# useContent in our Remix + Sanity app blanks the component then swaps, expected?

Asked by Priya Venkataraman on 2026-07-06. Tags: sanity, remix, react, troubleshooting.

We are on Remix 2.15 with @croct/plug-react 2.x, and the hero content is
authored in Sanity.

I wrapped our Sanity-driven hero in `useContent('home-hero')` inside a Suspense
boundary. Expected: hero renders with Sanity content on the server, personalized
version appears seamlessly. Actual: the boundary shows the Suspense fallback
during server render, then after hydration the hero pops in. So there is a
visible blank-then-swap on every hard navigation.

Is this the designed behavior of the hook, or am I holding it wrong? And if it
is by design, does useContent even belong in a Remix app or should the fetch
move behind the loader entirely

## 1 answer

### Accepted answer from Owen Gallagher (2026-07-07)

That is the designed behavior, not a bug in your setup. `useContent` relies
on React Suspense and is built for client-side rendering: it suspends until
the content resolves in the browser, which is why you see the fallback first
and the content swapping in after load. Remix's server render cannot resolve
it for you.

Two ways forward depending on how much the swap bothers you:

1. Keep the hook, but make the Suspense fallback meaningful. Pass your
   Sanity copy as the `fallback` option so the default hero renders instead
   of a blank, and the swap becomes copy-to-copy rather than blank-to-copy.
   You should always provide fallback content anyway, since it is also what
   renders when no experience applies or a fetch fails.

2. For genuinely flicker-free rendering, move the resolution into the
   loader. Call the HTTP Content API there and pass the result down as
   loader data, then the document arrives already personalized and there is
   nothing to swap. This is the pattern discussed in
   [the Sanity + Remix integration options thread](/answers/sanity-remix-integration-options).

For a hero at the top of the page I would do option 2. The hook earns its
keep lower on the page where a post-load swap is invisible.

#### Reply from Priya Venkataraman (2026-07-07)

Moved the hero to the loader and kept useContent with a Sanity fallback
for a below-fold banner. Both behave exactly as you described, thanks.