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Anna Baker
Anna Baker

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How React and NextJS can power your next web project

I have decided to go with React and NextJS and see how they make the perfect combination. In the following article, I'll go over what makes React and NextJS good choices, as well as the advantages they offer. 
Walk with me while we stroll down the path of knowledge and reach a point of good decision. And yes, I'm not afraid of getting some grease on my elbows.

React and NextJS: A perfect pair for your next web project

React is a popular JavaScript library that is used for building user interfaces. It is declarative, efficient, and flexible. NextJS is a React framework that makes it easy to create server side rendering and static web applications. When used together, these two frameworks can create web applications that are fast, responsive, and scalable.

Some of the benefits of using React and NextJS together include:

1. Server side rendering: Server side rendering (SSR) is a technique that can be used to improve the performance of web applications. With SSR, the HTML and CSS for a web page are rendered on the server before the page is sent to the client. This allows the browser to display the page content immediately, without having to wait for the JavaScript to be downloaded and executed.
2. Static site generation: Static site generation (SSG) is a technique that can be used to create websites that are fast, secure, and easy to deploy. With SSG, the entire website is generated at build time, rather than dynamically on the server. This means that the website can be deployed to a CDN or static hosting service such as Amazon S3 or Netlify without needing a server or database.
3. Code splitting: Code splitting is a technique that can be used to improve the performance of web applications by loading only the code that is needed for each page. With code splitting, the application code is divided into multiple bundles that can be loaded on demand as needed by the user. This reduces the amount of code that needs to be downloaded and executed by the browser, which can improve performance.
4. Prefetching: Prefetching is a technique that can be used to improve the performance of web applications by loading resources in advance. With prefetching, resources such as images or scripts are downloaded before they are needed by the browser. This means that they are available immediately when they are needed, which can improve performance.
5. Fast refresh: Fast refresh is a feature of React that allows changes to be made to components without having to reload the entire page. This can be very useful when developing web applications, as it means that you don't have to constantly refresh your browser after making changes to your code.
6. Hot reloading: Hot reloading is a feature of React that allows changes to be made to components without losing state information. This can be very useful when developing web applications, as it means that you don't have to restart your application after making changes to your code.
7. NextJS provides an intuitive API: NextJS provides an intuitive API which makes it easy to get started with server side rendering and static site generation. The API provides methods for loading data from an external API or database, creating pages and routes, and managing assets such as images and files. There's also built in support for TypeScript and Babel which makes it easy to use modern JavaScript features such as JSX and async/await.

Overall, NextJS provides everything you need to get started with building modern web applications.
And remember you can always reference the documentation if you get stuck. So let's get started!

Starting with NextJS

Creating an app using NextJS is a simple process. First, you have to install npx. Then, go to your desired project location and type npx create-next-app my-app. This will create a directory of your new Next.js app with the name my-app. Finally, you need to open the index.js file that is inside the directory named pages and start coding your website!

React and NextJS are two powerful tools that can help you build your next web project. With a little bit of planning and some elbow grease, you can create something amazing!

Top comments (19)

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charlie007star profile image
Sujin S R

Yeah, I love Next more than any other frontend framework

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annabaker profile image
Anna Baker

I definitely understand where you're coming from!

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anshumanxda profile image
Anshuman Pathak

where?

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annabaker profile image
Anna Baker

Next.js is an amazing framework that makes it super easy to build performant, server-side rendered React apps. Not to mention, the documentation is top-notch!

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eshimischi profile image
eshimischi

Likewise with Vue/NuxtJS

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vishwastyagi profile image
Vishwas Tyagi

I'm currently working with React and planning to learn Next.js soon.

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annabaker profile image
Anna Baker

I'm glad to hear that :)

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joelbonetr profile image
JoelBonetR 🥇

+1 here! Next JS is quite flexible and straightforward to use 😁

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annabaker profile image
Anna Baker

It's definitely a great framework to use :)

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cuongnguyen11 profile image
cuongnguyen11

there is only one thing I do not like about Next is css support, I am not a fan of css module :D

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raibtoffoletto profile image
Raí B. Toffoletto

I usually go for ChakraUI or MUI components and NextJS has done a great job lately supporting emotion. But I agree CSS could have a better out of the box support, they could bundle at least SASS out of the box.

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youssefmic profile image
Youssef-mic

Although I recommended NextJS but we broke apart 💔. I am switching to Gin due to api problems 😢

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pavelee profile image
Paweł Ciosek

Agree, a great framework!

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annabaker profile image
Anna Baker

absolutely!

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waynium profile image
Waynium

I love this breakdown, as a beginner in React this has some clarity in it

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milamila profile image
Mila

Hey @annabaker what types of projects are you building? Are they more product based?

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annabaker profile image
Anna Baker

Hey,
Currently I am building a website using NextJS. It's mostly for learning purposes.

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shshank profile image
Shshank

Vue/NuxtJs or react/nextjs both are good options. I do agree nextjs is pretty awesome when it comes to documentation.

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annabaker profile image
Anna Baker

I definitely agree!