side JavaScript bundles. These best-of-both-worlds approaches balance SSR’s fast loading times with CSR’s lower costs.

Use the Best Rendering Method for Your Website

The best way to render your website varies depending on many factors. Consequently, the only way to make an informed decision is to understand the ups and downs of each method. Server-side rendering is making a comeback among many developers today, but it may be best to take a hybrid approach. Learning the ins and outs of SSR is the first step, regardless of what direction you ultimately take.