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We’re always trying to help the marketers and strategists we work with understand the complex lexicon of website development. Today we’re helping you understand how crucial choosing the right rendering strategy is for maximising website performance, user experience, and SEO.
In this mini-guide, we'll demystify four key rendering methods: Static Site Generation (SSG), Server Side Rendering (SSR), Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR), and Client-Side Rendering (CSR). Don't worry, they sound like techno-babble, but they are worth understanding and aren't as complicated as you'd think. We'll explore their use cases, benefits, and drawbacks in plain English.
Firstly, What Is a Rendering Strategy?
A rendering strategy refers to the method used to generate and deliver the HTML content of a web page to the user's browser. In simpler terms, it dictates how the content is prepared and served when someone visits a website. Different rendering strategies have unique ways of handling content generation, impacting website performance, user experience, and search engine optimisation (SEO).
Why Rendering Strategies Matter
Rendering strategies are crucial because they influence:
Page Load Speed: How quickly a web page appears to the user.
User Experience: The overall experience a user has when interacting with a website.
SEO: How well a website's content is indexed by search engines.
Scalability: The ability of a website to handle large amounts of traffic.
So let's get our heads around the most common types of rendering strategies.
Static Site Generation (SSG)
How It Works:
SSG is fundamentally about ‘pre-building’ the pages. It does this using data either stored in HTML files, via local JSON or XML or by fetching content from a headless CMS during the build process and converting it into static HTML files alongside any required CSS/JS files for styling and interactivity. These files are served directly to users without further processing.
Use Cases:
Marketing websites with infrequent content updates.
Blogs or documentation sites where content changes are predictable.
Anything with data that does not need to be checked or re-checked at the moment of request.
Benefits:
Speed: Since the content is pre-built, page load times are extremely fast.
Scalability: Handling large volumes of traffic is easy because serving static files is resource-light.
Security: Reduced risk of server-side vulnerabilities as there’s no dynamic content generation at runtime.
Great for SEO: Search engines can easily index static pages.
Best for Content That Changes Infrequently: Ideal for blogs, documentation sites, and marketing websites.
Drawbacks:
Limited Flexibility: Content updates require rebuilding the entire site.
Not Ideal for Dynamic Content: Not suitable for pages that need to display real-time data.
Server Side Rendering (SSR)
How It Works:
SSR dynamically generates HTML on the server for each user request. The content is typically fetched from a headless CMS at runtime, injected into HTML templates, and then sent to the client.
Use Cases:
Websites with frequently updated content.
E-commerce sites where product information changes often.
Applications requiring personalised content based on user data.
Benefits:
Real-Time Updates: Content is always fresh and reflects the latest changes.
SEO-Friendly: Search engines can easily crawl and index the pre-rendered HTML.
Personalisation: Allows for dynamic, user-specific content to be served.
Best for Dynamic Content: Suitable for websites where content changes frequently, like news sites or e-commerce.
Drawbacks:
Performance: Slower than SSG as each request involves server processing.
Scalability: Handling high traffic can be more resource-intensive.
Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR)
How It Works:
ISR combines the benefits of SSG and SSR. Pages are initially generated as static files, but can be re-generated on-demand when content changes.
Use Cases:
Websites needing the performance benefits of SSG but with more frequent content updates.
News sites, blogs, or e-commerce platforms where some content changes regularly.
Benefits:
Speed and Freshness: Combines fast load times with the ability to update content without a full site rebuild.
SEO-Friendly: Static pages are easily indexed, with the advantage of updated content.
Flexibility: Can handle both static and dynamic content effectively.
Best for Hybrid Content Needs: Ideal for sites needing the performance of static with more frequent updates.
Drawbacks:
Complexity: More complex to implement compared to pure SSG or SSR.
Caching Issues: Requires careful management of cache invalidation to ensure content is up-to-date.
Client-Side Rendering (CSR)
How It Works:
CSR sends only an initial HTML shell from the server, with JavaScript handling all subsequent content updates by fetching data from a headless CMS and updating the page dynamically.
Use Cases:
Single-page applications (SPAs) where user interactions happen dynamically on the client-side.
Apps requiring real-time updates, like social media platforms or chat applications.
Benefits:
Interactivity: Excellent for highly interactive applications where user experience is paramount.
Immediate Updates: Content updates are reflected instantly on the client-side without reloading the page.
Drawbacks:
SEO Challenges: Search engines might struggle to index content since it relies heavily on JavaScript.
Initial Load Time: The first load can be slower because the full JavaScript bundle needs to be downloaded and executed.
Complexity: Handling SEO and initial load performance can be technically challenging.
Choosing the Right Strategy
Understanding rendering strategies is essential for marketers to ensure that their websites are fast, user-friendly, and search engine optimised. By choosing the right strategy, you can better meet your audience's needs and improve your site's performance and visibility.
Selecting the appropriate rendering strategy depends on your specific project needs, here's a handy cheats guide:
SSG is ideal for static content that infrequently changes. (Less than twice a day)
SSR suits applications requiring dynamic, user-specific content.
ISR offers a balance, giving you the speed of static with the flexibility of dynamic updates.
CSR is best for highly interactive, real-time applications.
It's worth investing the time to understand these strategies, so you can better collaborate with your development team, ensuring your marketing goals align with the technical implementation for optimal website performance and user experience.
And we are always here if you need to ask an expert for guidance, or want some help defining the right approach for you.
