What is Next.js?
The React framework for production. Adds SSR, SSG, file-based routing, API routes, and image optimization — everything needed to build a complete web app.
🔄 How Next.js Handles a Request
🖥️ Rendering Modes
Pages rendered at build time. Super fast, can be served via CDN. Best for blogs, docs, marketing pages.
Pages rendered on server per request. Always fresh data. Good SEO. Best for dashboards, user-specific pages.
Static pages that auto-regenerate in background after a set time (e.g., every 60s). Best of both worlds.
Page loads skeleton → Fetch data in browser. Like plain React. No SEO benefit. Good for private dashboards.
✨ Key Features
File-based Routing
Create a file in /pages → Automatic route. No router config needed. /pages/about.js → /about
API Routes
Create /pages/api/hello.js → Gets /api/hello endpoint. Full Node.js backend built-in.
Image Optimization
next/image auto-resizes, converts to WebP, lazy loads, and prevents layout shift.
Middleware
Run code before request completes. Use for auth checks, redirects, A/B testing, i18n.
Edge Runtime
Run code at CDN edge nodes globally. Ultra-low latency. Faster than traditional server.
App Router (v13+)
New /app directory with Server Components, nested layouts, parallel routes, streaming.
⚖️ React vs Next.js
| Topic | ⚛️ React | ▲ Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Routing | Manual (React Router) | File-based (automatic) |
| SEO | Poor (CSR only) | Excellent (SSR/SSG) |
| Backend | Separate server needed | Built-in API Routes |
| Performance | Good (SPA) | Excellent (pre-rendered) |
| Image handling | Manual optimization | Built-in next/image |
| Deployment | Static files / Node | Vercel / Node / Docker |
Want a Next.js website? ▲
We build fast, SEO-friendly web apps with Next.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS.