Troubleshooting Indexing Issues for React-Based Category Pages on WordPress Websites

In recent weeks, webmasters and SEOs have observed persistent challenges with indexation of category pages after implementing a new Web Design utilizing React. Although the pages appear correctly configured in Google Search Console, they are not being indexed as expected. Understanding and resolving this issue requires a comprehensive analysis of the website’s structure, rendering methods, and SEO configurations.

Understanding the Issue

A typical scenario involves a category page URL. When inspecting this URL in Google Search Console, the following observations are made:

• The HTML source code in Search Console includes the correct meta tags (title, description), heading tags (H1), and canonical links.
• However, viewing the raw HTML source of the page directly (via browser “view source”) reveals that these elements are either missing or duplicated, indicating potential discrepancies in the rendered output.
• Despite proper canonical tags and meta descriptions, Google is not indexing these pages, leading to visibility issues in search results.

Key Factors at Play

1. Client-Side Rendering (CSR) with React:
   React applications often rely on JavaScript to generate page content dynamically. If server-side rendering (SSR) is not configured correctly, search engines may struggle to index content that is rendered client-side. This can result in discrepancies between the content seen in Search Console and the raw source viewed in a browser.

2. Canonical and Meta Tag Implementation:
   Proper placement and rendering of canonical and meta tags are crucial. If these tags are injected dynamically, they may not be present in the initial HTML, causing indexing issues.

3. Indexing and Caching Delays:
   Sometimes, Google needs additional time or signals to properly index new or heavily JavaScript-dependent pages.

4. Duplicate Meta Tags:
   The presence of duplicate meta titles, especially in raw HTML, can indicate improperly handled SEO tags, which may affect indexing.

Recommended Solutions

1. Implement Server-Side Rendering (SSR):
   Transitioning to SSR or static site generation ensures that essential SEO tags are present in the initial server response, making pages more accessible to crawlers.

2. Use Dynamic Rendering:
   As an alternative, consider implementing dynamic rendering frameworks such as Rendertron or Puppeteer, which serve pre-rendered content to bots.

3. Validate Proper Inclusion of seo Tags:
   Use tools like Google’s Rich Results Test and the URL Inspection tool to