Next.js has quickly become one of the most popular frameworks on the web, powering many of the sites you visit daily.

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This guide is going to be a no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point introduction to Next.js. It’s one of the easiest frameworks to get started with, but mastering it is a whole different story.

The Origins of Next.js

Before diving into Next.js, let’s take a step back. React was created by a team of developers at Facebook. Another group of developers recognized that React lacked certain essential features that developers often needed. To bridge this gap, they built Next.js on top of React, adding these crucial features and enhancing the overall development experience.

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Installation

Let’s start from scratch.

First things first: you’ll need to install Next.js. Assuming you already have Node.js installed on your computer, here’s how you do it.

npx create-next-app@latest

Understanding the Project Structure

When you first open your Next.js project, you’ll see many files and folders. Don’t be overwhelmed. Focus primarily on the src and app folders, which are the core parts of your application.

Routing in Next.js: Next.js uses a file-system based router. The structure of your folders inside the app directory defines your app’s routes. For example, a folder named about inside the app directory will correspond to the /about route.

Key File Conventions in Next.js

Layout and Page Files

layout.jsx: Shared among multiple routes, the layout.jsx file defines the layout for pages within a specific folder. The root layout can include <html> and <body> tags, but inner layouts should use <div> or <section> tags.

page.jsx: Defines the unique UI for each route and makes routes publicly accessible.

Special Files

loading.js: Used to create a loading UI with React Suspense.

not-found.js: Customizes the 404 page

route.js: Handles API requests for a route.

Advanced Routing Features

Route Groups

Deeply nested routing structures can become messy. To keep things organized, use route groups. By placing folder names inside parentheses, you can omit those folders from the URL.

For example, the structure app/(accounts)/(dashboard)/billing/page.js will correspond to a cleaner URL like /billing.

Dynamic and Parallel Routes

Dynamic Routes: Use square brackets to create routes that handle multiple parameters, such as product or blog pages.

Parallel Routes: Allows conditional rendering of multiple pages within the same layout, useful for different user roles like /admin and /user.

Intercepting Routes

Intercepting routes let you modify default routing behavior, such as displaying a login modal instead of a full page while keeping the URL consistent.

Here is how it looks in your file system

Also there is a specific way to match these folders:

Middleware and Data Fetching

Middleware

Middleware is useful for tasks like authentication and authorization. To set up middleware in Next.js, create a middleware.ts file in the root of your project.

This can protect API routes or specific pages based on user identity.

Data Fetching

Next.js provides several options for data fetching:

Fetch API: For making HTTP requests.

Database Clients: Directly interact with databases.

Client-side Data Fetching Libraries: Tools like React Query.

Route Handlers: For custom data fetching logic.

Next.js also introduces Server Actions, asynchronous functions executed on the server to handle form submissions and data mutation

Example of server action:

Server Components vs. Client Components

Server Components

Server Components are rendered and cached on the server, handling data fetching and other server-side logic before sending HTML to the client. They are ideal for tasks that don’t require client-side interactivity.

Client Components

Client Components run in the browser and are used for interactive features like onClick events. To designate a component as a Client Component, add the “use client” directive at the top of your file.

Rendering Methods in Next.js

Server-Side Rendering (SSR)

Server-Side Rendering generates HTML on the server for each request.

This method is useful for dynamic content that changes based on user data or other factors.

Static Site Generation (SSG)

Static Site Generation pre-renders HTML during the build process, which is then served to the client. This method is ideal for content that doesn’t change often.

Dynamic Rendering

Dynamic Rendering generates HTML at request time for each user, suitable for personalized content.

Styling and Optimization

Tailwind CSS

When it comes to styling your Next.js app, Tailwind CSS is the go-to choice. It’s popular, flexible, and easy to integrate.

Image and Script Optimization

<Image> Component: Automatically optimizes images for performance.
<Script> Tag: Allows loading of third-party scripts efficiently.

Deployment

The simplest way to deploy your Next.js app is via Vercel, which offers seamless integration. For more control, consider deploying to an AWS EC2 instance.

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