Introduction

React is a popular JavaScript library used for building user interfaces. One of the key benefits of React is the ability to render components on both the client-side and server-side. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at server-side rendering with React.

What is server-side rendering?

Server-side rendering is the process of rendering web pages on the server and sending the HTML to the client. This is in contrast to client-side rendering, where the HTML is generated by the browser after it has downloaded the JavaScript and executed it.

Why use server-side rendering with React?

There are several benefits to using server-side rendering with React:

Improved performance

Server-side rendered pages load faster and provide a better user experience. The server can generate the HTML and send it to the client more quickly than the client can download and execute the JavaScript.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engines rely on HTML content to index and rank pages. Server-side rendering ensures that search engines can crawl and index your content, leading to better search rankings.

Accessibility

Server-side rendering provides better accessibility for users who rely on assistive technologies such as screen readers. Because the HTML is generated on the server, it is available to these technologies immediately, without waiting for JavaScript to execute.

How to implement server-side rendering with React

Implementing server-side rendering with React can be challenging, but there are several libraries and frameworks available to help. One popular option is Next.js, a framework for building server-rendered React applications.

To get started with Next.js, you'll need to install it using npm:

npm install next react react-dom

Next, you'll need to create a pages directory in your project and add a .js file for each page you want to render. For example, if you want to render a homepage, create a file called index.js in the pages directory.

In your page file, you'll need to export a default React component. This component will be rendered on both the server and client:

import React from 'react';

export default function Home() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
    </div>
  );
}

Finally, you'll need to create a server.js file to start the server and render the pages:

const next = require('next');
const express = require('express');

const dev = process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production';
const app = next({ dev });
const handle = app.getRequestHandler();

app.prepare().then(() => {
  const server = express();

  server.get('*', (req, res) => {
    return handle(req, res);
  });

  server.listen(3000, err => {
    if (err) throw err;
    console.log('> Ready on <http://localhost:3000>');
  });
});

This code sets up an Express server and tells it to render all requests using Next.js's getRequestHandler() function. When you run this script with node server.js, you should see your server running at http://localhost:3000.

Conclusion

Server-side rendering with React can provide significant benefits for your application's performance, SEO, and accessibility. With tools like Next.js, it's easier than ever to implement server-side rendering in your React applications.