Scripting on the Server

Much more stable On the server, you can control the outputs much more tightly, and don't have to worry about users with obscure or underpowered browsers being unable to see your information.
Choose your own environment JavaScript-haters will be happy to know that Perl, Python, PHP, and a variety of other possibilities are available for server-side scripting.
Driving up the cost of hardware This control comes at a serious processing cost, as users' browsers render HTML and barely use the resources of their machines, while server load climbs rapidly. Scripting environments aren't renowned for their efficiency, either.
Preparing for a more distributed model While the short-term costs of server-side development are significant, some forms of development can help reduce the long-term cost, at least when technologies that are supported on both the browser and the server (JavaScript primarily, possibly Java) are used. By creating reusable modules for both client- and server-side work, and detecting browser types for each request, overall load can be distributed when possible.