Simple Steps to Move a Lovable Project from CSR to SSG (Without Breaking the UI)

If your Lovable-built site isn't showing up in Google Search Console, don't panic. In many cases, the issue isn't your copy, your keywords, or your "SEO settings". It's how the page is rendered.

A lot of Lovable projects ship with client-side rendering (CSR). That means the browser builds the page after load. People see the finished result. Search engines may fetch an HTML response that looks like a thin shell, with the real text arriving later through JavaScript.

The fix is not a "meta tags" binge. The fix is making your core content appear in the initial HTML output that gets served.

This post explains a clean path to do that with static site generation (SSG), paired with a simple deployment flow and a verification checklist — so you can prove what Google can see.

What CSR looks like in real life (and why indexing can stall)

With CSR, the server sends a minimal HTML frame. Then JavaScript runs and paints the content into the page.

For users, that's fine.

For search engines, it introduces uncertainty. Google can render JavaScript, yet results vary by page type, site setup, crawl timing, and how much of the page is "meaningful" before scripts run. So you can end up with outcomes like:

• Pages indexed inconsistently
• Search Console saying a URL exists, yet the page fails to show for phrases in your own headings
• Nested routes (deep service pages, posts) looking thin in crawl output
• Blog posts not appearing properly

You can't optimise your way out of missing HTML. You need to ship content in the HTML.

Step one: confirm you're dealing with the "HTML shell" problem

You don't need to guess. Run these checks.

1) View Page Source

Open a key page → right click → View Page Source.

Look for:

• Your main heading
• Body paragraphs
• Internal links

If you can't see that text in the source, your initial HTML is not carrying the content.

2) Search Console URL Inspection

In Google Search Console:

1. Inspect a URL
2. Run a live test
3. Open the crawled page view and check the HTML view

You want to see the same key text there: headings and copy in plain HTML.

3) Check a nested route

Don't only test the homepage. Test a deep page and a blog post URL. If those fail, you've found the exact pain point your fix needs to cover.

Try it now: Crawlability Checker

Use the tool below to instantly check if your Lovable site's content is visible in the initial HTML:

The goal: keep the UI, ship real HTML

A lot of people hear "static" and assume the site becomes lifeless. That's not how modern SSG works.

SSG pre-renders pages into HTML at build time. Your interactive parts can still run after load. The difference is that search engines receive meaningful HTML straight away, instead of a blank frame and a hope.

So the real goal is:

Public-facing pages render to HTML at build time. Interactive widgets still run after load.

Dashboards, logged-in areas, and user-specific pages can stay dynamic. They aren't the pages you want indexed.

The clean Lovable route: SSG + Netlify + two prompt steps

Rather than wrestling a server-rendering setup inside Lovable, a simpler route is:

• Use two prompt steps in your Lovable project that output crawlable page HTML at build time
• Push to GitHub
• Deploy on Netlify with the right build settings
• Handle nested routes and blog posts with the extra step that generates those pages cleanly
• Verify output before you think about "ranking"

This keeps the workflow repeatable, and it matches what buyers actually want: a practical fix, not a framework lecture.

What to pre-render first (so you don't boil the ocean)

Start with the pages that earn search demand:

• Homepage
• Core service / feature pages
• Pricing page
• Blog index
• A handful of blog posts (plus any category/tag pages that matter)

Skip anything that is:

• Personalised per user
• Behind a login
• Built from runtime-only data

Those pages can exist, they just aren't your SEO entry points.

Nested routes and blogs: the part most guides miss

Many "CSR to SSG" guides stop at "turn on static generation". That's not enough for Lovable users who rely on nested routes.

Deep pages can fail in two common ways:

1. They render via client-side routing, so the HTML at fetch time is thin
2. They exist as "data-driven" paths, yet the build step never produces a real HTML file per route

Your workflow needs to output crawlable HTML for:

• /service/whatever
• /blog/post-title
• any other deep route you expect to rank

So make nested routes a first-class requirement in your build process, not an afterthought.

Avoiding UI breakage without turning this into a dev rabbit hole

Most "SSG breakage" comes from one thing: parts of the page that only make sense in a browser being treated as if they exist during build.

You don't need a pile of code rules to avoid that. Use these practical checks:

• Keep SEO-critical copy deterministic at build time (headings, body text, internal links).
• Treat client-only features as client-only (widgets that rely on browser state, pop-ups, dynamic counters, maps).
• Watch out for third-party scripts that block first paint or rewrite the page late.
• Validate that the HTML output matches what a user sees on load (content present even before scripts finish).

A quick sanity test: open the page and disable JavaScript in your browser settings. If your headline and core copy are still visible, you're in a much safer place for crawlability.

Verification checklist (this is where trust is won)

After deployment, check three things:

View Page Source

You should see real text content in the HTML.

Search Console URL Inspection

The fetched HTML should contain the same headings and copy users see.

Spot check internal links

Make sure deep pages link to each other in plain HTML, not only via app navigation that appears after load.

This is not about vibes. It's about observable output.

After the fix: getting pages re-crawled

Once your output is crawlable:

1. Request indexing for priority pages via URL inspection
2. Submit or re-submit your sitemap if you use one
3. Give Google a little time to revisit deeper routes

Indexing can still take time. The big win is removing the "blank shell" barrier.

What this solves (and what it doesn't)

This approach solves crawlability and indexing reliability for Lovable sites: making pages readable in HTML.

It does not promise rankings. Rankings still depend on intent match, content quality, links, and competition.

Think of this as fixing the foundation so your content has a fair shot.

Want the workflow packaged?

That's what Lovable Crawlability Fix is:

DIY Pack (self-serve): the prompt steps, Netlify build settings, nested route handling, plus a verification checklist

Fully Supported setup: we implement it on one site, verify key routes, hand over with notes and a recording

Either way, the outcome is the same: pages and posts that stop looking empty to crawlers.