Yeah, Google *can* render JS, but in the real world it still isn’t something I’d trust for important SEO content.
I’ve seen this plenty of times on affiliate sites and content-heavy pages: the browser shows everything fine, but Google ends up indexing a thin shell or missing chunks of text. Usually it’s not that Google “can’t” render it — it’s that rendering is delayed, incomplete, or not worth the crawl/render budget on that URL.
### My take on your questions:
**1) Does Google still have problems rendering JavaScript-heavy pages?**
Yep, sometimes. Especially when:
– content loads after user interaction
– data comes from slow API calls
– scripts are bloated or broken
– important text is injected late
– internal links are only in JS
Google’s rendering is better than it used to be, but it’s still not as reliable as plain HTML. If the content matters for rankings, I’d never make it JS-only.
**2) Is SSR better than CSR for SEO?**
For SEO, absolutely yes. SSR is usually safer.
If the page ships with the main content already in the HTML, Google gets it immediately. Less guesswork, less waiting, fewer indexing surprises.
CSR can work, but it’s more fragile. I’ve seen CSR pages rank fine on low-competition terms, then randomly underperform once the site grows and crawl budget gets tighter.
**3) How can I test whether Google actually sees my content?**
Best checks I use:
– **Google Search Console URL Inspection** → test live URL and look at rendered HTML
– **View source vs rendered DOM** in Chrome DevTools
– **Disable JavaScript** in browser and see what’s left
– **Fetch as Google / live test** if available in GSC
– Compare **cached snippets / indexed text** in Google search results
If the key copy, headings, or links aren’t in the rendered HTML Google sees, that’s a red flag.
**4) Are React and Next.js websites still risky for indexing?**
React itself isn’t the issue. It’s how the site is built.
– **React CSR-only** = more risk
– **Next.js with SSR/SSG** = much safer
– **Hybrid setups** = usually the best balance
A well-built Next.js site is generally fine. I’ve ranked plenty of Next.js pages without issues. But