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What is Next.js? A Beginner-Friendly Guide to React’s Most Popular Framework

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    What is Next.js? A Beginner-Friendly Guide

    If you’ve worked with React.js, you’ve probably heard of Next.js, one of the most popular frameworks built on top of React. Next.js makes it easier to build scalable, SEO-friendly, and high-performance web applications without manually handling complex configurations.

    In this post, we’ll quickly explain what Next.js is, why it matters, and how it compares to plain React.

    What is Next.js?

    Next.js is an open-source React framework that provides:

    • File-based routing (no need for React Router)
    • Server-Side Rendering (SSR) and Static Site Generation (SSG)
    • API routes (backend endpoints inside your frontend project)
    • Image optimization and performance out of the box
    • Internationalization (i18n) support
    • Great developer experience with hot reloading and TypeScript support

    Why use Next.js instead of React?

    React on its own is just a UI library. You still need to set up routing, SSR, bundling, and optimization tools. Next.js takes care of all that for you, so you can focus on building features instead of configuring build tools.

    Here’s a quick breakdown:

    • SEO and Performance → SSR and SSG make pages load faster and rank better on Google
    • Developer Experience → conventions and defaults reduce boilerplate
    • Full-Stack Capabilities → build both frontend and backend logic in the same project
    • Scalability → used by big companies like Netflix, TikTok, and Twitch

    When should you use Next.js?

    Choose Next.js if:

    • You need SEO-friendly pages (blogs, e-commerce, dashboards, etc.)
    • You want to build a full-stack app without creating a separate backend
    • You value performance, image optimization, and fast builds
    • You plan to support multilingual content (Next.js has i18n built-in)

    Stick with plain React if:

    • You’re building a simple single-page app with no SEO concerns
    • You don’t need SSR or backend routes
    • You want maximum flexibility with minimal defaults

    You can see Next.js in action on my project Dashfolio Movies, a multilingual movie discovery platform with AI-powered recommendations.

    Conclusion

    Next.js is the go-to framework for React developers who want to build production-ready applications with better performance, SEO, and scalability. If you already know React, learning Next.js will take your projects to the next level 🚀.