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Complete Next.js Guide

Next.js is a React framework that provides everything you need to build production-ready web applications.

What is Next.js?

Next.js is a full-stack React framework that enables you to build server-side rendered and statically generated web applications using React. It's built by Vercel and has become one of the most popular React frameworks.

Next.js handles many complex configurations out of the box, so you can focus on building your application!

Key Features

1. Server-Side Rendering (SSR)

Next.js can render your React components on the server, which improves SEO and initial page load times.

2. Static Site Generation (SSG)

Generate static HTML at build time for even better performance.

Choose SSG for content that doesn't change frequently, and SSR for dynamic content that needs to be up-to-date.

3. File-based Routing

Create pages by simply adding files to the pages directory (or app directory in Next.js 13+).

// pages/about.js or app/about/page.js
export default function About() {
  return <h1>About Page</h1>
}

4. API Routes

Build your backend API directly in your Next.js application.

// pages/api/users.js or app/api/users/route.js
export default function handler(req, res) {
  res.status(200).json({ users: [] })
}

Remember to never expose sensitive data in your API routes without proper authentication!

Getting Started

Install Next.js with the following command:

npx create-next-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
npm run dev

Your Next.js application will be running onhttp://localhost:3000

Best Practices

  1. Use TypeScript for better developer experience
  2. Optimize images with the built-in Image component
  3. Implement proper SEO with the Head component
  4. Use CSS Modules or Tailwind CSS for styling

Next.js 13+ introduced the new App Router which provides even more powerful features like layouts, nested routing, and React Server Components.

Happy coding with Next.js!