Next.js Introduction Last Updated : 21 Mar, 2025 Comments Improve Suggest changes Like Article Like Report Next.js is a powerful and flexible React framework that has quickly become popular among developers for building server-side rendered and static web applications. Created by Vercel, Next.js simplifies the process of developing modern web applications with its robust feature set. In this article, we’ll explore the key concepts of Next.js, its features, and how to get started.What is Next.js?Next.js is a React-based framework designed to enhance the development of web applications by providing a variety of built-in features such as server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), and API routes. It aims to simplify the complex aspects of web development, allowing developers to focus on building their applications rather than dealing with configuration and setup. Next.js is fast and works well with other tools and libraries.History of Next.jsNext.js was created by Vercel (formerly ZEIT) to simplify the development of React applications with server-side rendering. The framework quickly gained popularity due to its performance optimizations and ease of use. The current stable version of Next.js is 15.2.3, released on March 19, 2025. The framework continues to evolve, introducing new features with each update.How Does Next.js Work?Next.js operates by enabling both server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG), allowing developers to choose the best rendering method for their application’s needs:SSR generates HTML on the server for each request, improving performance and SEO.SSG pre-renders HTML at build time, delivering faster load times and better scalability.Both methods improve performance and SEO by ensuring fast, optimized content delivery.Features of Next.jsServer-Side Rendering (SSR): Next.js allows developers to pre-render pages on the server at request time, providing better performance and SEO compared to traditional client-side rendering.Static Site Generation (SSG): Next.js offers static site generation for pages that don’t change frequently. This process involves generating HTML pages at build time, which are then served to users directly from a CDN.API Routes: Next.js provides a simple way to create API endpoints within your application, eliminating the need for a separate backend server.File-Based Routing: Next.js uses a file-based routing system where routes are created by simply adding files and folders to the pages directory. This makes it easy to organize and manage your application’s structure.Automatic Code Splitting: Next.js automatically splits your code into smaller chunks, ensuring that only the necessary JavaScript is loaded for each page.Hot Module Replacement (HMR): HMR allows developers to see changes in real-time without needing to refresh the browser, significantly speeding up the development process.Built-In CSS and Sass Support: Next.js includes support for importing CSS and Sass files directly into your components, making it easy to style your application without additional configuration.Image Optimization: Next.js 15 introduced built-in Image Optimization, which automatically serves images in the best format and size, improving performance across devices.Streaming Metadata (Next.js 15): Streaming Metadata allows asynchronous metadata fetching without blocking page rendering or client-side transitions, improving the performance of your application.Turbopack Performance Enhancements (Next.js 15): The Turbopack bundler has been optimized for faster compile times and reduced memory usage, enabling a better development experience.Steps To Create Next.js ApplicationStep 1: Install Node in Your SystemBefore using Next.js, you need to have Node.js installed. You can download and install Node.js from the official Node.js website.Step 2: Initialize the Next.js ProjectNow create a folder for your project on the desktop navigate to the folder through your code editor and run the following command on the terminal.npx create-next-app@latest #ORyarn create next-app#ORpnpm create next-appStep 3: Configure your next.js appWrite the project name (default my-app) and choose other configuration optionsNext.js InstallationFolder StructureFolder StructureNow, let us understand with the help of the example JavaScript // pages/index.js export default function Home() { return ( <div> <h1>Hello, World!</h1> </div> ); } OutputNext.js IntroductionNext.js LifecycleEvery Next.js application has a lifecycle that includes various stages, such as initialization, rendering, and updating. Understanding these phases helps manage state, perform side effects, and optimize components effectively.InitializationThis stage involves setting up the initial state and configuring the application. This is done during the initial load of the application.Rendering PhasegetInitialProps / getServerSideProps / getStaticProps: These methods fetch data before rendering the page.render(): This method returns the JSX representation of the component. It’s called during initial rendering and subsequent updates.Updating PhasegetStaticPaths: Used for dynamic routes to determine which paths should be pre-rendered at build time.useEffect / useLayoutEffect: React hooks used for managing side effects in functional components.Unmounting Phasecleanup effects: Clean up resources like event listeners or timers when components are unmounted. Comment More infoAdvertise with us Next Article Getting Started with Next JS D durgeshkumar30508 Follow Improve Article Tags : JavaScript Web Technologies ReactJS Next.js Similar Reads Next.js Tutorial Next.js is a popular React framework that extends React's capabilities by providing powerful tools for server-side rendering, static site generation, and full-stack development. It is widely used to build SEO-friendly, high-performance web applications easily.Built on React for easy development of f 6 min read Next js basicsNext.js IntroductionNext.js is a powerful and flexible React framework that has quickly become popular among developers for building server-side rendered and static web applications. Created by Vercel, Next.js simplifies the process of developing modern web applications with its robust feature set. In this article, we’ 5 min read Getting Started with Next JSNextJS is an open-source React framework for building full-stack web applications ( created and maintained by Vercel ). You can use React Components to build user interfaces, and NextJS for additional features and optimizations. It is built on top of Server Components, which allows you to render ser 9 min read Next.js InstallationNext.js is a popular React framework that enables