Google No Rush To Switch Away From Dynamic Rendering

John Mueller, Google’s SEO specialist, says there is no bonus in ranking SEOs for switching from dynamic rendering to server-side rendering.

Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller said that websites shouldn’t rush to abandon dynamic rendering, even though a help guide says it is not a long-term solution.

Mueller posted a comment to a Reddit thread asking for help regarding server-side rendering versus dynamic rendering.

This question is raised because of a Google Help document update that states: “dynamic rendering” is a non-permanent solution and not a long-term solution.

The document also recommends server-side rendering or static rendering.

Understandably, someone using dynamic rendering could see this and decide to change.

Mueller clarified that dynamic rendering differs from other solutions because of the infrastructure setup and maintenance considerations.

Dynamic rendering will not cause problems with Google or be unsupported anytime soon.

Mueller’s thoughts on dynamic rendering and server-side rendering are summarized below.

Mueller: Google Dynamic rendering isn’t going to cause issues

An SEO professional started a Reddit thread to seek information about the benefits of moving from dynamic rendering.

Google help recommends that you make the switch. However, it is a substantial undertaking for web developers.

SEO: Is it worth the effort and time?

Here are the words of Mueller:

There are no SEO ranking bonuses for implementing it in one way or the other – they are just different ways to make the content indexable (as well as client-side rendering). From my point of view, the differences between server-side rendering and dynamic rendering are more about how to set up infrastructure and maintenance. It can also impact speed depending on how things are set up.

It’s not necessary to abandon dynamic rendering. However, Google won’t stop supporting it or make it unsupportable. It is becoming more common that JS-based sites have better CSR and SSR options. Therefore, dynamically based on user agents is not always the best approach.

Mueller suggests you use a different solution next time you rebuild a website if you are now implementing dynamic rendering.

He continues:

If you are doing dynamic rendering right now, you can look at all the options and list the pros and cons. Most of the options won’t convince a stretched engineering team. If you plan to rebuild the site, let your team know that dynamically rendering the content is not something they need to do. Know what to look out for :-).

Knowing JS can make you a better SEO. You don’t need to code, but JS is integral to modern websites. It’s up to you to determine any issues with the implementation. Reviewing the options and then writing down the pros and cons is okay. Most of the options won’t convince a stretched engineering team. If you plan to rebuild the site, let your team know that dynamic content rendering is not something they need to do.

If you have similar concerns to the Reddit user, this should help to ease your mind.