What is Next.js?
Next.js is a framework created by Vercel. It is open-source based on Node.js and Babel and integrates with React for developing single-page apps. This makes server-side rendering very easy.
Next allows you to build a React app that uses server-side rendering to store the content in advance on the server. That way, visitors and search bots interact with the fully pre-rendered HTML page and a fully interactive website or app.
This approach ensures that visitors can see an interactive site in less than three seconds.
Next.js’s built-in configurations and styling solutions simplify development and provide you with templates and website starters to kickstart your web application.
But if you’re feeling adventurous, Next.js gives you the freedom to get under the hood and tweak the configuration to get the most performance out of your app. However, you might not even need to because what you get out of the box is already pretty good.
Here’s a diagram that shows how Nex.js works with React and other tools to render a fully functional web app in seconds.
What is React?
Created by Facebook in 2011 and then open-sourced in 2013, React is a declarative, efficient, and flexible JavaScript library for building interactive user interfaces that are influenced by XHP, an HTML component library for PHP.
React is commonly used to develop web apps that require constant data changes on their UIs. Think of Facebook and Instagram, where you scroll to see new posts and content while most page sections remain the same.
A traditional approach would require the entire website (or app) to reload every time you click on something, which is time-consuming and frustrating for visitors.
React avoids reprocessing every line of code by using pieces of UI called components.
Next.js vs React: Key Differences
So, what are the key differences between Next.js and React? Here are a few:
Purpose: Next.js is a framework that is built on top of React, whereas React is a library for building user interfaces. This means that Next.js provides a set of tools and conventions that make it easy to build and deploy web applications, whereas React is primarily focused on the rendering of UI elements.
Server-Rendering: One of the key features of Next.js is that it is designed to make it easy to build server-rendered applications. This means that Next.js will automatically render your application on the server and send the HTML to the client, which can improve the performance and SEO of your application. React, on the other hand, is primarily focused on client-side rendering, although it can be used to build server-rendered applications as well.
Routing: Next.js includes built-in support for routing, which means that you can easily define the different pages and routes in your application. React, on the other hand, does not include built-in routing support and you will need to use a separate library, such as react-router, to add routing to your application.
Static Generation: Next.js also includes built-in support for static generation, which means that you can pre-render your application and deploy it as a set of static HTML files. This can be useful for improving the performance of your application and making it easier to deploy. React does not include built-in support for static generation, although you can use tools like Gatsby to build static sites using React.
Use React if…
- You need highly dynamic routing
- You’re already familiar with JSX
- You need offline support
Use Next.js if…
- You need an all-inclusive framework
- You require backend API endpoints
- You need server-side rendering
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