{"id":47,"slug":"rule-server-render-for-ai-crawlers","title":"RULE: Always server-render or statically generate content for AI crawlers. Never ship client-side-only HTML.","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["claude-code","dev","candid-team"],"topics":["ai-citation","nextjs","agency-methodology"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** Every page of every Candid client site must serve **rendered HTML at the URL** — either statically generated (Next.js export, Astro, Hugo) or server-side rendered (Next.js App Router with server components, classic SSR). **Never** ship a single-page-app shell where content arrives via client-side JavaScript.\n\n**Why:** AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, OAI-SearchBot) **do not execute JavaScript** at scale. A site that requires JS to render its content is **invisible to AI engines** — and increasingly invisible to AI-augmented search overall, since 48% of queries now trigger an AI Overview (see [[brightedge-ai-overviews-48pct-feb-2026]]).\n\nSee [[ai-crawlers-do-not-execute-js]] for the underlying measurement. OtterlyAI's 1M-citation study found 73% of audited sites have technical barriers blocking AI crawler access — JS-only rendering is the most common.\n\n**How to apply:** Candid's default stack is Next.js 15 App Router with server components — every page renders to HTML at build time or on the server. Client components (`\"use client\"`) are reserved for interactivity; the *content* is always in the server-rendered tree. For non-Next.js client sites, Candid migrates to a static-generation tool before any AI-visibility work begins. There is no exception.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"ai-crawlers-do-not-execute-js","title":"AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot) generally do not execute JavaScript — client-side React/Vue without SSR is invisible","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"otterly-third-party-citations-2026","title":"OtterlyAI (Sept 2025): community platforms (Reddit, Quora) capture 52.5% of AI citations vs 47.5% brand domains","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-marketing-sites-that-do-something","title":"Research brief: What makes a marketing site do something (piece on brochure vs platform)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"managed-platforms-buy-security-team","title":"Counter-argument: a $200/mo managed platform buys you a larger security team than most agencies have","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T18:57:39.663Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T18:57:39.663Z"}