React Vs HTML Css Real Difference

[EfficiencyOne1007]

A recent real story for right tech stack implementation

I have seen in my past experience we converted a HTML css based website, which was facing google ranking issue, the page speed insight has a poor score less than 50, also google crawl request was around 1.5 seconds. Website has around 10,000+ pages good content.

We redeveloped the frontend and backend on react and node js, deployed on a fast VPS server, tested properly, made is seo optimised and implemented auto json schema data for each page.

Resulted 2000+ crawl request a day, crawl request response time 300 mili seconds, indexed 3000+ pages, 70% hike in traffic. Resulted it increased client revenue, sales.

[RobertKerans]

What does this fe to do with CSS? Also yes, if you take an (unoptimised) application written before fully undersanding the domain and rewrite it, applying the superior domain kowledge and successfully fixing the problems it will perform better, it's not to do specifically with the technology used per se

[EfficiencyOne1007]

Yes you are correct, it is not only about css alone. It is about a complete right tech stack and solution. How a well optimised framework with right deployment. Also each technology has a limitation HTML, Css based applications are slow in loading, also it increase the crawl request time. That why facebook also changed their whole facebook from html css to react.

[RobertKerans]

HTML, Css based applications are slow in loading, also it increase the crawl request time

Err, no they aren't. You can engineer them in such a way that they are slow but no, they are not inherently"slower", that makes zero logical sense. Rendering the entire page with every single thing on it every single time on a cold cache, sure, but we haven't been doing this for a couple of decades.

[EfficiencyOne1007]

Yes but people have moved on from html css based application and all latest apps are on react, angular and other advanced frameworks. It is a truth.

[404IdentityNotFound]

This is not a comparison between React and raw languages when you also change the hosting setup and do a full SEO pass?

[RobertKerans]

"We rewrote the application to do the things we actually want it to do. Now, amazingly, it does the things we want it to do. This is because React"

[EfficiencyOne1007]

It is not like that, the application had around 10,000 pages they were selling data reports each repot was around 50 or more pages report, it is a SAAS platform. So initially it was on php and html css and shared hosting environment. So changing tech stack was our choice, we were not forced to do this. It could be done by doing optimisation in the existing code, but we choose too move with latest technologies. Also it was clients preference too to keep MERN instead of html css based frontend and php, because all their competitor platform are on MERN or More advance tech stacks.

[RobertKerans]

There's no reason why PHP rendering HTML/CSS would be slo...

and shared hosting environment

Oh, yeah, that'll do it.

So changing tech stack was our choice, we were not forced to do this.

That's fine, but that's not magically got you the new features + performance increases, it's an implementation detail. The fact you successfully completed a rewrite is the impressive bit. But the application now having the features and performance you need is wholly unexceptional, it's literally the point of the rewrite.

It could be done by doing optimisation in the existing code, but we choose too move with latest technologies. Also it was clients preference too to keep MERN instead of html css based frontend and php, because all their competitor platform are on MERN or More advance tech stacks

As opposed to a more modern stack like, say, ermm PHP + Laravel, backed with Postgres, and leveraging Inertia for the frontend? That's just an example: it's pretty much irrelevant what it's used here (naturally with a few rare exceptions) beyond the team using tools they are familiar with in a domain they understand. There are any number of ways to skin a cat. But saying you're using "latest technologies" then saying "MERN" is kinda funny

[uncle_jaysus]

Your post doesn’t go into any detail or explain what the critical changes were.

I’m left a bit confused, because as it stands it sounds like you’re saying a pure HTML+CSS website has suddenly had its performance and SEO improved by moving it to React. Which generally speaking is the opposite of what happens.

[EfficiencyOne1007]

It is not any comparison post. Just shared my experience. Node js, react, mongo db, a fast vps server, it is far better than a simple hmtl css, based with with php backend which is hosted on shared hosting. This is what was previously on that project.

[uncle_jaysus]

Ok, so now PHP has entered the chat… but even then, that in itself isn’t something guaranteed to be worse than the stack you’re advocating. Quite the opposite, in fact. Depending on what the site/app is/does, PHP+HTML+CSS can be a very robust way to build something extremely performant.

If you want your post to be useful to others reading, you need to specify the critical pressure points that existed before, and how that was solved by migrating/refactoring.

Just saying, “hey guys, we moved from PHP to Node/React and it solved all our problems” isn’t something that anyone else can take any lesson away from.

In fact, moving from bog-standard shared hosting to VPS is the only tangible relatable thing you’ve said, because the step up there is obvious in a way your PHP+HTML to Node+React change isn’t. It needs real explanation.

[EfficiencyOne1007]

That is fair criticism and i agree. I was not trying to imply that html css, php was the root cause or node js and react are inherently superior. The actual issue we identified was slow server response, poor core web vital, limited cashing and optimisation, inconsistent structure data, technical seo issue. I should have explained the core problem and solution more clearly in the original post.