What are the key differences between these two functions used for pre-rendering data in Next.js, and when should you use one over the other? Is there a performance or SEO comparison between them?
What's the difference between getStaticProps and getServerSideProps in Next.js?
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Thanks to the `getStaticProps` function, you can generate data at build-time and serve it as static HTML, whereas `getServerSideProps` fetches and renders the data on the server for every user request. In my early projects, I used `getServerSideProps` frequently to keep dashboard data dynamic until I switched to build-time optimization even for non-static content. In terms of performance, Next.js officially recommends "Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR)" for `getStaticProps`, allowing you to refresh data at intervals.
SEO differences are also noticeable; `getStaticProps` provides pre-rendered HTML that search engines can crawl quickly, while pages served with `getServerSideProps` may have longer render times. For example, when I generated my blog archive pages with `getStaticProps`, the number of crawlable pages in Google Search Console increased by 30%. However, if you need real-time data—like user-specific content or price comparisons—`getServerSideProps` becomes unavoidable.
Before starting a project, I wondered when to use `getStaticProps` and when to use `getServerSideProps`—especially since performance and SEO were critical for me. At the time, I was building a Next.js blog that received many new posts daily. Initially, I thought `getServerSideProps` was the safer choice because the data would always be up-to-date. But after the first tests, I noticed the page loaded slowly on every request, especially when database queries were complex. Users and SEO optimization suffered as a result.
Then I switched to `getStaticProps` and used `revalidate` for Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR). The result? The page loaded in under 2 seconds and remained SEO-friendly because static HTML pages were sent from the server to the client. Updates happened in the background without affecting performance. For the blog, this was perfect—static content with occasional updates. Conclusion: If your data doesn’t change constantly or you prioritize performance and SEO, `getStaticProps` is usually the better choice. I’d only prefer `getServerSideProps` for real-time data like user profiles or live charts.
getStaticProps started making me curious enough to think, "Oh, I can generate the data on the fly in Next.js!" and by then, I'd already killed the character 😅 At the end of the day, getServerSideProps always felt like that nosy older sister who’d barge in saying, “Hold on, let me fetch the data while I’m building the pages!” When I had to choose, I just looked at which one made less of that scary “Boom! Server call!” noise 😂