Server-side rendering (SSR) has become a game-changer for modern web development, especially when working with React. As a developer who's implemented SSR across multiple projects, I've seen firsthand how it transforms performance and user experience. Let me walk you through what SSR is, why it matters, and how you can implement it in your React applications using Next.js.
What is server-side rendering?
At its core, SSR is about where your web pages get assembled. Unlike traditional React apps where JavaScript builds the page in the browser (client-side rendering), SSR generates the complete HTML on the server before sending it to the user's browser.
Think about it like this: with traditional PHP websites, the server prepares everything before sending it over. With standard React apps, the server just sends JavaScript files that the browser must then process to construct the page. SSR brings back that server-first approach while maintaining React's dynamic capabilities.
Why choose server-side rendering for your React app?
When building modern web applications, the choice between client-side and server-side rendering can significantly impact your app's success. Server-side rendering has gained tremendous popularity among React developers for good reasons. It addresses many of the limitations of traditional single-page applications while maintaining React's component-based flexibility. The performance boost alone makes it worth considering, but as we'll see, the benefits extend far beyond just speed metrics. Let's explore why so many development teams are making the switch to SSR for their mission-critical React projects.
1. Better initial load experience
The first thing users notice about SSR apps is that they load more quickly. There's no waiting around for JavaScript to download, parse, and execute before seeing content. The page appears immediately because it arrives pre-rendered from the server.
I remember refactoring a client's e-commerce site to use SSR and watching their bounce rate drop by 15% almost overnight. Users were no longer abandoning the site during that critical first-impression moment.
2. Social media visibility
Ever tried sharing a client-rendered React app on social media only to see a blank preview? SSR solves this problem completely. When your content is pre-rendered on the server, social platforms can properly scrape and generate those attractive link previews with images and titles. This seemingly small detail can dramatically increase click-through rates when your content gets shared.
3. Real performance metrics
With SSR, you get more accurate analytics about how users interact with your site. You can track real page transitions and understand user behavior patterns better than with client-side rendering, where many traditional metrics become unreliable.
4. Search engine visibility
Perhaps the most compelling reason to implement SSR is search engine optimization. Google's crawlers have limited time to spend on each page, and while they've improved at processing JavaScript, they still prefer plain HTML. An SSR React app presents all its content upfront, making it significantly more crawler-friendly.
One project I worked on saw organic search traffic increase by over 30% after switching to SSR, simply because more content was being properly indexed.
Building an SSR bookstore with Next.js (step-by-step)
Let's get practical and build a simple online bookstore using Next.js, the most popular framework for implementing SSR with React.
Step 1: Create your Next.js project
First, open your terminal and run:
npx create-next-app my-bookstore-app
cd my-bookstore-app
This creates a new Next.js project and navigates into its directory.
Step 2: Set up dependencies
Next.js already includes React and React DOM as dependencies, but if you need to verify, your package.json should look something like this:
{
"name": "my-bookstore-app",
"version": "0.1.0",
"private": true,
"scripts": {
"dev": "next dev",
"build": "next build",
"start": "next start",
"lint": "next lint"
},
"dependencies": {
"@next/font": "13.1.6",
"eslint": "8.34.0",
"eslint-config-next": "13.1.6",
"next": "13.1.6",
"react": "18.2.0",
"react-dom": "18.2.0"
}
}
Your versions might differ slightly, but that's fine.
Step 3: Configure your environment
Create a .env.local file in your project root to store environment variables:
API_URL=http://localhost:3000
Pro tip: Don't commit this file to your repo! Instead, create a .env.example file with placeholder values that other developers can use as a template.
Step 4: Create your books page
Next.js uses file-based routing, which means each file in the pages directory becomes a route in your application. Let's create a page to display our books:
Create a file at pages/books/index.js with this content:
function BooksPage() {
const [books, setBooks] = useState([])
useEffect(() => {
async function fetchBooks() {
const res = await fetch('/api/books')
const books = await res.json()
setBooks(books)
}
fetchBooks()
}, [])
return (
<div>
<h1>Books</h1>
<ul>
{books.map((book) => (
<li key={book.id}>{book.title} by {book.author}</li>
))}
</ul>
</div>
)
}
export default BooksPage
This is still using client-side rendering, but we'll fix that shortly.
Step 5: Create an API endpoint
Next.js makes it incredibly easy to build API endpoints. Create a file at pages/api/books.js:
const books = [
{ id: 1, title: 'Book 1', author: 'Author 1' },
{ id: 2, title: 'Book 2', author: 'Author 2' },
{ id: 3, title: 'Book 3', author: 'Author 3' },
];
export default function handler(req, res) {
res.status(200).json(books)
}
This creates a simple API that returns a list of books.
Step 6: Implement server-side rendering
Now for the magic part! Let's update our books page to use server-side rendering by adding the getServerSideProps function:
import { useState } from 'react'
function BooksPage({ books }) {
const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false)
return (
<div>
<h1>Books</h1>
<ul>
{books.map((book) => (
<li key={book.id}>{book.title} by {book.author}</li>
))}
</ul>
</div>
)
}
export async function getServerSideProps() {
const res = await fetch(`${process.env.API_URL}/api/books`)
const books = await res.json()
return { props: { books } }
}
export default BooksPage
The key difference here is that with getServerSideProps, Next.js will run this function on the server before rendering the page. The data is fetched server-side, and the HTML is generated with the data already in place.
Step 7: Start your development server
Time to see your work in action:
npm run dev
This starts your development server at http://localhost:3000.
Step 8: Test your SSR implementation
Visit http://localhost:3000/books in your browser. You should see your book list displayed immediately, without any loading states. To verify it's truly server-rendered, you can:
View the page source (right-click → View Page Source)
Look for your book list in the HTML — it should be there!
Temporarily disable JavaScript in your browser and refresh — the content should still appear, confirming it was rendered on the server.
Conclusion
Server-side rendering fundamentally changes how React applications perform and interact with users and search engines. By implementing SSR with Next.js, you're providing a faster initial load, better SEO, improved social sharing, and a more robust user experience. While there's a small learning curve when transitioning from pure client-side React to SSR with Next.js, the benefits make it worthwhile for any serious web application. The approach we've covered here is just the beginning — Next.js offers even more advanced features like static generation and incremental static regeneration that build on these SSR concepts.
