Google’s Martin Splitt, a webmaster trends analyst, suggests minimizing the use of JavaScript to ensure an optimal user experience.
Moreover, using JavaScript “responsibly” can help maintain a site’s content presence in Google’s search index.
These insights were discussed during the latest SEO Mythbusting video focusing on web performance.
Joined by Ada Rose Cannon from Samsung, Splitt covered various topics related to web performance and its impact on SEO.
The conversation naturally ventured into JavaScript, highlighting how excessive use can significantly degrade website performance.
Here are some key takeaways from their discussion.
### JavaScript Sites May Lag Behind
Excessive use of JavaScript can particularly hinder sites that frequently publish fresh content.
Due to Google’s two-pass indexing process, new content on a JS-heavy site may take up to a week to appear in search results.
When crawling a JS-heavy page, Googlebot initially renders non-JS elements like HTML and CSS.
The page then enters a queue, and Googlebot will render and index the remaining content once more resources become available.
### Use Dynamic Rendering to Prevent Indexing Delays
To mitigate indexing delays, aside from employing hybrid or server-side rendering, dynamic rendering can be used.
Dynamic rendering provides Googlebot with a statically rendered page version, facilitating faster indexing.
### Primarily Use HTML and CSS When Possible
For the best crawling, indexing, and overall user experience, it’s advisable to rely mainly on HTML and CSS.
Splitt notes that HTML and CSS are more “resilient” than JavaScript, as they degrade more gracefully.
For additional insights, refer to the complete video below:
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