What Is Server-Side Rendering? - Impact, Benefits and Risks

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Every business is aiming to deliver the best experience to its users as they expand their digital footprints in the modern technological world. Rendering comes in handy to make the processes streamlined for your business. This process enables search engines like Google to retrieve and display web pages on the browser so everyone can understand the code structure with ease.

Rendering converts the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code into a webpage and users can interact with a web page with the help of this. If you are considering the user in mind, it is very crucial to design a page according to that. To render a webpage, there are rendering engines. Rendering is of two types, server-side and client-side.

How Rendering Can Help Website Speed?

Rendering helps in improving the speed of any kind of website. Rendering is a process that refers to the loading time for any website. This process can translate the server response into the browser and deliver a response to the user visiting the website. Rendering is used to show the time when an app is ready for use.

What is Server-Side Rendering (SSR)?

Server-side rendering happens when the website content is rendered directly on the server of the website and not on the user’s browser. This server prepares an HTML file with data that is user-specific and forwards it to the user's device.

After this, the browser interprets the website content there and shows the page to the users and delivers a completely rendered page. This helps in giving a fully rendered HTML page to intended users without any requirement for JavaScript or CSS.

How Does SSR Work?

Many businesses use server-side rendering to deliver quality to users. Big brands like Facebook and Twitter also use rendered content to deliver a smooth user experience. There is no need to download and run code every time and it enhances the overall performance. HTML is rendered on the server in SSR.

When a user opens the browser and sends a request to open any webpage of the application, the server helps by creating rendered content. It is created in an HTML file which is sent to the user's device.

In addition to this, the CSS is shown on the user's browser when the page is not interactive. Meanwhile, the browser downloads the JavaScript of the page and makes it available on the server. This process makes content interactive with the help of JavaScript.

It makes the page completely interactive and users can respond to it. This type of rendering is used by many JavaScript frameworks like Angular and React.

Advantages Of Server-Side Rendering

There are many benefits of using server-side rendering for your business website. Here are some of them:

  • Improved loading time

    Server-side rendering updates the HTML of the website which makes it fast to load the pages of the website. Moreover, it also improves page transition and users can switch to pages without any complexity in loading. Even if the internet connection is slow, users can get a response immediately. Increased loading time is a great SEO factor and it can help in improved search engine rankings.

  • Easy indexing

    It is also very easy to index web pages when you are using server-side rendering. The content on the website is loaded before the loading of the page and it helps in indexing the page. There is no need for running JavaScript to read and index the pages.

  • Static website-friendly

    Server-side rendering is a great choice for web pages that are static. With the help of SSR rendering, it is easier and faster to pre-render a page where the content is not changing. Moreover, it is done on the server and then it is later received by the user.

  • More Accurate User Metrics

    If you want to run a properly optimised website, SSR can be very helpful. It can gather metrics and when the user gets to a new page, it informs the server to deliver accurate information. With this, you can perform an assessment of the user navigation and improve the user experience.

  • Security

    Server-side rendering (SSR) reduces the risk of certain kinds of malicious attacks called cross-site scripting attack (XSS). SSR generates the web page on the server and sends it directly to the user's browser, instead of relying heavily on the user's browser to process JavaScript. This makes it harder for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities in the JavaScript code and carry out XSS attacks.

  • Social media optimisation

    SSR can also be used to optimise pages on social media platforms. This offers a preview feature so businesses can manage all the details. With this, you can get a preview of the page title, description, and image that needs to be shared on social platforms.

Limitations Of Server-Side Rendering

While server-side rendering has many benefits, it also has some challenges and disadvantages. Here are some of them:

  • Higher Server Load

    Server-side rendering comes with a high server load of heavy applications. The server can handle all the data and requests for users and bots on the platform. If an application is heavy and complex, the loading time increases and it is not a good SEO factor.

  • Increased Budget

    Server-side rendering is difficult to maintain and bugs in this can take longer to be resolved. It adds to the budget and it is also prone to errors in overall functionality. For this, you need a dedicated server as well.

  • Compatibility issues

    SSR has many compatibility issues and it is very complicated to be used with third-party libraries and tools. It also includes JavaScript code in the program. With this, you need to wait till users download JavaScript to see and interact with a web page.

  • Inefficient Caching

    Caching is very important for data retrieval performance on any website. In SSR, the HTML of every page is different, which makes caching inefficient. If the page is not cached on the content delivery network (CDN), the page takes a long time to load.

Differences Between Server-Side Rendering (SSR) vs Client-Side Rendering (CSR)

Here are the key differences between server-side rendering (SSR) and client-side rendering (CSR):

Features

SSR

CSR

Rendering process

In SSR, HTML and CSS are generated on the server and sent to the user as a complete page.

In this, HTML and CSS are generated on the client side using JavaScript after the page has completely loaded.


Initial Load Time

Initial loading time can be slower as the time needed to generate HTML and CSS on the server is high.

It offers faster loading as the server only uses the minimum of HTML and CSS needed to load the page, and content is generated on the client-side

Load on the server

It has a higher load on the server as it is responsible for rendering the HTML and CSS for every user request.

It has a lower server load as the server only sends the basic HTML and CSS to the client for rendering a web page.

SEO features

SSR is good for SEO as crawlers can easily index the pages from the server.

CSR needs additional SEO efforts like server-side rendering for optimisation for search engines.

Security

It is secure as data is generated on the server.

It is less secure as data is generated on the client side and there can be vulnerabilities

Flexibility

It has limited flexibility as the templates are built on the server side.

It offers better flexibility as it allows for dynamic content and can be easily updated using JavaScript.

Server-Side Rendering Frameworks And Tools

There are many server-side rendering frameworks that can be used efficiently to deliver a quality user experience. It is essential to deliver rendered content to the user's browser so it loads quickly.

The learning curve, productivity, and security are the most important factors to consider when choosing a server-side rendering framework. Here are the top frameworks used in server-side rendering development:

  • Django

    This is a Python-based framework that can be used to build scalable applications with server-side rendering. Having a framework with such versatility and threat protection makes it easy to use. Moreover, it has fast development and strong community support.

  • Express JS

    This JavaScript-based framework is a high-performing choice as a server-side web framework. It can be a great choice for the development of mobile and web apps. It is also one of the best platforms for building cross-platform apps. With easy debugging and quick development, it is one of the best choices for advanced functionality.

  • Laravel

    Based on the MVC (Model View Controller) design pattern, this PHP framework can be used for every type of application development. Laravel is in demand because of secure authentication and its extensive use in WebSockets. It can also be used with serverless architecture.

  • Ruby on Rails

    It is the best suitable framework with the language Ruby. This open-source framework follows MVC patterns and has a strong community and comes with compatibility with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. With extensive libraries and community support, this is one of the best platforms for server-side rendering.

  • ASP.NET

    Created by Microsoft, it is one of the best frameworks for creating dynamic websites and apps. It is open-source in nature and has many advanced security features, which is why it is an ideal choice for the development of complex applications.

Get The Best Platform For Your Business

If you want to boost the overall performance of your website, it is best to leverage server-side rendering. It is very effective if you are looking to enhance the search engine ranking as reduced loading speed helps in this regard.

You need to create a website based on your needs after knowing how it can benefit your users. Even after deep research, if you are confused about what you need, our experts can help you build a scalable platform for all your needs. With our expertise in building interactive and user-first business platforms, our experts can help your business.

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