react-helmet-async vs react-helmet vs react-meta-tags
React Meta Tag Management Libraries Comparison
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What's React Meta Tag Management Libraries?

Meta tag management libraries for React facilitate the dynamic updating of document head elements, such as title, description, and other meta tags, which are crucial for SEO and social sharing. These libraries allow developers to manage these tags declaratively within their React components, ensuring that the correct information is rendered for each page or component. This is particularly important in single-page applications (SPAs) where traditional server-side rendering does not automatically update the document head. By using these libraries, developers can enhance their application's SEO performance and improve user experience by providing relevant metadata for each view.

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react-helmet-async2,928,7652,22586.3 kB78a year agoApache-2.0
react-helmet2,413,20517,480-2235 years agoMIT
react-meta-tags22,53623062 kB35-MIT
Feature Comparison: react-helmet-async vs react-helmet vs react-meta-tags

Asynchronous Support

  • react-helmet-async:

    React Helmet Async is designed specifically to handle asynchronous rendering, making it ideal for server-side rendered applications. It ensures that meta tags are correctly populated before the HTML is sent to the client, preventing race conditions and ensuring the right content is displayed.

  • react-helmet:

    React Helmet does not natively support asynchronous rendering, which can lead to issues in server-side rendered applications where meta tags need to be updated before the page is sent to the client.

  • react-meta-tags:

    React Meta Tags does not provide built-in support for asynchronous operations, making it less suitable for applications that require server-side rendering or complex routing scenarios.

Ease of Use

  • react-helmet-async:

    React Helmet Async maintains a similar API to React Helmet but adds complexity due to its asynchronous capabilities. While it is still user-friendly, developers may need to understand additional concepts related to asynchronous rendering.

  • react-helmet:

    React Helmet offers a straightforward API that is easy to integrate into existing React applications. It allows developers to define meta tags directly within their components, making it intuitive to manage head elements.

  • react-meta-tags:

    React Meta Tags provides a very simple API for managing meta tags, making it easy to use for developers who want a lightweight solution without the overhead of additional features.

Performance

  • react-helmet-async:

    React Helmet Async is optimized for performance in SSR applications, ensuring that meta tags are rendered efficiently and correctly before the initial page load, which can enhance SEO and user experience.

  • react-helmet:

    Performance is generally good with React Helmet for client-side rendered applications, but it may struggle with SSR scenarios where meta tags need to be rendered before the page load.

  • react-meta-tags:

    React Meta Tags is lightweight and performs well in client-side rendered applications, but it may not be suitable for performance-critical SSR applications due to its lack of asynchronous support.

SEO Optimization

  • react-helmet-async:

    React Helmet Async enhances SEO capabilities in server-side rendered applications, ensuring that the correct meta tags are available for crawlers before the page is delivered to the client, improving indexing and visibility.

  • react-helmet:

    React Helmet allows for effective SEO management by enabling developers to dynamically set meta tags based on the current view, which is essential for search engine indexing and social sharing.

  • react-meta-tags:

    React Meta Tags supports basic SEO optimization by allowing dynamic meta tag management, but it may not provide the same level of control and performance as the other two options in SSR scenarios.

Community and Support

  • react-helmet-async:

    React Helmet Async, being a variant of React Helmet, benefits from the same community support, but may have fewer resources specifically addressing its asynchronous capabilities.

  • react-helmet:

    React Helmet has a large user base and community support, making it easy to find resources, documentation, and solutions to common issues.

  • react-meta-tags:

    React Meta Tags has a smaller community compared to the other two libraries, which may result in fewer resources and community-driven solutions.

How to Choose: react-helmet-async vs react-helmet vs react-meta-tags
  • react-helmet-async:

    Opt for React Helmet Async if your application requires support for asynchronous rendering, such as when using server-side rendering (SSR) or when you need to manage meta tags in a more complex routing setup. It allows for better performance and avoids issues with race conditions when rendering meta tags asynchronously.

  • react-helmet:

    Choose React Helmet if you need a simple, straightforward solution for managing document head tags in a React application without the need for asynchronous rendering. It is well-suited for applications that do not require server-side rendering or complex state management.

  • react-meta-tags:

    Select React Meta Tags if you prefer a lightweight solution that focuses on simplicity and ease of use. It is particularly useful for applications that do not require advanced features like asynchronous rendering but still need to manage meta tags effectively.

Similar Npm Packages to react-helmet-async

react-helmet-async is a popular library for managing changes to the document head in React applications. It allows developers to dynamically update the title, meta tags, and other elements of the head section of their HTML document. This is particularly useful for improving SEO and ensuring that the correct metadata is displayed when users share links to your application. The asynchronous nature of react-helmet-async makes it suitable for server-side rendering and concurrent rendering scenarios, providing a seamless experience for both developers and users.

While react-helmet-async is a robust solution for managing document head, there are alternatives available that also serve similar purposes:

  • react-helmet is the original library for managing document head in React applications. It provides a straightforward API for setting the title, meta tags, and other head elements. Although it does not support asynchronous rendering out of the box, it is still widely used and appreciated for its simplicity and ease of use. If your application does not require server-side rendering or concurrent features, react-helmet can be a suitable choice for managing the document head.
  • react-meta-tags is another alternative that focuses on managing meta tags in React applications. It provides a simple way to define and update meta tags in your components. While it may not offer all the features of react-helmet-async or react-helmet, it is lightweight and easy to use, making it a good option for projects that require basic meta tag management without additional complexity.

For a comprehensive comparison of these libraries, check out the link: Comparing react-helmet vs react-helmet-async vs react-meta-tags.

Similar Npm Packages to react-helmet

react-helmet is a popular library for managing changes to the document head in React applications. It allows developers to dynamically set and update meta tags, titles, and other head elements, which is essential for SEO and improving the user experience. By using react-helmet, you can ensure that your application has the appropriate metadata for each page, making it more discoverable and shareable.

While react-helmet is widely used, there are alternatives that also provide functionality for managing document titles and meta tags:

  • react-document-title is a simpler alternative that focuses specifically on managing the document title in React applications. It provides a straightforward API for setting the title of your pages, making it easy to ensure that each route or component has a unique and relevant title. If your primary concern is just updating the document title without the additional overhead of managing other head elements, react-document-title is a lightweight solution.
  • react-helmet-async is an asynchronous version of react-helmet that is designed to work seamlessly with server-side rendering (SSR) and concurrent rendering in React. It allows for better performance and avoids potential issues with race conditions when rendering components that update the document head. If you are building an application that requires SSR or you want to ensure that your head management is optimized for performance, react-helmet-async is an excellent choice.

To see how these packages compare, check out the comparison: Comparing react-document-title vs react-helmet vs react-helmet-async.

Similar Npm Packages to react-meta-tags

react-meta-tags is a lightweight React component that allows developers to manage the document head, including meta tags, title, and other elements, in a declarative way. This package is particularly useful for optimizing SEO and improving the user experience by dynamically updating the page's metadata based on the current content. With react-meta-tags, you can easily set and update meta tags for different routes or components, ensuring that each page has the appropriate metadata for search engines and social sharing.

An alternative to react-meta-tags is react-helmet. This library provides a similar functionality, allowing developers to manage the document head in React applications. react-helmet offers a more comprehensive API and additional features, such as support for server-side rendering and the ability to manage multiple elements in the head. It is widely used in the React community and is known for its flexibility and ease of use. If you need a robust solution for managing document head elements, react-helmet is a great choice.

To compare these two packages, check out the following link: Comparing react-helmet vs react-meta-tags.

README for react-helmet-async

react-helmet-async

CircleCI

Announcement post on Times Open blog

This package is a fork of React Helmet. <Helmet> usage is synonymous, but server and client now requires <HelmetProvider> to encapsulate state per request.

react-helmet relies on react-side-effect, which is not thread-safe. If you are doing anything asynchronous on the server, you need Helmet to encapsulate data on a per-request basis, this package does just that.

