Web Rendering Methods: A Complete Guide

Web rendering methods have evolved significantly over the years, from simple static HTML to complex server-side rendering and everything in between. Understanding these different approaches is crucial for building performant, scalable web applications.

Why Rendering Methods Matter

The way you render your web application affects:

  • Performance: How fast your pages load and become interactive
  • SEO: How well search engines can crawl and index your content
  • User Experience: How quickly users see content and can interact with it
  • Scalability: How your application handles traffic and data changes
  • Development Experience: How easy it is to build and maintain your app

The Rendering Spectrum

What We'll Cover

  1. Static Site Generation (SSG) - Pre-built pages at build time
  2. Server-Side Rendering (SSR) - Dynamic pages rendered on each request
  3. Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) - Static pages with background updates
  4. Partial Prerendering (PPR) - Hybrid approach with static and dynamic parts
  5. React Server Components (RSC) - Server-first React components
  6. Islands Architecture - Interactive islands in static content

Key Considerations

When choosing a rendering method, consider:

Content Frequency

  • Static: Content changes rarely (blogs, documentation)
  • Dynamic: Content changes frequently (e-commerce, social media)

User Personalization

  • Low: Same content for all users (marketing sites)
  • High: Personalized content (dashboards, user profiles)

SEO Requirements

  • Critical: Marketing sites, content-heavy pages
  • Moderate: Internal tools, admin panels

Performance Needs

  • Fastest: Static generation
  • Balanced: Server-side rendering
  • Most Interactive: Client-side rendering

Technology Stack

This series focuses on Next.js 15 with TypeScript, which provides excellent support for all these rendering methods. Next.js makes it easy to mix and match different approaches within the same application.

Getting Started

Before diving into the articles, make sure you have:

# Create a new Next.js 15 project
npx create-next-app@latest my-rendering-app --typescript --tailwind --app

# Or add to existing project
npm install next@latest react@latest react-dom@latest

The Future of Rendering

Web rendering is constantly evolving. New approaches like:

  • Streaming SSR: Progressive page loading
  • Edge Rendering: Rendering closer to users
  • Hybrid Rendering: Combining multiple methods intelligently

Are becoming more common as we push for better performance and user experience.

Let's explore each rendering method in detail and learn when to use them effectively!