web dev//rendering//SSR

SSR (server-side rendering) is a rendering strategy in which the server generates the HTML with the content already in it before sending it to the client, so the browser can read it right away.

SSR (server-side rendering) is a rendering strategy in which the server generates the HTML with the content already in it before sending it to the client, so the browser can read it right away.

1The server builds the page2The HTML arrives with its content3The browser reads it right away

It helps enormously with crawling, SEO and every tool that does not run JavaScript well: the fetched document already carries the text (Crawler). Readable HTML helps crawlability; it does not by itself guarantee a better ranking. Static generation (SSG) is the same idea done once at build time instead of per request, and an MPA is a different axis (navigation), even though classic MPAs are usually server-rendered.

What the server sends is inert HTML; making it interactive again is hydration. Frameworks such as Astro and Next.js exist largely to manage that handoff.

SSR costs server work per request, where CSR ships instructions and lets every visitor build the page, cheaper for the server and invisible to non-rendering crawlers. It also complicates anything that depends on the browser (window size, local storage) at render time. The trade is the subject of Rendering.

With SSR the house arrives assembled.