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Nelson chege
Nelson chege

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Getting started with Nextjs

Next.js is a relatively new JavaScript framework for building applications with React.

Why Nextjs?

Nextjs generates static html pages which reduce the initial loading of reacts application and its super friendly for SEO purposes

In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at how Next.js works and how you can get started building your own web applications with this powerful framework.

How Next.js Works

Next.js is built on top of React and uses the React component model to define your application's pages and components. It handles all the complicated tasks of rendering your pages on the server, so you can focus on writing the code that defines your application's functionality.

Here's a high-level overview of how Next.js works:

  1. The Client Makes a Request: When a user visits your Next.js application, the client sends a request to the server for the requested page.

  2. The Server Renders the Page: Next.js will handle the request on the server and generate the HTML for the requested page. This HTML will include the content of your React components and any data that needs to be passed from the server to the client.

  3. The Server Sends the HTML to the Client: Once the HTML has been generated, Next.js will send it to the client, which will display the page in the user's browser.

  4. The Client Renders the Page with React: The client will then use React to render the page and handle any dynamic interactions. This makes it possible to build rich, interactive web applications with Next.js.

Nextjs offers four types of rendering:

1. Server-Side Rendering (SSR): This type of rendering generates the HTML for your pages on the server and then sends it to the client. SSR provides a better user experience as pages load faster, and it's ideal for dynamic web applications that require server-side processing.

2. Static Site Generation (SSG): This type of rendering generates a static version of your website that can be served without the need for a server. SSG is a great solution for websites that don't require any dynamic content or user interactions

3. Client-Side Rendering (CSR): This type of rendering generates the HTML for your pages on the client side using JavaScript. CSR is ideal for applications that require fast and smooth user interactions, but it can have negative effects on the initial loading time of the page.

4. Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR): ISR is a combination of Static Site Generation (SSG) and Server-Side Rendering (SSR), and it provides the benefits of both. With ISR, you can have pages that are pre-rendered as static HTML at build time, and then updated incrementally on the server as data changes. This provides the fast loading times of SSG, with the ability to handle dynamic data updates, just like in SSR.

In conclusion, Next.js is a powerful and versatile framework for building modern web applications. With its focus on server-side rendering, it provides a fast and efficient solution for building websites and web applications with dynamic content.

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