Complete Guide to React Static Site Generation

John Doe
8 min read
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React code on a computer screen with colorful syntax highlighting

Quick Answer

Static Site Generation (SSG) pre-renders pages at build time, creating static HTML files that load instantly and rank better in search engines.

Static Site Generation (SSG) is a powerful technique for building fast, SEO-friendly React applications. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore everything you need to know about implementing SSG in your projects.

What is Static Site Generation?

Flowchart illustrating the SSG build process from source code to static HTML files
Diagram showing Static Site Generation workflow

Static Site Generation is a method of building websites where pages are pre-rendered at build time rather than on each request. This results in faster load times and better SEO performance.

Unlike traditional server-side rendering, SSG generates all pages during the build process, creating static HTML files that can be served directly from a CDN.

Benefits of SSG for React Applications

Bar chart comparing load times between SSG, SSR, and CSR approaches
Performance comparison chart

There are several key benefits to using SSG in your React applications:

  • Performance: Pages load instantly since they're pre-rendered
  • SEO: Search engines can easily crawl and index your content
  • Security: No server-side code execution reduces attack surface
  • Scalability: Static files can be served from CDNs worldwide

Implementing SSG with React

To implement SSG in your React application, you can use tools like react-snap or frameworks like Next.js. Here's a basic example:

npm install --save-dev react-snap

Then update your package.json to include the build script that runs react-snap after building your application.

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