diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d73d7b2d1633..802a36270902 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 .idea
 .vite_opt_cache
 .vscode
+.temp
 dist
 node_modules
 pnpm-global
diff --git a/src/node/build/bundle.ts b/src/node/build/bundle.ts
index ac8491129878..fe3ecebdd7a7 100644
--- a/src/node/build/bundle.ts
+++ b/src/node/build/bundle.ts
@@ -52,9 +52,11 @@ export async function bundle(
       pageToHashMap,
       clientJSMap
     ),
-    // @ts-ignore
     ssr: {
-      noExternal: ['vitepress']
+      noExternal: [
+        'vitepress',
+        '@docsearch/css',
+      ]
     },
     build: {
       ...options,
@@ -71,7 +73,11 @@ export async function bundle(
         output: {
           ...rollupOptions?.output,
           ...(ssr
-            ? {}
+            ? {
+              entryFileNames: `[name].js`,
+              chunkFileNames: `[name].[hash].js`,
+              assetFileNames: `[name].[ext]`
+            }
             : {
                 chunkFileNames(chunk) {
                   // avoid ads chunk being intercepted by adblock
diff --git a/src/node/build/render.ts b/src/node/build/render.ts
index c4330e3e63aa..247d7b51ef7c 100644
--- a/src/node/build/render.ts
+++ b/src/node/build/render.ts
@@ -20,9 +20,8 @@ export async function renderPage(
   pageToHashMap: Record<string, string>,
   hashMapString: string
 ) {
-  const { createApp } = await import(
-    pathToFileURL(path.join(config.tempDir, `app.js`)).toString()
-  )
+  const entryPath = path.join(config.tempDir, 'app.js')
+  const { createApp } = await import(pathToFileURL(entryPath).toString())
   const { app, router } = createApp()
   const routePath = `/${page.replace(/\.md$/, '')}`
   const siteData = resolveSiteDataByRoute(config.site, routePath)
diff --git a/src/node/plugin.ts b/src/node/plugin.ts
index e3f141313ef9..3d8325cfb38a 100644
--- a/src/node/plugin.ts
+++ b/src/node/plugin.ts
@@ -216,6 +216,17 @@ export async function createVitePressPlugin(
             delete bundle[name]
           }
         }
+
+        // in Vite v3
+        // we generate a fake package.json to make the output `.js` as ESM
+        // @ts-ignore
+        if (config.ssr?.format === 'esm') {
+          this.emitFile({
+            type: 'asset',
+            fileName: 'package.json',
+            source: '{ "private": true, "type": "module" }'
+          })
+        }
       } else {
         // client build:
         // for each .md entry chunk, adjust its name to its correct path.