Software Engineering

The Power of Server-Side Rendering and A Deep Dive into Next.js

Published December 4, 2023By Yazan Numoor

Hey there, web wizards and digital dynamos! Are you ready to crank up your web development game to eleven? We’re about to dive headfirst into a world where pages load faster than a caffeine-fueled cheetah and SEO rankings skyrocket like a rocket on a sugar rush. 🚀✨

Hold onto your keyboards, because in this groovy article, we’re unraveling the secrets behind the cosmic force known as Server-Side Rendering (SSR). But hey, we’re not stopping there — we’re taking it to the next level with a deep dive into the ocean of possibilities with Next.js, the rockstar of React frameworks.

So, if you’re tired of watching web pages load slower than a snail in a traffic jam, and if you’re eager to unveil the magic that makes Google fall head over heels for your content, then grab your virtual surfboards, because we’re about to ride the server-side wave and catch the Next.js tide like the web rebels we were born to be.

Server-side rendering (SSR) represents a fundamental capability wherein an application orchestrates the presentation of a webpage directly on the server as opposed to deferring rendering to the client’s browser. By furnishing the client with a fully formed page, the torch is then passed to the client’s JavaScript bundle, seamlessly empowering the Single Page Application (SPA) framework to take the stage. In contrast, the alternative method, client-side rendering, introduces delays to the browsing experience, impeding the swift and interactive consumption of web content.

Back in the day, we were all about Server-Side Rendering (SSR), using it to bring our web pages to life. But as time passed, it kinda lost its sparkle in the showdown between server-side rendering and client-side rendering. We sort of left it behind in favor of the cool kids, the client-side rendering solutions. So, let’s take a little journey and chat about when to give SSR a high-five and how it actually gets the job done.

Picture this: You’re in the past, creating a web page, maybe with something like PHP. You’d hand everything over to the server, it would whip up the whole deal, sprinkle in the data, and hand you a fully-loaded HTML page. It was snappy and did the trick.

But, there was a catch. Every time you hopped to a different route, the server had to put on its work boots again: grab that PHP file, whip it into shape, and deliver the whole HTML package, complete with the CSS and JS files that would slow things down, making you wait a few hundred milliseconds or even entire seconds.

But what if we could mix things up? Imagine kicking off with that SSR magic on the first page load, and then letting a framework handle the dynamic routes using some AJAX sorcery, fetching only what’s actually needed.

And that, my friend, is why SSR in the frontend is starting to get all the attention these days. React swooped in and made it easy with this neat trick called the RenderToString method.

This kind of web app is sometimes called a universal app or even an isomorphic app. People kinda toss those words around, and they’re often used interchangeably, though there’s some debate about their exact meanings.

But hey, here’s the scoop: SSR lets you build an app that struts its stuff both on the server-side and the client-side using the same code. It serves up speed, tailored content, and a snappy experience to the user. The only downside? You need a server to do the heavy lifting.

So, why the fuss? SSR gets you data before you even need it, thanks to the server’s trusty internet connection (it’s like Wi-Fi but without the “lie”). This means it can gather up data and serve it on a silver platter, ready for you to chow down on.

And guess what? With all that pre-loaded data, an SSR-powered app can save the day when it comes to social sharing and those pesky OpenGraph things. See, if you’ve got just one index.html file for your client, you’ll be stuck with one set of metadata — usually your homepage stuff. So, when you want to share a different route, it’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and your shared content won’t quite hit the mark with its description and preview image. Not exactly what you want when you’re ready to show the world what you’ve got.

So there you have it, SSR, the hero who fetches data and decks out your page, all thanks to the server’s super internet skills. It might be the answer to your content-sharing dreams and give you a speed boost to boot. Just don’t forget your server keys! 🚀🌐

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And like the life, every aspect boasts its own set of Pros 🦾 and Cons 💥.

Advantages of using server-side rendering

1. Enhanced Initial Loading Speed: SSR reduces the time required for a webpage to become interactive by pre-rendering content on the server. This leads to faster initial loading times and improved user experiences.
2. SEO Optimization: Search engines can effectively crawl and index content rendered on the server, resulting in better search engine rankings and visibility for your web pages.
3. Social Media Sharing: SSR ensures accurate previews and metadata when sharing links on social media platforms, improving the appearance of shared content.
4. Better User Experience: Users receive meaningful content more swiftly, particularly on slower network connections or less capable devices, contributing to a more satisfactory browsing experience.
5. Compatibility: SSR is friendly for devices with limited JavaScript capabilities, catering to a broader range of users, including those with disabilities.

