Implementing Isomorphic JavaScript (React JS) in WordPress?

I don’t think using React.js without Node.js (or at least V8 or rhino etc) counts as isomorphic, as isomorphic means that you are building JavaScript to run in the browser AND on the server. Specifically, using WordPress certainly means you aren’t doing isomorphic javascript (its PHP software).

What you could do is use WordPress as a REST API server, and use React as a client for that. Now you can have WordPress deliver your assets, but you could also put it in a subdirectory, and treat it only as an API app with a CMS admin area, while putting your site files in the root, by-passing configuring a theme at all. (SEO would become a separate concern here that you’d have to solve, depending on the type of app you are developing.)

You mention SEO and server-side rendering, so I take it the part you’ve gathered is that you want compiled html delivered to crawlers (instead of JS that they won’t understand), but WordPress does this by default (albeit with PHP, not JavaScript and therefor, not isomorphic), but if your concern is only SEO, isomorphic isn’t strictly needed.

You can have WordPress’s theme output everything you need for SEO (minimally) and then load your React (or Angular or whathaveyou), to build your app for humans with JavaScript enabled browsers (via bootstraping/DOM replacement). You’d then have to additionally take care that your routes matched WordPress’s permalinks, which is a bit tricky. Not the same as isomorphic, but good enough.

Alternatively, you could use React.js to only ‘enhance’ the theme (like for a comments section), but you’d mostly be a PHP/WordPress dev at that point.

Isomorphic is like Meteor.js, and projects like that, that let you specifically avoid PHP (and avoid WordPress). Mutually exclusive really. If you are really interested in isomorphic, try Meteor.js and avoid using WordPress altogether.

Related Posts:

  1. “SyntaxError: Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0"
  2. SyntaxError: Unexpected token o in JSON at position 1
  3. SyntaxError: Unexpected token o in JSON at position 1
  4. What is JSONP, and why was it created?
  5. TypeError: Converting circular structure to JSON in nodejs
  6. Use a JSON array with objects with javascript
  7. Array of JSON Objects
  8. Chrome sendrequest error: TypeError: Converting circular structure to JSON
  9. Fetch: POST JSON data
  10. Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token u in JSON at position 0
  11. Unexpected token u in JSON at position 0 (but only sometimes)
  12. How to read an external local JSON file in JavaScript?
  13. SyntaxError: Unexpected token o in JSON at position 1
  14. SyntaxError: Unexpected token o in JSON at position 1
  15. How to read an external local JSON file in JavaScript?
  16. What is the convention in JSON for empty vs. null?
  17. What is the “right” JSON date format?
  18. Nested JSON objects – do I have to use arrays for everything?
  19. Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property ‘length’ of undefined
  20. What is the “right” JSON date format?
  21. How to compare arrays in JavaScript?
  22. Failed to load resource: net::ERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND loading json.js
  23. jQuery AJAX cross domain
  24. SyntaxError: Unexpected token o in JSON at position 1
  25. Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property ‘props’ of null
  26. Loading local JSON file
  27. How to convert JSON object to JavaScript array?
  28. node.js TypeError: path must be absolute or specify root to res.sendFile [failed to parse JSON]
  29. Uncaught TypeError: data.push is not a function
  30. React Js: Uncaught (in promise) SyntaxError: Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0
  31. How to convert selected HTML to Json?
  32. How to get JSON from URL in JavaScript?
  33. How do you put an image file in a json object?
  34. push object into array
  35. JSON.parse() not working
  36. react router v^4.0.0 Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property ‘location’ of undefined
  37. Refused to execute script, strict MIME type checking is enabled?
  38. TypeError: res.json is not a function
  39. SyntaxError: Unexpected token C in JSON at position 0 – Ionic 2 Http GET request
  40. SyntaxError: JSON.parse: unexpected end of data at line 1 column 1 of the JSON data
  41. Add new attribute (element) to JSON object using JavaScript
  42. SyntaxError: JSON.parse: unexpected character at line 1 column 1 of the JSON data
  43. How to display raw JSON data on a HTML page
  44. Convert array to JSON
  45. JSON.parse unexpected token s
  46. JSON.stringify (Javascript) and json.dumps (Python) not equivalent on a list?
  47. How to filter JSON Data in JavaScript or jQuery?
  48. How to add a button dynamically using jquery
  49. Using setTimeout on promise chain
  50. Complex JSON nesting of objects and arrays
  51. Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token with JSON.parse
  52. How can JavaScript save to a local file?
  53. Write / add data in JSON file using Node.js
  54. How do I handle newlines in JSON?
  55. Finding the max value of an attribute in an array of objects
  56. Defining a HTML template to append using JQuery
  57. “NS_ERROR_DOM_BAD_URI: Access to restricted URI denied”
  58. What are the differences between JSON and JSONP?
  59. Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected end of JSON input at JSON.parse ()
  60. WP Rest API – How to get featured image
  61. How to use wp_localize_script in custom page template?
  62. WordPress Rest API
  63. Updata Metadata WP Rest API
  64. Dynamically insert values in a WordPress SelectControl Options field
  65. var is undefined in a Gutenberg block
  66. 404 Error Contact Form 7 on WordPress
  67. Base64 & JSON Encode array in PHP, use as HTML data attribute, decode and parse in JavaScript …. with proper Escaping
  68. AngularJS with route and JSON API
  69. Resolving Javascript errors likely related to Gantry framework
  70. Pass data from wordpress to javascript in JSON
  71. How to include a JSON file on my page?
  72. Why WordPress not using JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE by default?
  73. how to use nimble-API and Display data?
  74. Check if user can in javascript
  75. wp-api Backbone JS Client fetch options
  76. Remove escape characters from JSON string pulled from a database
  77. I would like to retrive JSON value and display it in wordpress page or widget
  78. Connecting a wordpress site to an AngularJS APP
  79. Combining results from WP-API using AngularJS
  80. Gutenberg core/file add style support in js/ json
  81. Dynamically creating charts of each row in an HTML table with chart.js
  82. Failed to load resource: the server responded with a status of 500 (Internal Server Error) in Bind function
  83. Scroll to an element with jQuery
  84. Cannot open local file – Chrome: Not allowed to load local resource
  85. How do you reverse a string in-place in JavaScript?
  86. AJAX response error: net::ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE
  87. Mismatched anonymous define() module
  88. How do I include a JavaScript file in another JavaScript file?
  89. What language is JavaScript written in?
  90. how to display a div triggered by onclick event
  91. JAX post error : Refused to set unsafe header “Connection”
  92. How to use onBlur event on Angular2?
  93. WP REST API only returning partial list of users
  94. How to add JS in footer
  95. How to Use JSON With AJAX?
  96. Render blocking issue in google page insight
  97. Open MediaUpload from external component in Gutenberg
  98. Easy popups for wordpress?
  99. Need help in fixing javascript in WordPress
  100. Adding react app to an existing wordpress website

Leave a Comment