Key Takeaways
- The technique of dynamic rendering may enable pre-rendering of HTML for crawlers and deliver JavaScript-powered pages for users.
- It may be useful in cases where important content is hard for certain crawlers to render; however, it creates additional infrastructure requirements.
- Long-term JavaScript SEO may benefit from using server-side rendering, static generation, or other techniques.
Today, JavaScript is used by modern websites in order to create an interactive experience. This solution works fine for end users, but crawlers like search engines do not necessarily process JavaScript the same way as browsers do. Dynamic rendering was invented as a solution to this problem: a website can serve a JavaScript-based experience to users and an HTML-based one to crawlers.
It is important to note that nowadays the meaning of dynamic rendering is different from its original meaning, which can be seen from the fact that Google classifies it as a temporary solution and advises using such solutions as server-side, static, and hydration rendering for JavaScript websites.
What is dynamic rendering?
Dynamic rendering is a technology where a server detects particular crawlers and serves them a pre-rendered copy of a website, not the one full of JavaScript that a common user receives.
The rendering engine performs the JavaScript of the page, creates the HTML, and makes it available for crawlers. Ordinary people keep getting the interactive copy of the page on the client side.
The key thing here is that the content and the goal of the page stay the same. What changes is just the way the content is delivered. According to Google, dynamic rendering will not be regarded as cloaking in case the page content is basically the same for users and crawlers. Using different content in order to get higher ranking positions is a completely different kind of cloaking problem.
Such a method became handy for sites with a great amount of content created by JavaScript, especially when the main information could not be found in the HTML of the page.
Dynamic Rendering vs. Server-Side Rendering
The difference between dynamic rendering and server-side rendering is mostly who gets the rendered HTML and how it is generated.
Dynamic rendering involves the server figuring out which agent is making the request and sending a pre-rendered version of the HTML to the crawlers while sending a client-rendered application to users. This way, there are two different delivery methods that should stay in sync with each other.
Server-side rendering allows the server to create the HTML for the requested page and then send it to the client. Thus, the same rendered HTML can be delivered both to users and crawlers without keeping a separate one for crawlers.
Rendering on the server side might make the content available earlier and decrease the amount of JavaScript that needs to be executed by a crawler. Static generation can also be used if pages can be generated ahead of time.
It depends on the site and which architecture is needed. Dynamic rendering can be useful for dealing with some special cases, but Google suggests using more straightforward options nowadays.
Also check: What is Entity-Based SEO? How to Optimize for Modern Search
What is dynamic rendering in SEO?
In SEO, this technique involves creating a pre-rendered HTML copy of a JavaScript webpage in order to make it more accessible for crawlers.
Consequently, its SEO benefit is indirect. Dynamic rendering does not guarantee a higher ranking for a particular page on Google Search. This approach helps to resolve a certain technical issue of making crawler access content that is visible in a browser but inaccessible to the crawler.
Consider an online catalog where all the product descriptions are created via JavaScript. In case a crawler has trouble accessing that content, an SEO expert can create a pre-rendered copy of a page in order to make it more accessible.
This does not mean that other SEO practices become unnecessary. The content needs to remain valuable and crawlable, have a proper HTTP code, have URLs indexed, and have some metadata.
How Dynamic Rendering Works?
An example approach entails building a new rendering pipeline for requests that require one. There are usually various steps that are involved.
- A user or web crawler makes a request for a URL.
- The server detects the user agent or any other routing criteria.
- Standard users get the usual client-side application.
- The eligible web crawler is directed to the rendering engine.
- The rendering engine runs the necessary JavaScript and creates HTML.
- The HTML is sent back to the web crawler.
- The web crawler can analyze the content after rendering for indexing purposes.
The output must always stay accurate with the changes on the site.
Dynamic Rendering for JavaScript Websites
The big selling point for JavaScript sites is that critical content can become reliably accessible without forcing all crawlers to run the same client-side code.
It needs to properly detect titles, headings, links, canonicals, structured data, and page content.
Additionally, teams will need to be aware of what occurs when JavaScript breaks down, API calls time out, and the rendering service cannot create a full page. A crawler receiving partial HTML will only add to indexing challenges.
Dynamic Rendering for Search Engines
In dynamic rendering of pages to search engines, the treatment of crawlers needs to be considered. Generally, the server would look at the user agent, and any familiar crawlers would be redirected to a version that has been pre-rendered.
The biggest problem with this approach is parity. In order to maintain parity, the rendered version of the page needs to have the same content as what the users see. It is also important to make sure that when changes are made to a site’s content and navigation, they reflect in the rendered version too.
One needs to keep in mind the fact that all search and answer engines do not use the same crawlers.
How Does Dynamic Rendering Affect SEO?
It all depends on whether it really solves a rendering issue.
If JavaScript makes some critical content unavailable for reliable processing, having crawlable HTML can enhance the possibility for the crawler to have access to that content. It can help in the discovery and indexing of the pages that couldn’t be processed otherwise.
There are, however, some problems associated with dynamic rendering. Having two different delivery paths for users and crawlers adds to the complexity of the system. There is the risk of the rendering service breaking down, rendered pages becoming out of date, and differences between various versions causing indexing problems.
Performance and resources are important factors too. Rendering of pages can be resource- and computing-intensive. If the rendering service is inefficient, then this solution can cause problems of its own.
That’s why dynamic rendering should rather be considered as a technical solution, not an SEO optimization technique. Google advises server-side rendering, static rendering, or hydration as longer-term solutions.
Alternatives to Dynamic Rendering
A more suitable approach for most contemporary websites is making their important information available in a way that doesn't necessitate a crawler-optimized version.
Server-side rendering produces HTML responses on the server based on the incoming request. Static site generation is a process where pages are created in advance and served as static files. Hydration allows combining an HTML-first response with interactive JavaScript.
Such an approach can minimize the necessity of detecting bots and delivering content to them differently. It can also make the website easier to maintain due to having no need to maintain two different ways of producing a response.
The optimal solution depends on the particularities of the application, its content update frequency, infrastructure, and development team. The main objective is clear: making important content available to both users and crawlers.
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Conclusion
Dynamic rendering allows JavaScript-driven sites to have their key content accessible to search engine crawlers via pre-rendered HTML. It shouldn’t be thought of as an SEO cure-all or a guaranteed way to boost ranking. The technique increases the level of operational complexity, and, hence, organizations need to find out if other alternatives could work better.
FAQs
Is dynamic rendering good for SEO?
Dynamic rendering allows search engines to index data from websites that use a lot of JavaScript. However, according to Google, this technique is more like a temporary solution because it is considered a workaround.
Does dynamic rendering affect search engine rankings?
Dynamic rendering does not impact search engine rankings. The only purpose of the technique is to provide search engines with valuable content when it is difficult to crawl and render content via JavaScript. Ranking depends on many other elements.
Is dynamic rendering the same as cloaking?
No, it is not. The dynamic rendering of pages is not a form of cloaking when both search engines and users receive almost the same content.
Can small websites use dynamic rendering?
A small website is able to apply dynamic rendering in terms of technology, but it can become superfluous and complicated. If a website is capable of implementing other types of rendering, such as server-side rendering or static site generation, it can be a better solution.
Which rendering method should be used instead of dynamic rendering?
There are several solutions, such as server-side rendering, static site generation, and hydration, for different websites. Everything depends on the JavaScript architecture of a website and its needs.