The Resurgence of Server-Side Rendering in the JavaScript Era

With the release of React 19 and React frameworks like Next.js and Remix offering server-side rendering, it might seem like everything is coming full circle. Well, that’s because it is—only now you can do all of this using JavaScript.

In the past, languages like PHP would handle server-side rendering by dynamically generating HTML on the server for every request. This meant that when a user visited a site, the server would send back a fully rendered page. It was efficient for SEO and great for users with slow internet connections, as they didn’t have to wait for JavaScript to load and hydrate the page.

Then came the rise of client-side rendering (CSR) with libraries like React, Angular, and Vue. The idea was to build highly interactive single-page applications (SPAs) that could load once and update dynamically without needing full-page refreshes. While this made apps feel fast and fluid, it introduced a few tradeoffs: poor SEO, slow initial loads, and a less-than-ideal experience on low-end devices. Developers started noticing the gaps, especially for content-heavy sites like blogs or e-commerce stores.

Why SSR Is Making a Comeback

Modern SSR with React frameworks is about finding the sweet spot between the traditional server-rendered model and the highly interactive world of SPAs. SSR today doesn’t just generate static HTML; it also enables hydration, where the server sends pre-rendered HTML, and React takes over once the page is loaded to make it interactive. This results in faster page loads, better SEO, and improved accessibility.

What’s even more exciting is that frameworks like Next.js and Remix allow you to choose between rendering methods based on the needs of each page. You can use SSR for content-heavy or SEO-critical pages and client-side rendering (CSR) for highly interactive sections that don’t need to be indexed by search engines. Think dashboards and highly dynamic content. They even offer static site generation (SSG), which pre-renders pages at build time, and ISR (Incremental Static Regeneration), where static pages are updated on demand.

SSR in the JavaScript Ecosystem

This new generation of SSR also leverages modern APIs. React 19’s focus on concurrent rendering and streaming means that pages can be sent to the client in chunks, improving perceived performance. Combined with features like React Server Components (RSC), which reduce the amount of JavaScript sent to the browser, these advances make SSR with React much more scalable than in the past. If you’d like to learn more about the latest changes coming to React 19, check out my article on it.

With frameworks like Next.js integrating deeply with Edge Functions and CDNs, SSR now happens closer to the user, reducing latency. This is a big win, especially for global applications. And let’s not forget, SSR isn’t just about rendering—it’s about data fetching. Remix, for example, has reimagined how routes handle data, making SSR not only possible but seamless with loaders that return data on the server before the page is sent. By the way, Next.js 15 is releasing soon, don’t miss the latest updates!

What Developers Should Keep in Mind

While SSR offers plenty of benefits, it isn’t a silver bullet. It can introduce complexity, especially around caching, managing state across client and server, and handling re-renders during hydration. Developers need to carefully weigh when to use SSR, CSR, or SSG for optimal performance. Tools like Next.js Middleware can help implement logic at the edge to decide how and where to render a page.

In short, SSR is back—and it’s better than ever. It offers the performance and SEO advantages that made it so popular in the past, now coupled with the power and flexibility of the modern JavaScript ecosystem. Whether you’re building e-commerce sites, blogs, or dashboards, SSR is a tool you can’t ignore if you want to deliver fast, engaging, and search-friendly experiences.

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