What is Server-side rendering?
Also called: SSR
The short answer
Server-side rendering builds a page's HTML on the server for each request, so the visitor and search engines receive readable content immediately.
Server-side rendering, explained
The page shows fast and then JavaScript makes it interactive. It suits content that changes per request, such as dashboards and search results.
Questions people ask about Server-side rendering
What is Server-side rendering?
Server-side rendering builds a page's HTML on the server for each request, so the visitor and search engines receive readable content immediately.
Related terms
Static site generation builds every page's HTML ahead of time, at deploy, so pages are served instantly from a CDN without any work per request.
Incremental static regenerationIncremental static regeneration serves pre-built static pages but rebuilds individual pages in the background on a schedule or on demand, so content stays fresh without full redeploys.
HydrationHydration is the step where JavaScript attaches to server-rendered HTML in the browser, turning a static-looking page into an interactive one.
Dynamic siteA dynamic site builds each page on the server when it is requested, so it can show personalised or constantly changing content.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.