Server-side rendering (SSR) in SvelteKit - setting page title and other properties

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In the previous post, we looked at how the query string can be used to save the state of a page, in our case the selected tab.

Let's use the same page for looking a bit under the hood into SSR.

  • Server-side rendering (SSR) is a technique that can greatly enhance the performance, SEO, and user experience of a web application. However, SSR is not always the best solution for every application. Here are some scenarios where SSR may be a good fit:
  • Content-heavy websites: If your website has a lot of static content that doesn't change frequently, SSR can help speed up the initial page load by rendering the content on the server and sending it as HTML to the client.
  • Slow network connections: If your users are on slow or unreliable network connections, SSR can help reduce the time it takes to load and display content by pre-rendering it on the server.
  • SEO: If your website relies heavily on organic search traffic, SSR can help improve your SEO by providing search engines with a fully-rendered HTML page that includes all the content on your site.
  • Interactive components: While client-side rendering (CSR) is great for creating interactive web applications, it can sometimes result in slower initial page loads. In this case, SSR can be used to render the initial HTML and then hydrate the page with JavaScript to add interactivity.


However, there are also scenarios where SSR may not be the best fit. As the official documentation mentions:

Not all pages are suitable for prerendering. Any content that is prerendered will be seen by all users. You can of course fetch personalized data in onMount in a prerendered page, but this may result in a poorer user experience since it will involve blank initial content or loading indicators.

Examples of such scenarios where SSR is not a good idea:

  • Real-time applications: If your application requires real-time updates or live data, SSR may not be the best choice, as it can result in stale or outdated content.
  • Heavy client-side interactivity: If your application relies heavily on client-side interactivity, such as complex animations or interactive components, SSR may not be the best choice, as it can result in slower initial page loads.
  • Low traffic websites: If your website has low traffic or doesn't require fast initial page loads, SSR may not be necessary and CSR may be sufficient.
  • In general, the decision to use SSR should be based on the specific needs of your application and its users.


How should the page title be set in SvelteKit?

According to the SEO section of the documentation, the way to achieve this is:

- retrieve the data required to generate the title in the load function (in our case in +page.ts)

- use the $page store to access the data

As we can see in the Developer pane, the title is retrieved from the server directly, just as if it were hard-coded. The same technique applies to other meta tags that need to be included in the document header server-side.

Adding the load method which will be executed server-side

Accessing page data and setting title

Network trace to see page title retrieved from the server



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