Can a React.js app rank on Google without moving to Next.js

Hello, I’m the software engineer and founder of https://headshotly.ai. I created this app using React.js, and we’ve gotten over 20k traffic mostly through word of mouth. Now, we want to focus more on SEO for consistent traffic.

I’ve gone through many posts in this forum and asked ChatGPT about whether client-side rendering or single-page apps can rank on Google. The answers vary. Some folks say Google can now index React.js sites well, while others think differently.

We’re a small team, and I worry that rewriting the app in Next.js would take a lot of time. Can you suggest if we should be really concerned about SEO for our landing page and other subpages? Should we think about moving to Next.js, or are there other options?

Google can indeed render client-side sites now, but poor performance can hurt your ranking. Test your site with Lighthouse to see how you score. Aim for everything to be green. It gives you tips on what to improve.

@Reagan
Got any examples of client-rendered sites that rank well?

I have heard that Google can index them fine for a long time, but I haven’t seen any examples where they actually rank.

Vin said:
@Reagan
Got any examples of client-rendered sites that rank well?

I have heard that Google can index them fine for a long time, but I haven’t seen any examples where they actually rank.

I know it works, but I wouldn’t say it’s a good idea to rely on that, lol.

@Reagan
How do you know it actually works?

Vin said:
@Reagan
How do you know it actually works?

I talked to people at Google who work on this, and they confirmed it.

Reagan said:

Vin said:
@Reagan
How do you know it actually works?

I talked to people at Google who work on this, and they confirmed it.

Google has claimed this for many years. Until we see pages ranking with client-side rendering, I find it hard to believe it actually works.

If it’s just for indexing, sure. But that’s not the real goal.

@Vin
Good point. It’s probably better to say it’s much less likely that a fully client-side rendered site will perform well enough to compete. I agree this isn’t a winning strategy.

Reagan said:

Vin said:
@Reagan
How do you know it actually works?

I talked to people at Google who work on this, and they confirmed it.

So should I not worry about this?

@Hadley
Google cares about performance scores, not the tech you used. If your performance is good without server-side rendering, great!

They also care about other factors too. If you have to load the page and then fetch data? That’s likely to hurt your performance scores.

Vin said:
@Reagan
Got any examples of client-rendered sites that rank well?

I have heard that Google can index them fine for a long time, but I haven’t seen any examples where they actually rank.

Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m interested in. I want to learn more.

@Reagan
Great, thank you! We’re using Lighthouse for improvements and hope to keep progressing.

Not much help, but I just wanted to say I appreciate the great design.

Morgan said:
Not much help, but I just wanted to say I appreciate the great design.

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your kind words.

Google can index either approach just fine. They won’t give you endless rendering time, and slow page speeds can hurt you.

Luca said:
Google can index either approach just fine. They won’t give you endless rendering time, and slow page speeds can hurt you.

Thanks for that info! It’s good to know Google can index both apps. But I worry about the render budget and page responsiveness. How can I help my React.js app not exceed Google’s render budget while staying SEO-friendly without completely moving to another framework?

I’ve worked on performance by optimizing lazy loading and reducing bundle sizes. Do you think that’s enough, or should I look into other tools or methods to improve indexing and responsiveness?

@Hadley
That’s mostly it, and you can use Google Search Console to spot any issues.

Don’t get too hung up on fixing every little thing. It’s easy to spend lots of time on the wrong problems.

Luca said:
@Hadley
That’s mostly it, and you can use Google Search Console to spot any issues.

Don’t get too hung up on fixing every little thing. It’s easy to spend lots of time on the wrong problems.

Got it, thank you for sharing your experience.

Sky said:
Nice service.

Thank you! Users love it so much that they leave long feedback and even make videos for us. That’s why I want to make it really SEO-friendly because it is a great product.

@Hadley
No offense, but those long feedbacks look fake.