NextJS advantages: When it’s the best framework for your project

Next.js has quickly become one of the most popular frameworks for React, and there are good reasons for that. Imagine a framework that helps you create web apps that load almost instantly, rank high on Google, and provide an amazing user experience, all while making your web development process easier. That's what Next.js does.

NextJS advantages make web applications faster and more efficient by combining the best parts of server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), and a new method called incremental static regeneration (ISR) into one complete system.

For developers, this means less waiting around and more getting things done. It leads to more engagement, better SEO, and a strong competitive advantage for businesses. In the sections that follow, we will look at the main benefits of Next.js, discuss how it can be used, and compare it to other options.

Key NextJS advantages

NextJS features include fast performance, SEO optimization, and hybrid rendering, making it a top choice for modern React apps and websites.

One of the most important NextJS advantages: Flexible rendering options

One of the best things about Next.js is its flexible rendering options, which help make your application fast and dynamic. Let’s take a look at the three main rendering methods:

Server-side rendering (SSR): With SSR, the server creates the full HTML for a page every time a user requests it. This means users can see a complete page almost right away. It’s great for applications where the content changes often or needs to be personalized for different users.
Static site generation (SSG): SSG pre-builds pages when the site is created. This means the HTML is fixed and can be delivered quickly from a Content Delivery Network (CDN), making load times super fast. SSG works well for sites that don’t change often, like blogs or marketing pages.
Incremental static regeneration (ISR): ISR builds on static generation by allowing you to update static pages even after the site is built. This mix of static and dynamic content keeps your information up-to-date without slowing down performance.

In practice, you can pick the best rendering method for each page or mix them together in the same project. This flexibility helps you improve both the user experience and the efficiency of your application.

Learn more: SSR vs SSG.

SEO-friendliness and performance

Pre-rendering is great for SEO. By creating complete HTML on the server or at build time, Next.js makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site. This can help improve your rankings and bring in more organic traffic.

Next.js also has several features for search engine optimization that boost performance:

Automatic code splitting: This means that only the JavaScript needed for the current page is loaded, which helps the site run faster.
Optimized image handling: The next/image component automatically improves images by managing lazy loading, resizing, and changing formats.
Fast refresh and hot module replacement: This gives you quick feedback while you’re developing, allowing you to make changes without losing the state of your application.

These features help ensure that your site not only ranks well in search results but also provides a smooth and responsive experience for your users.

Full-stack capabilities

One impressive feature of Next.js is that it can handle both the front-end and back-end of a project all in one place. Usually, when using traditional front-end frameworks, you have to set up a separate back-end service. Next.js makes this easier by offering built-in API routes. With just a few lines of code, you can create a custom endpoint that manages everything from form submissions to database queries. This setup helps you build, deploy, and manage your application more efficiently.

Developer experience

Next.js is designed with developers in mind. It provides:

TypeScript support: You can write code that is safer and less likely to have bugs right from the beginning.
Fast refresh: You can see changes immediately without having to reload the entire page.
Rich ecosystem: There is a strong community and many plugins available that can add more features to Next.js.

Having a great developer experience means you spend less time setting things up and fixing issues, and more time creating new features. This can really speed up how quickly you develop your projects.

When should you use Next.js?

While Next.js is a powerful tool, it isn't the right choice for every project. Let's explore the scenarios where Next.js excels:

For SEO-heavy websites

Next.js is great for SEO because it can pre-render pages using Server-Side Rendering (SSR) or Static Site Generation (SSG). When search engines look at a fully loaded HTML page, they can understand your content better. This makes Next.js ideal for blogs, business websites, or news sites that depend on getting visitors from search engines.

import { GetServerSideProps } from 'next';

export const getServerSideProps: GetServerSideProps = async () => {
   // Fetch data needed for SEO purposes
   const data = await fetchDataFromAPI();
   return { props: { data } };
};

export default function Home({ data }) {
   return (
      <div>
         <h1>SEO-Optimized Home Page</h1>
         <p>{data.content}</p>
      </div>
   );
};

For E-Commerce sites

When you’re working on online shopping websites, it’s really important to have pages that load quickly and can be updated easily. Next.js helps with this by allowing you to update product information right away using API routes and also gives you fast static pages for your catalog. This combination makes it easier for users to shop and keeps the content fresh. For example, using an API route for product details lets you connect it to your product pages, so your catalog always shows the most up-to-date information.

import type { NextApiRequest, NextApiResponse } from 'next';

export default async function handler(req: NextApiRequest, res: NextApiResponse) {
  const products = await getProductsFromDB();
  res.status(200).json(products);
}

For Web applications

Interactive web applications, such as dashboards or software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, can take advantage of Next.js mixed approach. This means they can have lively, interactive features on the user side while also doing strong processing on the server side. As a result, users get a highly engaging interface, and the initial page loads quickly and efficiently. An example is using API routes for real-time data.

