---
name: server-side-rendering-414a73770be0
description: >
  Implement server-side rendering with template engines, view layers, and
  dynamic content generation. Use when building server-rendered applications,
  implementing MVC architectures, and generating HTML on the server.
---

# Server-Side Rendering

## Table of Contents

- [Overview](#overview)
- [When to Use](#when-to-use)
- [Quick Start](#quick-start)
- [Reference Guides](#reference-guides)
- [Best Practices](#best-practices)

## Overview

Build server-side rendered applications using modern template engines, view layers, and data-driven HTML generation with caching, streaming, and performance optimization across Python, Node.js, and Ruby frameworks.

## When to Use

- Building traditional web applications
- Rendering HTML on the server
- Implementing SEO-friendly applications
- Creating real-time updating pages
- Building admin dashboards
- Implementing email templates

## Quick Start

Minimal working example:

```python
# app.py
from flask import Flask, render_template, request, jsonify
from datetime import datetime

app = Flask(__name__)

# Custom Jinja2 filters
@app.template_filter('currency')
def format_currency(value):
    return f"${value:.2f}"

@app.template_filter('date_format')
def format_date(date_obj):
    return date_obj.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')

@app.context_processor
def inject_globals():
    """Inject global variables into templates"""
    return {
        'app_name': 'My App',
        'current_year': datetime.now().year,
        'support_email': 'support@example.com'
    }

# routes.py
// ... (see reference guides for full implementation)
```

## Reference Guides

Detailed implementations in the `references/` directory:

| Guide | Contents |
|---|---|
| [Flask with Jinja2 Templates](references/flask-with-jinja2-templates.md) | Flask with Jinja2 Templates |
| [Jinja2 Template Examples](references/jinja2-template-examples.md) | Jinja2 Template Examples |
| [Node.js/Express with EJS Templates](references/nodejsexpress-with-ejs-templates.md) | Node.js/Express with EJS Templates |
| [EJS Template Examples](references/ejs-template-examples.md) | EJS Template Examples |
| [Caching and Performance](references/caching-and-performance.md) | Caching and Performance |
| [Django Template Examples](references/django-template-examples.md) | Django Template Examples |
| [Django Templates](references/django-templates.md) | Django Templates |

## Best Practices

### ✅ DO

- Use template inheritance for DRY code
- Implement caching for frequently rendered pages
- Use template filters for formatting
- Separate concerns between views and templates
- Validate and sanitize all user input
- Use context processors for global variables
- Implement proper pagination
- Use conditional rendering appropriately
- Cache expensive queries
- Optimize template rendering

### ❌ DON'T

- Put business logic in templates
- Use unbounded loops in templates
- Execute database queries in templates
- Trust user input without sanitization
- Over-nest template inheritance
- Use very long template files
- Render sensitive data in templates
- Ignore template caching opportunities
- Use global variables excessively
- Mix multiple concerns in one template


---
Source attribution: aj-geddes
Original project: https://github.com/aj-geddes/useful-ai-prompts/blob/3f5182cfd739fc113f4af5244a1cf342ad7f7911/skills/server-side-rendering/SKILL.md
License: MIT
License information: https://opensource.org/license/mit
Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Dave AI.

## Upstream license notice

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 AJ Geddes

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.


# Dave AI resource metadata

Creator / publisher: aj-geddes
Original project: https://github.com/aj-geddes/useful-ai-prompts/blob/3f5182cfd739fc113f4af5244a1cf342ad7f7911/skills/server-side-rendering/SKILL.md
Attribution basis: Source repository record

Fields of work: Design, Development & Engineering, Product Management
Roles: Backend Developer, Frontend Developer, Full-Stack Developer, Product Manager, UX Designer
Specialties: Backend
Tools: Flask, Nodejs, Ruby
Country applicability: Country not specified
Classification basis: Source catalog labels
Instruction SHA-256: 5f6d5aed4a48470e7a423eae3bb57b567f9c678ff9588c7b06d851bfb22bd75a