Rendering

Google crawls HTML first, then renders with an evergreen Chromium. That second step executes your JavaScript and applies CSS. Only then can Google read content that scripts inject.

Rendering sits in a queue. Pages that depend on client scripts may be indexed later. Pure HTML pages can be indexed from the crawl alone.

• Server side rendering and static generation put the content in the HTML, so Google can index it from the crawl.
• Client side rendering waits for JavaScript, so your copy and links land in the rendering queue.

If your homepage and /pricing rely on scripts, they may rank slower after launch. A blog post that is HTML-first can appear faster.

Do not hide titles, product copy or internal links behind hydration. Put the headline, intro and main links in the HTML. Enhance after that with JavaScript.

• Content that appears only after a click, a scroll event or a fragment like /#details is not seen.
• Anything loaded behind a consent wall without an HTML fallback is not seen.
• The answering AI crawlers, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot and ClaudeBot, do not render JavaScript, so they only read your HTML.

1. 1

   Fetch a key page in the URL Inspection tool

   Paste /guides/getting-started. Open the Tested Page view. Read the rendered HTML and check the screenshot for missing sections.

2. 2

   Search the rendered HTML

   Find your H1, product copy and internal links. If they are absent there, they were not in the crawlable HTML either.

3. 3

   Disable JavaScript in a browser

   Load yourproduct.com with scripts blocked. If the page is empty or navigation disappears, you have a rendering dependency.

4. 4

   Check for interaction gates

   Remove query strings and fragments, then reload. Ensure core content is visible without scrolling or clicking.

A fixed /pricing shows the plan names and prices in the HTML, and the screenshot in Inspection matches what you expect.

• Render critical content server side or statically: titles, intro, product copy, pricing, CTAs and internal links.
• Avoid client only routers for links you want indexed. Use normal anchor tags with hrefs that resolve without JavaScript.
• Preload data for above the fold content during build or on the server. Do not wait for client fetch to paint the only text.
• Do not hide copy behind tabs, accordions or carousels that require clicks. Make one version visible by default in the HTML.
• Keep third party scripts from blocking. Load them late. Your own content should not wait behind analytics or chat widgets.

If you use a framework, enable its server rendering or static export for marketing pages. Leave app dashboards as client side if they are behind login.