server-side rendering and static site generation. It is easy to learn if you have prior knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and ReactJS. Installing Next.js involves setting up Node.js and npm, creating a new Next.js project using npx create-next-appa 4 min read NextJS 14 Folder StructureNext.js, a powerful React framework developed by Vercel, continues to evolve, bringing new features and improvements with each release. Version 14 of Next.js introduces enhancements to the folder structure, making it more efficient for developers to organize their projects. In this article, we’ll ex 4 min read Next.js Create Next AppIn Next.js, the create next app command is used to automatically initialize a new NextJS project with the default configuration, providing a streamlined way to build applications efficiently and quickly.System Requirements:Node.js 12.22.0 or laterNPM 6.14.4 or later OR Yarn 1.22.10 or latermacOS, Wi 3 min read Deploying your Next.js AppDeploying a Next.js app involves taking your application from your local development environment to a production-ready state where it can be accessed by users over the internet. Next.js is a popular React framework that enables server-side rendering, static site generation, and client-side rendering 3 min read Next js RoutingNext.js RoutingNext.js is a powerful framework built on top of React that simplifies server-side rendering, static site generation, and routing. In this article, we'll learn about the fundamentals of Next.js routing, explore dynamic and nested routes, and see how to handle custom routes and API routes.Table of Con 6 min read Next.js Nested RoutesNext.js is a popular React framework that enables server-side rendering and static site generation. One of the key features that enhance the development experience in Next.js is its routing system.While Next.js provides a file-based routing mechanism, implementing nested routes requires some additio 4 min read Next.js PagesThe Next.js Pages are the components used to define routes in the next application. 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As per the documentation, NextJS is a React framework that gives you the building blocks to creat 6 min read Next JS Image Optimization: Best Practices for Faster LoadingLarge and unoptimized images can impact a website's performance on loading time. Optimizing images is necessary to improve the performance of the website. Next.js provides built-in support for image optimization to automate the process, providing a balance between image quality and loading speed. Pr 4 min read Next.js Functions : generateMetadataNextJS is a React framework that is used to build full-stack web applications. It is used both for front-end as well and back-end. It simplifies React development with powerful features. One of its features is generateMetadata. In this article, we will learn about the generateMetadata function with 3 min read Lazy Loading in Next.jsLazy loading in NextJS is a technique used to improve the performance and loading times of web applications built with the NextJS framework. With lazy loading, components or modules are loaded only when they are needed, rather than upfront when the page is initially rendered. This means that resourc 4 min read How to Add Google Analytics to a Next.js Application?Adding Google Analytics to a Next.js application allows you to track and analyze your website's traffic and user actions. This can provide valuable insights into how users interact with your site, helping you make informed decisions to improve user experience and drive business goals. This article h 3 min read Next.js Static File ServingNext.js allows you to serve static files from the public directory, making them accessible at the root URL. This feature enables easy inclusion of assets like images, fonts, and static HTML files, enhancing your application's functionality and user experience.Static filesAll those files which need t 2 min read Next js ConfiguringNext.js TypeScriptNextJS is a powerful and popular JavaScript framework that is used for building server-rendered React applications. . It provides a development environment with built-in support for TypeScript, as well as a set of features that make it easy to build and deploy web applications. It was developed by Z 4 min read Next.js ESLintESLint is a widely-used tool for identifying and fixing problems in JavaScript code. In Next.js projects, integrating ESLint helps ensure code quality and consistency by enforcing coding standards and catching errors early in the development process.In this article, we'll explore how to set up ESLin 3 min read Next.js Environment VariablesEnvironment variables are a fundamental aspect of modern web development, allowing developers to configure applications based on the environment they are running in (development, testing, production, etc.). In Next.js, environment variables provide a flexible and secure way to manage configuration s 3 min read MDX in Next JSMDX is a lightweight markup language used to format text. It allows you to write using plain text syntax and convert it to structurally valid HTML. It's commonly used for writing content on websites and blogs. In this article we will see more about MDX in Next JSWhat is MDX?MDX stands for Multidimen 4 min read Next.js src DirectoryThe NextJS src directory is a project structure that is optional but is widely recommended. It helps to organize the project in a well-defined structure.Organizing a Next.js project with a well-planned folder structure is important for readability, scalability, and maintainability. A clear structure 4 min read Draft Mode Next.jsDraft Mode in Next.js enables content previewing and editing directly within your application, allowing content creators to view changes before publishing. This feature is especially useful for content management systems or any app where content updates need to be reviewed in real-time. We will expl 5 min read Next.js Security HeadersNext.js security headers help protect your application from common web vulnerabilities by enforcing security policies at the HTTP level. By configuring these headers, you enhance your app's security and ensure safer interactions for your users.In this article, we’ll learn about security headers, the 6 min read Unit Testing in Next JS: Ensuring Code Quality in Your Project Unit testing in Next.js ensures that individual components and functions work as expected. It improves code reliability, helps catch bugs early, and facilitates easier maintenance and refactoring by verifying the correctness of isolated units of code. Unit testing is an essential aspect of software 4 min read Like