Disadvantages of using server-side rendering

1. Increased Server Load: Rendering content on the server can strain server resources, leading to potential scalability challenges under heavy traffic loads.
2. Complexity: Implementing SSR requires understanding of both front-end and back-end technologies, making the development process more intricate compared to client-side rendering.
3. Delayed Interactive Elements: Although the initial loading speed is improved, complex interactive elements might still require additional JavaScript execution, potentially causing slight delays.
4. Development Overhead: SSR demands more careful handling of data fetching and state management due to the interplay between server and client. This can lead to added development effort.
5. Limited Client-Side Optimization: Client-side optimizations, such as caching and prefetching, may be less effective in SSR scenarios due to the dynamic nature of server-rendered content.

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The Next.js Revolution

When implementing SSR in Next.js, Commitment to best practices ensures a smooth development process and optimal performance. Here are some key guidelines:

• Code Splitting: Utilize code splitting to divide your application into smaller, more manageable chunks. This allows for faster loading times and better resource utilization.
• Data Fetching: Fetch data on the server-side using functions like getServerSideProps or getStaticProps based on your specific requirements. Consider using a data fetching library like Axios or Fetch for efficiency.
• Component Optimization: Optimize your React components for SSR by avoiding side effects that should only occur on the client-side. Use lifecycle methods like componentDidMount sparingly in SSR components.
• Caching Strategies: Implement caching mechanisms for frequently requested data to reduce the load on your server and improve response times. Explore options like Redis or in-memory caching.
• Error Handling: Create robust error handling mechanisms for SSR. Ensure that error messages are properly logged and displayed to assist with debugging.
• Security: Pay special attention to security when performing SSR. Sanitize user input, validate data, and implement security headers to protect against common vulnerabilities.

Now, let’s dive into Next.js, a framework that has taken SSR to new heights. Next.js, built on top of React, simplifies the implementation of SSR, offering a robust and developer-friendly ecosystem.

Let’s put theory into practice with a simple example. Suppose we want to create a blog website that fetches and displays articles.

1. Setup: Start by creating a new Next.js project.

npx create-next-app posts-list
cd posts-list

2. Page Creation: Inside the pages directory, create an index.js file.

import React from 'react';

const PostsPage = ({ posts }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Posts</h1>
      <ul>
        {posts.map(post => (
          <li key={post.id}>
            <h2>{post.title}</h2>
            <p>{post.body}</p>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
};

// Fetch posts using getServerSideProps

export default PostsPage;

3. Server-Side Data: Implement getServerSideProps to fetch articles from an API.

import React from 'react';

const PostsPage = ({ posts }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Posts</h1>
      <ul>
        {posts.map(post => (
          <li key={post.id}>
            <h2>{post.title}</h2>
            <p>{post.body}</p>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
};

export async function getServerSideProps() {
  try{ // add try & catch to handle the errors
    const response = await fetch('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts');
    const posts = await response.json();
  
    return {
      props: {
        posts,
      },
    };
  } catch (err) {
    return {
      props: { statusCode: 500 },
    }
  }
}

export default PostsPage;

4. Start the Server: Run the development server.

npm run dev

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Optimizing Performance with Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR)

Incremental Static Regeneration is a feature provided by Next.js that allows you to pre-render and cache individual pages at build time, but also gives you the flexibility to re-generate them on-demand or periodically. This can be especially useful for pages that have dynamic data that doesn’t change very often.

In our example, we already have a basic Server-Side Rendering (SSR) setup to fetch and display a list of posts. Now, let’s enhance it with ISR for a more efficient and faster user experience.

import React from 'react';

const PostsPage = ({ posts }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Posts</h1>
      <ul>
        {posts.map(post => (
          <li key={post.id}>
            <h2>{post.title}</h2>
            <p>{post.body}</p>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
};

export async function getStaticProps() {
  // add try & catch to handle the errors
  try{ 
    // Fetch posts from an API or database
    const response = await fetch('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts');
    const posts = await response.json();
    return {
      props: {
        posts,
      },
      revalidate: 60 * 60, // Re-generate the page every hour
    };
  } catch (err) {
    return {
      props: { statusCode: 500 },
    }
  }
}

export default PostsPage;

Here’s what’s changed:

1. We’ve replaced getServerSideProps with getStaticProps. This switch tells Next.js to use Static Site Generation (SSG) instead of SSR for this page.
2. In getStaticProps, we’re fetching the list of posts as before.
3. We’ve added a revalidate option inside the returned object. This option tells Next.js to re-generate the page every hour (you can adjust this value as needed). During this re-generation, Next.js will fetch the latest data and update the page content.

