Getting Started with Next.js

Next.js has become one of the most popular frameworks for building React applications. In this post, I'll walk you through why I chose it for this blog and how you can get started.

Why Next.js?

Next.js offers several advantages that make it an excellent choice for web development:

  1. Server-Side Rendering (SSR) - Better SEO and performance
  2. Static Site Generation (SSG) - Perfect for blogs and portfolios
  3. File-based routing - Simple and intuitive routing system
  4. API routes - Build your backend without a separate server

Setting Up Your First Project

Getting started is as simple as running a single command:

npx create-next-app@latest my-blog

This will prompt you with a few questions about your preferred configuration. For this blog, I chose:

  • TypeScript
  • Tailwind CSS
  • App Router

Key Concepts

File-Based Routing

In Next.js 13+, you create routes by adding files to the app directory:

app/
ā”œā”€ā”€ page.tsx        # Homepage (/)
ā”œā”€ā”€ blog/
ā”‚   ā”œā”€ā”€ page.tsx   # Blog listing (/blog)
ā”‚   ā””ā”€ā”€ [slug]/
ā”‚       ā””ā”€ā”€ page.tsx  # Dynamic blog posts (/blog/my-post)

Static Export

For deployment to GitHub Pages, you can configure Next.js to export static files:

// next.config.js
module.exports = {
  output: 'export',
}

This generates pure HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files that can be hosted anywhere.

Conclusion

Next.js provides an excellent developer experience while producing highly performant applications. Whether you're building a simple blog or a complex web application, it's worth considering for your next project.