I enjoyed reading your article, but I've got to pick some bones:
SSR is great for websites that are static, such as blogs, documentation, portfolios and landing pages where interactivity is usually limited.
You wouldn't do server side rendering for static sites - you wouldn't need to render at all. Just serve up the static html file.
SPAs injects and renders each page faster as the Javascript is initially loaded when accessing the website for the first time. Since SSR fetches the whole page, the rendering will be somewhat slower.
Time to 'load' is shorter for SPAs - but usually that's the time to load the spinner that tells you the rest of your page is loading...
Imagine if Trello or Gmail were using SSR, you'd have to reload the page completely at each user interaction, which impacts the overall experience.
Gmail does still use server side rendering. Try turning off JavaScript (don't panic) in your browser and enjoy your Gmail like it's 2005 again. You'll be surprised how clean it looks and how fast it loads on even the slowest connection or oldest computer. You'll also be surprised that you can still do almost everything you need. Try it now!
What's depressed me about this piece is that it seems that there's a whole generation of (front end) developers who don't realise you can build a web application without building a single-page app.
Glad you mentioned Gmail, I definitely did not know that. Thanks for sharing.
Depressed does seem like a rather big word for such an assumption. Tools and methods evolve, and the fact that people document themselves here should be inspiring, not depressing.
Sorry, yes - in no way do I wish to take away from what you've written. It's well written and a good read! I'm sorry if 'depressed' threw a little shade your way, please don't take it to heart - I'm just being a grognard.
I enjoyed reading your article, but I've got to pick some bones:
You wouldn't do server side rendering for static sites - you wouldn't need to render at all. Just serve up the static html file.
Time to 'load' is shorter for SPAs - but usually that's the time to load the spinner that tells you the rest of your page is loading...
Gmail does still use server side rendering. Try turning off JavaScript (don't panic) in your browser and enjoy your Gmail like it's 2005 again. You'll be surprised how clean it looks and how fast it loads on even the slowest connection or oldest computer. You'll also be surprised that you can still do almost everything you need. Try it now!
What's depressed me about this piece is that it seems that there's a whole generation of (front end) developers who don't realise you can build a web application without building a single-page app.
Glad you mentioned Gmail, I definitely did not know that. Thanks for sharing.
Depressed does seem like a rather big word for such an assumption. Tools and methods evolve, and the fact that people document themselves here should be inspiring, not depressing.
Either way, thank you for sharing some info
Sorry, yes - in no way do I wish to take away from what you've written. It's well written and a good read! I'm sorry if 'depressed' threw a little shade your way, please don't take it to heart - I'm just being a grognard.
It's absolutely fine, I'm glad you shared your experience