What is Next.js?
What is Next.js?
Next.js is a framework for React! This sentence may seem strange. Because react itself is a library, how is it possible that the Next.js library belongs to another library!?
Next.js is simplified
A framework that uses react and can build all the programs for us, whether on the server side or the client side.
Next.js increases the capabilities of reacting. In a simple sentence, it improves reaction. What is essential is that in Next.js, we still write response code. Next.js helps us to use its compelling capabilities. And for every little thing in the program, using foreign libraries is unnecessary.
We also know next.js as a “meta-framework” because one or more frameworks are used in its construction.
What are the benefits of Next.js?
Consider a news website or a store, or a company site that does not have a high speed and does not meet our expectations. This site cannot be our favorite site, but it can be easily solved with Next.js because the most crucial advantage of Next.js is its high speed and excellent performance.
Next.js gives us the power to create beautiful and fast static sites. In addition, we can implement web applications using React. All these features give us a unique possibility: We can use Next.js to create hybrid programs with server-rendered and statically generated pages. The door closes
Disadvantages of using Next.js
The advantages of Next.js far outweigh its drawbacks, however:
Development and management: We need relevant experts to make the desired changes.
Cost: Because Next.js doesn’t render many internal pages, we have to work and create the Front End section, and this section needs small and large changes from time to time, so there is good news waiting for us. That we had to pay a developer whenever we needed changes.
Few plugins: We can’t use too many different plugins.
Limitations in the server-side language: Next.js framework is a server-side technology, Node, which cannot be changed. Based on our example, if we want to use PHP language, it is not possible. Even we can’t use a similar technology like Deno instead of Node.
Next.js top features
1. Server-side Rendering
Server-side rendering means rendering pages (creating and displaying them) on the server side. If you have worked with React, you know that in React, we take data from the server and use it on that side (in the user’s browser) to create and display the page (render it). In this case, we have made and said the page is on the client side, but server-side rendering is like when you use PHP to generate HTML pages! It means that your pages are created on the server side and then ready to be sent to the user, so the user does not need to do any processing.
You can go to a website written with react to understand this. If you open the source code of this website from your browser, you will find that the website is empty! Why? Because we don’t have actual pages in SPA or Single Page Application websites, they are created dynamically with JavaScript.
Such programs do not cause serious problems (of course, depending on what program you make), but one of their disadvantagtheiris that the user has to wait for a relatively long time on his first visit to your site. Why? Because the server first sends JavaScript files to the user, then the user’s browser executes these files, and only at this stage does it receive the page data from the database and server side. That’s why you see a loading sign or spinner in many SPA programs that tells the user to say to it. I mean “relatively long” by today’s fast cyber standards. Most of the time, this pause is not a problem, but maybe you want the pages to open quickly for the user.
Another problem with SPAs is search engine optimization (SEO). If your program is private (for example, the admin page on a website), search engines will never read this page, so the issue of SEO is not necessary for it at all, but if the primary goal of your website is to rise in Google and sell products. Or is it an exceptional service? It would help if you thought about SEO. Why? Because search engines initially see only a blank page with javascript but after a few,w moments, they get the content of the page, contention can cause your SEO to suffer. Also, in some rare cases, search engines cannot see the content of a SPA page at all, which is very bad in terms of SEO.
This is where server-side rendering helps us. If our pages are created on the server side, and then we see that ready page for the user, we don’t have any problems in terms of SEO. Also, there is no longer that initial pause, and the pages are displayed to the user instantly. It should be noted that React, by default, has capabilities that allow you to perform server-side rendering in React itself, but it is a b. Still, it cult to configure and set up, and in terms of capabilities, it is not as good as Next.
2. File-based Routing
The second and most prevalent feature of Next.js is File-based Routing. By default, no round router in the react library monitor and changes the browser’s URL, but we use packages like react-router. The work of such packages is to prevent the default behavior of the browser (sending HTTP requests) by changing the URL in the user’s browser and then displaying different content on the same page, so we somehow trick the user into thinking that our program is other pages other.
One of the disadvantages of these packages is that we have additional coding in them and have to combine them with React. There is also no connection between our React components and application routes other than what we explicitly specify in the code. Next.js solves this problem by introducing its routing system! In Next.js, we use files and folders to define a new route! In fact, in Next.js projects, we have a folder called pages, which should have the same name. Now inside this folder, you will have other folders and files, and the structure of these folders and files will be precisely the routing system of your website!
Such a system for route construction has several significant advantages. First, we don’t need to write any code to generate routes, but Next.js does. Secondly, due to writing less code, the readability of our codes has increased, and we prevent the project from becoming crowded. First, understanding the routing system is much easier in this case, because by looking at the pages folder, we can easily see the routes of our site. Naturally, this routing system has all the facilities of modern navigation systems: for example, you have access to nested routes, you have access to dynamic courses, you have access to dynamic parameters and so on.
3. ,Fullstack Capabilities
We know that react is built on Reacthe client side (user’s br), but what about the server side? It should be noted that Next.js does not magically write server-side codes for you, because such a thing is impossible. What Next.js does for us is to simplify the combination of react code with server-side code (the working logic of our site). If you use Next.js, it will be straightforward to bustraightforwardver-side API to work with your React application. With this account, the processes that need the server and API will be readily available to you. For example, the authentication process of users, receiving data, storing data and the like are all done quickly.
You might ask, can’t we do this with a normal react? You are reactionct. We can have a react project without Next.js and write the API separately. In both cases, we have to write the API ourselves. Still, in Next.js projects, in addition to the previous advantages, we also have the advantage that the server-side code (for example, Node.js) and the client-side code (React) are located in the same project. Have, so it will be much easier to manage.
Things we can make with NEXT.JS:
- MVP
- Jam stack websites
- Web portals
- Single web pages
- Static websites
- SaaS products
- E-commerce and wholesale websites
- Dashboards
- Web applications
- Interactive user interfaces
We hope you enjoyed reading this article.