Usage

New is 1.0.0: No more default export! import { Helmet } from 'react-helmet-async'

The main way that this package differs from react-helmet is that it requires using a Provider to encapsulate Helmet state for your React tree. If you use libraries like Redux or Apollo, you are already familiar with this paradigm:

import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import { Helmet, HelmetProvider } from 'react-helmet-async';

const app = (
  <HelmetProvider>
    <App>
      <Helmet>
        <title>Hello World</title>
        <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.tacobell.com/" />
      </Helmet>
      <h1>Hello World</h1>
    </App>
  </HelmetProvider>
);

ReactDOM.hydrate(
  app,
  document.getElementById(‘app’)
);

On the server, we will no longer use static methods to extract state. react-side-effect exposed a .rewind() method, which Helmet used when calling Helmet.renderStatic(). Instead, we are going to pass a context prop to HelmetProvider, which will hold our state specific to each request.

import React from 'react';
import { renderToString } from 'react-dom/server';
import { Helmet, HelmetProvider } from 'react-helmet-async';

const helmetContext = {};

const app = (
  <HelmetProvider context={helmetContext}>
    <App>
      <Helmet>
        <title>Hello World</title>
        <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.tacobell.com/" />
      </Helmet>
      <h1>Hello World</h1>
    </App>
  </HelmetProvider>
);

const html = renderToString(app);

const { helmet } = helmetContext;

// helmet.title.toString() etc…

Streams

This package only works with streaming if your <head> data is output outside of renderToNodeStream(). This is possible if your data hydration method already parses your React tree. Example:

import through from 'through';
import { renderToNodeStream } from 'react-dom/server';
import { getDataFromTree } from 'react-apollo';
import { Helmet, HelmetProvider } from 'react-helmet-async';
import template from 'server/template';

const helmetContext = {};

const app = (
  <HelmetProvider context={helmetContext}>
    <App>
      <Helmet>
        <title>Hello World</title>
        <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.tacobell.com/" />
      </Helmet>
      <h1>Hello World</h1>
    </App>
  </HelmetProvider>
);

await getDataFromTree(app);

const [header, footer] = template({
  helmet: helmetContext.helmet,
});

res.status(200);
res.write(header);
renderToNodeStream(app)
  .pipe(
    through(
      function write(data) {
        this.queue(data);
      },
      function end() {
        this.queue(footer);
        this.queue(null);
      }
    )
  )
  .pipe(res);

Usage in Jest

While testing in using jest, if there is a need to emulate SSR, the following string is required to have the test behave the way they are expected to.

import { HelmetProvider } from 'react-helmet-async';

HelmetProvider.canUseDOM = false;

Prioritizing tags for SEO

It is understood that in some cases for SEO, certain tags should appear earlier in the HEAD. Using the prioritizeSeoTags flag on any <Helmet> component allows the server render of react-helmet-async to expose a method for prioritizing relevant SEO tags.

In the component:

<Helmet prioritizeSeoTags>
  <title>A fancy webpage</title>
  <link rel="notImportant" href="https://www.chipotle.com" />
  <meta name="whatever" value="notImportant" />
  <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.tacobell.com" />
  <meta property="og:title" content="A very important title"/>
</Helmet>

In your server template:

<html>
  <head>
    ${helmet.title.toString()}
    ${helmet.priority.toString()}
    ${helmet.meta.toString()}
    ${helmet.link.toString()}
    ${helmet.script.toString()}
  </head>
  ...
</html>

Will result in:

<html>
  <head>
    <title>A fancy webpage</title>
    <meta property="og:title" content="A very important title"/>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.tacobell.com" />
    <meta name="whatever" value="notImportant" />
    <link rel="notImportant" href="https://www.chipotle.com" />
  </head>
  ...
</html>

A list of prioritized tags and attributes can be found in constants.ts.

Usage without Context

You can optionally use <Helmet> outside a context by manually creating a stateful HelmetData instance, and passing that stateful object to each <Helmet> instance:

import React from 'react';
import { renderToString } from 'react-dom/server';
import { Helmet, HelmetProvider, HelmetData } from 'react-helmet-async';

const helmetData = new HelmetData({});

const app = (
    <App>
      <Helmet helmetData={helmetData}>
        <title>Hello World</title>
        <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.tacobell.com/" />
      </Helmet>
      <h1>Hello World</h1>
    </App>
);

const html = renderToString(app);

const { helmet } = helmetData.context;

License

Licensed under the Apache 2.0 License, Copyright © 2018 Scott Taylor

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