When it comes to developing a new web application, the choice of the right framework matters a lot. React is undoubtedly the top choice for developing interactive user interfaces. About 82 percent of professional developers make use of React as their go-to front-end framework.
However, crawling up the rankings of the Google search engine and becoming visible to more customers is essential for every website. That is where the real problem begins. Developers often experience difficulty in making the applications SEO-friendly.
Are you wondering how to address the situation effectively? Counting on the best practices and strategies of React SEO is the need of the hour.
In this article, you will delve into the best practices to make React-based sites search engine-friendly. Let’s explore!
Why Use React for Web Development?
Whether you are building task management software or any other web application, the use of React is becoming popular. React is a JavaScript library that remains a top choice among developers owing to its component-based architecture, efficiency, and flexibility. This library allows the development of high-performing and dynamic web applications with the help of reusable codes.
Still, wondering why to make use of React for building web apps? Read on to explore the key reasons!
Code Stability
When you leverage React JS for your web development needs, you do not have to worry about the stability of codes. If you make any changes to a code, the specific component will only be impacted. There will be no change in the parent structure.
Efficient Development
In this competitive era, timing is everything. Launching your web apps faster than your rivals can give you an edge in the market and boost your adoption rates. By allowing different developers to work on individual aspects of the applications, React speeds up the development process. As a result, you can expect faster time to market and better returns.
Large Community
React JS possesses a large and active community of developers. So, you can easily gain access to a wealth of libraries and resources. Moreover, you can get the necessary support from the expert developers in the community when stuck in the app development process.
Significance of SEO in React Applications
Are you thinking about why SEO matters for your React apps? Delve into the key reasons!
Increased Visibility
Driving more traffic to your website is only easy when it appears higher on the search engine result page. React SEO can allow easy optimization of your apps for search engines. As a result, it becomes easier for more consumers to locate your site, enhancing click-through rates significantly.
Better Credibility
By boosting your search engine rankings, React SEO can enhance the credibility of your site and make you stand out online. So, more users are likely to trust your site and avail of your products and services.
Enhanced User Experience
React SEO focuses on improving the structure, content, and navigation of websites. With better responsiveness and quicker loading times, you can expect an improved overall user experience. This experience can significantly contribute to loyalty among consumers.
SEO Challenge of React Apps
The main issue with React SEO lies in the manner in which search engines index content. Traditionally, websites send completely formed HTML to the browser. As a result, they become easily crawlable by the top search engines.
However, that is not the case with React applications. These apps deliver only a minimal HTML page and then dynamically inject the content with the use of JavaScript. This approach can limit the search engine crawlers from effectively indexing the pages.
Best Practices to Make React Apps SEO-Friendly
Are you wondering how to work on React SEO and make the applications search engine friendly? Delve into the top practices!
#1 Server-Side Rendering
When you are developing a single-page application using React, server-side rendering can be an ideal option to enhance page ranking. This practice focuses on rendering the React components on the server and then sending the completely rendered HTML to the browser.
The core aim is to make the pages of the website instantly available for user interaction. This approach lets the search engines crawl and index the website content effectively. Relying on frameworks like Next.js can ensure the successful implementation of server-side rendering in React applications.
#2 Pre-Rendering
When discussing the React SEO best practices, the next option is pre-rendering. This approach is all about pre-rendering your pages at the time of web app development. All the HTML pages are uploaded and cached well in advance using Headless Chrome.
If the pre-renderers get to know that the crawlers or search engines are detecting your web pages, they can deliver a cached static version of the side. On the other hand, when a user makes a request, it loads the normal page. The core aim is to ensure easy crawlability of all content.
#3 Limiting Hashed URL Usage
While the use of hash in the URL may not seem to be a major problem, it can have a significant impact on the content crawlability. Wondering why? Well, that is because the Google bots do not see anything after the hash.
Therefore, to ensure effective and easy crawlability, avoiding the use of hash in the URLs is the need of the hour. It can make it easier for search engines to crawl your content.
#4 Isomorphic React Apps
Isomorphic React applications enable developers to work on both client and server-side applications. With isomorphic JavaScript, developers can work with React apps and fetch rendered HTML files. When anyone, including Google bots, looks up for the specific app, this HTML file is executed.
However, a point to note here is that building real-time isomorphic apps can be a little complex and challenging. That is where the frameworks like Next.js and Gatsby prove to be beneficial. These frameworks can make the entire process pretty simpler and quicker.
#5 URL Case
A common mistake that developers usually make is to overlook the case of the URLs. While it may not appear significant, it can have an impact on the crawlability of the React apps. When the same URL is written in uppercase and lowercase, the Google bot considers the pages to be separate.
So, to improve search engine rankings and avoid confusion, it is best to use lowercase for the URL of your React site. It can make it easier for Google bots to find your content and crawl it.
#6 Use <a href> When Necessary
When it comes to single-page applications, a common mistake that developers make is leveraging a <div> or <button> to change the URLs. While this approach isn’t an issue with React, it is about the search engines.
At the time of processing a URL, Google bots look for more URLs to crawl within <a href> elements. In case the <a href> element isn’t found, the Google bots won’t crawl the URLs or rank the pages. To avoid such issues, it is vital to define links with <a href>. This practice can enable the Google bots to find your site and rank content effectively.
Conclusion
The demand for React apps continues to increase. However, achieving an SEO-friendly React website or application is essential to thrive in the competitive landscape. By now, you must be well aware of the best approaches to leverage for enhancing SEO for your React apps.
From pre-rendering to considering the case of URLs, there are several approaches. So, when building web cam recording apps or any other application using React, the use of these approaches matters a lot. Partner with reliable and experienced professionals for the best outcomes.
Author Name:- Harikrishna Kundariya
Biography:- Harikrishna Kundariya, a marketer, developer, IoT, Cloud & AWS savvy, co-founder, and Director of eSparkBiz Technologies. His 14+ years of experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and SaaS applications.