React SPA vs Static HTML for SEO
The technical truth about why single-page applications struggle in search results — and what to do about it.
Quick Verdict
React SPAs require JavaScript to render content. Most search engine crawlers read the raw HTML response, which in a SPA is an empty shell. Static HTML delivers complete content in the initial server response — no JavaScript needed, no rendering delays, no crawling uncertainty.
How React SPAs Work
- Browser requests the URL from the server
- Server responds with a minimal HTML file containing an empty
<div id="root"> - Browser downloads the JavaScript bundle (often 200KB+)
- JavaScript executes, React initializes, components render
- User finally sees the full page
Users see the finished product. But crawlers get the empty shell at step 2 — before any JavaScript runs. That empty shell is what Google evaluates for indexing.
How Static HTML Works
- Browser requests the URL from the server
- Server responds with the complete HTML page — headings, text, links, meta tags, everything
- Browser renders it immediately
Crawlers read the full content at step 2. No JavaScript needed. No second pass. No rendering budget consumed. Every crawler, from Googlebot to Bing to AI scrapers, gets the same complete page.
What Google Actually Sees
This is the raw HTML that Googlebot receives from each approach. No JavaScript is executed. This is what determines whether your content gets indexed.
React SPA
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<title>My App</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="root"></div>
<script src="/static/js/bundle.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Static HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Your Page Title | Your Site</title>
<meta name="description" content="Unique description">
</head>
<body>
<h1>Your Main Heading</h1>
<p>Your content, visible to every crawler.</p>
<a href="/about.html">About Us</a>
</body>
</html>
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | React SPA | Static HTML |
|---|---|---|
| Content in initial HTML | No — empty div | Yes — full content |
| JavaScript required | Yes — page is blank without it | No — works without JS |
| Crawl reliability | Flaky — depends on JS execution | Consistent — every crawler reads it |
| Page speed (first load) | Slower — must download and execute JS bundle | Loads in under a second — content is in the response |
| Meta tags | Dynamic / unreliable — often same for all routes | In the HTML — unique per page, so each page can rank for its own keywords |
| Link discoverability | onClick handlers — invisible to crawlers | Real <a href> tags — fully crawlable |
| Indexing consistency | Unpredictable — "crawled, not indexed" is common | Reliable — clean indexation |
Why AI Builders Use React SPAs
React is not a bad technology. It is a popular choice among AI website builders for legitimate reasons: it is faster to develop with, component-based architecture makes code reusable, and the developer experience is excellent. Tools like Lovable, Base44, and Bolt all default to React SPAs because it lets them generate functional interfaces quickly.
The problem is a mismatch. These builders are built for speed, not search visibility. React SPAs are built for interactive applications — dashboards, logged-in experiences, internal tools. They were never designed to serve content to search engine crawlers. When AI builders use React for marketing sites and landing pages, they are applying the wrong tool to the job.
When SPAs Are Fine
- Authenticated apps behind a login
- Internal tools and admin dashboards
- Apps where all traffic is direct or from ads
- Prototypes and MVPs where SEO is irrelevant
- Web apps that don't need organic search traffic
When You Need Static HTML
- Anything that needs to rank on Google
- Marketing sites and landing pages
- Blogs and content-driven sites
- Directory and listing sites
- Any page where organic search traffic matters
We convert React SPAs to static HTML. Same design. Full SEO.
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