Technical Seo
Client-Side Rendering
A rendering approach where the browser downloads a minimal HTML shell and JavaScript builds the page content after loading. The server sends an empty container, and everything visible is constructed by JS in the user's browser.
Why Client-Side Rendering Matters for SEO
CSR is the riskiest approach for SEO. Search engines receive a near-empty HTML page and must execute JavaScript to see any content. If rendering fails or is deprioritised, your content doesn't get indexed. For marketing sites that depend on organic traffic, CSR is usually the wrong choice.
How Client-Side Rendering Works
The server sends a bare HTML page with a JavaScript bundle. The browser downloads, parses, and executes the JS, which then fetches data via APIs and renders the content. Google can handle this in its rendering queue, but there's a significant delay and no guarantee every page gets rendered.
Common Mistakes
- Using CSR for content-heavy marketing pages where SEO matters
- Not providing any fallback content in the initial HTML
- Assuming Google will render your CSR pages the same way Chrome does
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