// Import the useSWR hook for data fetching and caching
import useSWR from 'swr';
// Define a fetcher function that fetches data from a given URL and converts the response to JSON
const fetcher = (url: string) => fetch(url).then(res => res.json());

export default function Dashboard() {
  // Use the useSWR hook to fetch data from the '/api/dashboard' endpoint
  // SWR handles caching, revalidation, focus tracking, and more
  const { data, error } = useSWR('/api/dashboard', fetcher);
  
  // If there is an error during data fetching, display an error message
  if (error) return <div>Error loading dashboard.</div>;
  
  // While the data is being fetched, display a loading message
  if (!data) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  // Once data is fetched successfully, render the dashboard with the fetched data
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Dashboard</h1>
      <p>Data: {JSON.stringify(data)}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

For hybrid static & dynamic content

Next.js is great at mixing static and dynamic content. Its Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) feature allows you to make static pages that can be updated automatically without having to rebuild the whole website. This makes it ideal for blogs or content management systems. With this method, your site can provide content quickly while still keeping it current.

import { GetStaticProps, GetStaticPaths } from 'next';

export const getStaticPaths: GetStaticPaths = async () => {
  const paths = await fetchAllBlogSlugs();
  return { paths, fallback: 'blocking' };
};

export const getStaticProps: GetStaticProps = async ({ params }) => {
  const post = await fetchBlogPost(params.slug);
  return { props: { post }, revalidate: 60 }; // Regenerate the page at most once per minute
};

export default function BlogPost({ post }) {
  return (
    <article>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      <div>{post.content}</div>
    </article>
  );
}

For performance-driven projects

When performance is really important, Next.js provides key features like automatic code splitting, fast refresh, and improved image handling. These tools help busy websites stay responsive and load quickly. Next.js also has built-in components that make sure your images look good and load well on all devices.

import Image from 'next/image';

export default function Gallery() {
  return (
    <div className="grid grid-cols-3 gap-4">
      <Image src="/image1.jpg" width={400} height={300} alt="Image 1" />
      <Image src="/image2.jpg" width={400} height={300} alt="Image 2" />
      <Image src="/image3.jpg" width={400} height={300} alt="Image 3" />
    </div>
  );
}

To show how Next.js works, let's look at BCMS starters. These projects combine Next.js with a headless CMS, giving a strong base for websites full of content. Next.js takes care of the front-end, while BCMS manages the content, allowing developers to quickly create strong and scalable sites.

import { bcms } from "@/bcms";
import { BlogEntry } from "../../bcms/types/ts";
import { BCMSContentManager, BCMSImage } from "@thebcms/components-react";

export default async function Home() {
  const blogs = (await bcms.entry.getAll("blog")) as BlogEntry[];

  return (
    <main>
      <div className="flex flex-col gap-4">
        {blogs.map((blog, blogIdx) => {
          if (!blog.meta.en || !blog.content.en) {
            return "";
          }
          return (
            <div key={blogIdx} className="flex flex-col gap-8">
              <h1 className="mb-10 text-3xl">{blog.meta.en.title}</h1>
              <BCMSImage className="w-full h-60 object-cover"
                media={blog.meta.en.cover_image}
                clientConfig={bcms.getConfig()}
              />
              <BCMSContentManager items={blog.content.en} />
            </div>
          );
        })}
      </div>
    </main>
  );
}

When Next.js might not be the best choice

Next.js is a strong and flexible framework, but there are some situations where it might not be the best choice:

Content-only static sites: If your project mainly focuses on content and doesn’t need much interaction, Gatsby could be a better choice. Gatsby is great at creating static websites and has a wide range of plugins that make it easier to build sites packed with content, especially if you need to manage data using GraphQL.
Ultra-lightweight, minimalist applications: For projects where every bit of data matters and you want to keep JavaScript usage low, Astro might be a good option. Astro is designed to deliver mostly static HTML by default, loading JavaScript only when it’s needed. This can be a big plus for simple sites that need to load quickly.
Specialized use cases: Some projects may need a different approach to how they fetch data during building and while running. Gatsby’s way of handling data at build time can be useful for sites that don’t change often. On the other hand, Next.js might have more features than you need if you just want a plain static site. Similarly, Astro’s low runtime demands could be better for projects that focus more on speed than interactivity.

In the end, the best choice depends on what your project needs. Next.js is great for projects that need both interactive features and strong performance. However, if you're working on a site that is mostly static, focused on content, or very simple, Gatsby or Astro might be better options for you.

Conclusion: BCMS is the best CMS for NextJS

In conclusion, Next.js provides great performance with its flexible rendering options, features that help with SEO, and full-stack abilities, all while making it easy for developers to use. Whether you're creating dynamic web apps, sites focused on SEO, or mixed content models, Next.js is a reliable option.

If you want to improve your projects, try using Next.js and think about combining it with BCMS to make content management easier and speed up your development process.

This seamless integration will improve web development. Don't trust me? What if I told you can build Next.js Headless CMS in One Line?

Happy coding!