Next.js: Server-Side Rendering (SSR) vs. Static Site Generation (SSG)

Introduction

Next.js is a powerful React framework that provides multiple rendering strategies to optimize performance, SEO, and user experience. This guide explains Server-Side Rendering (SSR) and Static Site Generation (SSG), their use cases, benefits, drawbacks, and implementation in Next.js.

1. Server-Side Rendering (SSR)

What is SSR?

SSR generates HTML dynamically on the server for every request, ensuring fresh content.

Use Cases

Real-time data applications (e.g., stock market updates).
Personalized user content (e.g., dashboards).
SEO-sensitive pages that require dynamic updates.

Pros & Cons

Advantages	Disadvantages
Fresh data always	Slower page load times
Good for SEO	Increases server load

Implementation

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

export default function Page({ data }) {
  return Latest Data: {data.value};
}

2. Static Site Generation (SSG)

What is SSG?

SSG pre-renders pages at build time and serves static HTML, improving performance.

Use Cases

Blogs & articles
Marketing & landing pages
E-commerce product pages

Pros & Cons

Advantages	Disadvantages
Blazing-fast performance	Not ideal for frequently changing data
SEO-friendly	Requires rebuilds for updates

Implementation

export async function getStaticProps() {
  const res = await fetch("https://api.example.com/data");
  const data = await res.json();
  return { props: { data } };
}
    
export default function Page({ data }) {
  return Static Data: {data.value};
}

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