Static Site Generation vs Server-Side Rendering: What to Use When?

Choosing the right rendering strategy is crucial for web application performance, SEO, and user experience. Static Site Generation (SSG) and Server-Side Rendering (SSR) represent two fundamentally different approaches to delivering content to users, each with distinct advantages and trade-offs.

•SSG pre-builds pages at build time for maximum performance
•SSR generates pages on-demand for dynamic content
•Hybrid approaches combine both strategies effectively
•Performance and SEO requirements drive the decision

The choice between SSG and SSR isn't binary—modern frameworks often support both approaches and even hybrid solutions. Understanding when to use each strategy is key to building fast, scalable web applications that meet your specific requirements.

Understanding Static Site Generation

SSG pre-builds all pages at build time, creating static HTML files that can be served directly from a CDN. This approach offers exceptional performance and security but requires content to be known at build time.

Exploring Server-Side Rendering

SSR generates HTML on the server for each request, allowing for dynamic content and personalized experiences. While more flexible than SSG, SSR requires server resources and can impact performance.

Key Factors in Choosing Rendering Strategy

Several factors should influence your choice between SSG and SSR:

1.Content update frequency and dynamic requirements
2.Performance and Core Web Vitals goals
3.SEO requirements and search engine visibility
4.Infrastructure and hosting considerations
5.Development complexity and maintenance overhead

The best rendering strategy is the one that balances performance, flexibility, and maintainability for your specific use case.

Performance Considerations

SSG typically offers better performance due to pre-built static files and CDN distribution. SSR can be optimized but will always require server processing time for each request.

SEO and Content Strategy

Both SSG and SSR can provide excellent SEO, but SSG is often preferred for content-heavy sites due to its predictable performance and reliable indexing.

Dynamic Content Requirements

SSR excels when content needs to be personalized or updated frequently. SSG works best for content that changes infrequently or can be updated through build processes.

Hybrid Approaches

Modern frameworks support hybrid approaches like Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) that combine the benefits of both SSG and SSR for optimal performance and flexibility.