With ISR in place:

• The initial page load will be super fast because it’s served from a pre-rendered static HTML file.
• Subsequent users will see the cached page until it’s revalidated.
• Every hour, or as per the revalidate interval, Next.js will automatically fetch fresh data and update the cached page.

This combination of SSG and ISR helps strike a balance between performance and data freshness. It ensures that your users get a speedy experience while keeping your content up-to-date without overwhelming your server with frequent requests.

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SEO Benefits of SSR

In the fiercely competitive world of online content, visibility is paramount. A well-optimized website is more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract a larger audience. Server-Side Rendering (SSR) plays a pivotal role in achieving these SEO goals. Let’s delve into the specific benefits that SSR brings to the table:

1. Improved Indexing by Search Engines: Search engines, such as Google, use web crawlers to index the content of websites. These crawlers analyze the HTML markup of a page to understand its structure and content. Here’s where SSR shines. With SSR, your web pages are fully rendered on the server before being sent to the client’s browser. This means that search engine crawlers receive a complete and well-structured HTML page during their initial visit.

The advantage? Search engines can efficiently crawl and index your content, ensuring that your web pages are accurately represented in search results. This significantly improves your website’s chances of ranking higher for relevant search queries.

2. Faster Page Load Times: Page load speed is a crucial ranking factor for search engines. SSR’s ability to provide pre-rendered HTML content directly from the server accelerates the initial page load time. When users click on a search result and encounter a swift-loading page, they are more likely to stay and engage with your content.

Not only does this enhance the user experience, but it also sends a positive signal to search engines. Google, for instance, has indicated that site speed is a ranking factor. Faster-loading pages are more likely to be favored in search results.

3. Optimized Metadata and Social Sharing: SSR ensures that essential metadata, such as page titles, meta descriptions, and Open Graph tags, are accurately populated and readily available in the initial HTML response. This metadata plays a crucial role in how your content appears in search results and when shared on social media platforms.

When users share your content on social media, platforms like Facebook and Twitter rely on Open Graph tags to generate attractive previews. SSR ensures that these previews are contextually correct, increasing the likelihood that users will share your content with enticing visuals and descriptions.

4. Accessibility and Mobile Friendliness: Search engines prioritize websites that offer a great user experience across various devices, including mobile devices. SSR can contribute to mobile-friendliness by providing a well-structured HTML page that adapts to different screen sizes and devices. This aligns with Google’s mobile-first indexing approach, where the mobile version of a website is primarily used for ranking and indexing.

Incorporating responsive design principles alongside SSR further enhances the accessibility and mobile-friendliness of your website, positively influencing your SEO efforts.

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Deploying Next.js SSR Applications:

Deploying a Next.js SSR application requires careful consideration of hosting options and server configurations. Here’s a brief overview of the deployment process:

• Hosting Providers: Choose a hosting provider that supports Node.js applications and offers server-side rendering capabilities. Popular choices include Vercel, Netlify, AWS, and Heroku.
• Server Configuration: Configure your server to handle SSR requests. Ensure that it can execute Node.js code and manage server-side rendering tasks efficiently.
• Environment Variables: Securely manage environment variables for sensitive information such as API keys and database credentials. Most hosting platforms provide mechanisms for handling environment variables.
• Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Implement CI/CD pipelines to automate the deployment process. This ensures that code changes are tested and deployed seamlessly.
• Monitoring and Scaling: Set up monitoring tools to track the performance of your SSR application. Be prepared to scale your infrastructure as traffic grows to maintain optimal performance.

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And last but not least

In this journey, we’ve empowered ourselves with the knowledge to harness the power of SSR and Next.js, enabling us to create blazing-fast web applications with top-notch SEO and user experiences. So, web wizards and digital dynamos, it’s time to ride the server-side wave and catch the Next.js tide as the web rebels we were born to be. 🚀🌐

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Written by Ameed Jadallah, Senior Software engineer @ Reconess