A deep dive into the architectural shift happening in web development as the industry moves back toward server-side routing. Three approaches are examined: Multi-Page Apps (MPAs) with islands/partial hydration, HTML Frames (intercepting navigation to swap server-rendered HTML), and React Server Components (sending VDOM diffs from the server). Each has distinct tradeoffs around performance, JavaScript bundle size, and user experience. The piece argues that frameworks like Remix, SvelteKit, and React Server Components all converge on the same model: full-page, server-driven navigation. The conclusion predicts MPAs will improve with streaming and partial hydration, HTML Frames are a transitional step, and Server Components will eventually support hybrid HTML/VDOM rendering for the best of both worlds.
