Server-Side vs Client-Side Rendering in Next.js: Which One to Choose?

📘 Server-Side Rendering vs. Client-Side Rendering in Next.js: A Complete Guide

Next.js is one of the most powerful React frameworks that supports both Server-Side Rendering (SSR) and Client-Side Rendering (CSR). Understanding when and how to use these rendering techniques can significantly affect your app’s performance, SEO, and user experience.

🔍 What is Server-Side Rendering (SSR)?

Server-Side Rendering means that the HTML of your page is generated on the server at request time. In Next.js, this can be done using getServerSideProps.

✅ Benefits of SSR:

• SEO-friendly: Search engines can crawl your content easily.
• Faster First Load: HTML is ready when the page reaches the browser.
• Fresh Data: Every request fetches updated content.

🚫 Drawbacks of SSR:

• Slightly slower response time compared to CSR.
• Higher server load for every page request.

🔧 How to Implement in Next.js:

export async function getServerSideProps(context) {
  const res = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
  const data = await res.json();

  return {
    props: { data },
  };
}

🖥️ What is Client-Side Rendering (CSR)?

Client-Side Rendering loads a basic HTML page and uses JavaScript to fetch and render the content in the browser. In Next.js, this happens automatically with standard React components or using useEffect.

✅ Benefits of CSR:

• Less server load.
• Snappy page transitions.
• Great for user dashboards, SPAs, and private pages.

🚫 Drawbacks of CSR:

• Not SEO-friendly by default.
• Slower first load (blank screen until JS loads).

🔧 How to Implement in Next.js:

import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';

function Page() {
  const [data, setData] = useState([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch('https://api.example.com/data')
      .then((res) => res.json())
      .then((data) => setData(data));
  }, []);

  return <div>{JSON.stringify(data)}</div>;
}

⚖️ When to Use SSR vs. CSR?

🧠 Bonus: Want the Best of Both?

Next.js also supports:

• Static Site Generation (SSG) – perfect for blogs and marketing pages.
• Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) – re-generate static pages in the background.

Learn more about Static Site Generation in Next.js →

🔗 Internal Links You Might Like:

• Getting Started with Next.js
• How to Use getStaticProps and getServerSideProps
• Optimizing Performance in Next.js

📝 Conclusion

Choosing between SSR and CSR in Next.js depends on your app’s goals. SSR is great for SEO and fresh data, while CSR works best for interactive, private, or post-login areas.

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