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Ishrat
Ishrat

Posted on • Updated on • Originally published at Medium

Next.js vs. React: Which is the Best for Your Project

In this story, we are going to talk about React.js and Next.js to find out which one we should use in our projects to get the most benefit.

The purpose of this story is not to compare Next with React. Instead, it is meant to help you understand both so that you can decide whether or not to use Next in your projects.

Letā€™s first take a deeper look at React.js and Next.js separately.

So, let's get started!

React.js

React is a JavaScript library that is used to create user interfaces with the help of UI components. Components are small, independent, and reusable pieces of code that make a large application easy to manage. It is a free and open-source front-end JavaScript library that is maintained by Meta.

ReactJS is more popular than any other front-end development library; you should learn it if you want to be a front-end developer. There are many opportunities for developers who are proficient in ReactJS because of the rising demand for ReactJS developers.

I've written a story explaining ReactJS and its fundamental concepts to give beginners a quick overview.

Check it out here.

Next.js

Next.js is a JavaScript framework that is built by Vercel, Facebook, and Google and is based on Node.js and Babel.

This may seem strange since many React websites are built on Next.js. React websites are typically built on Next.js to simplify server-side rendering since Next.js offers all the functionality you need to create a website that works right out of the box. Next.js has comprehensive documentation. I believe that documentation is one of the reasons it has become more popular.


ReactJS vs NEXT.js

Let's take a look at two of them and then decide which one to use:

Workflow

Because React is a library, you need to create your own workflow. Next is essentially a workflow that became a framework because of its usefulness. Next is built on React and is intended to make development simpler and faster. In a React project, Next is often preferred because of its speed.

Performance

Next.js supports automatic server-side rendering. Websites built with Next.js are very fast because of the server-side rendering. React would require another library for server-side rendering since it only supports client-side rendering.

Check out the article below I wrote on React State Management Libraries: What is React State Management

Beginners Friendly

Next.js is a great option for developers who are just getting started with React.

It's saving developers the time and effort of setting up and customizing their toolset. With this, you donā€™t have to build applications from scratch. You can use the pre-built templates for different application categories or create your own from scratch.

To begin, simply enter the command npx create-next-app@latest into the terminal.

Note: This create-next-app only creates the front end of your application.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Websites built with Next.js are search engine-optimized. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) improves your websiteā€™s ranking on Google. It is more likely that a website built with Next.js will rank on Google than one built with React.

Community Support

Even though there are very few tutorials and support resources available for Next, it is true that the community and project members are very active in open-source projects. So, Next can almost compete with React when it comes to suppsupporting## No Next.js without React
You cannot use Next.js without React.js, just as you cannot use React without JavaScript.

Conclusion

If you need to utilize a lot of APIs for some functionality, then Next.js is the right choice for you. In the case of simple static websites, React would be sufficient.

Hopefully, this will help you understand Next.js and help you decide whether or not to use it.

For more useful content, follow me and share this with your friends and audience.

Happy learning!

You can also find me on Twitter, GitHub, Hashnode, and DEV.to.

Top comments (15)

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vulcanwm profile image
Medea

Great post!
Iā€™ve just started learning Next.js and React so it was really helpful

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ishratumar profile image
Ishrat

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and leaving a comment! I'm glad to hear that you found it helpful. If you have any questions or need further guidance, please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck with your learning!

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vulcanwm profile image
Medea

Thanks!

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codeofrelevancy profile image
Code of Relevancy

I will go with Next.js

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ishratumar profile image
Ishrat

Awesome! Next.js is a popular choice among web developers and can be a great tool for building modern web applications.

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codeofrelevancy profile image
Code of Relevancy

Yes šŸ‘

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727021 profile image
Andrew Schimelpfening

Nextjs vs react doesnā€™t really make sense as a comparison imo. A better comparison would be nextjs vs create react app (but really you should just avoid cra). Also, the ā€œBeginner Friendlyā€ section seems to imply that nextjs uses create react app, which it does not.

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tinoreyna1984 profile image
Tino Reyna

React could be necessary to understand the foundations of how a consistent web app is built using the React components. Because of this, React is flexible to do any web application, PWA, etc, with the help of third party libraries (React Router, Redux, etc). But if we are meant to do scalable applications, especially if we need these to be full stack and without requiring third party elements, Next.js is suitable for this purpose. Everyone who knows React will love to develop using Next because of his deep-low-configuration focus.

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amruthk99 profile image
Amruth Kuntamalla

Good post!
But, you did't mention any cons of using NextJs
Hope you cover that in your next post!

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gerthi profile image
gerthi

This is more confusing that it is helpful tbh.
And please don't use CRA in 2023, it'll never be a good idea.

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felipemimoura profile image
Felipe Moura

Nice post. We need even more understand about how is the best to project, no how we likes. Even project require technologies difference

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syaddadh1211 profile image
Syaddad Hilmi Bahalwan

Is it still necessary using JWT in NextJS ? thanks.

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joydeep-bhowmik profile image
Joydeep Bhowmik

The thing is that node js is not allowed in shared hosting....this brakes my heart

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sukrittt profile image
Sukrit Saha

I am about to get started with Next.js and now read this article. I'm excited.