What is Next.js?
Next.js is an open-source React front-end development web framework created by Vercel that allows for server-side rendering and static site generation. It enables developers to build production-ready React applications with features like server-side rendering, hybrid static & server-side rendering, TypeScript support, smart bundling, route pre-fetching and more.
Some key capabilities and benefits of Next.js include:
- Server-Side Rendering - Next.js renders HTML on the server-side, so pages load faster and allow better SEO versus client-side only React apps
- Hybrid Rendering - Allows for both static site generation (SSR) at build time along with server-side rendering automatically
- Automatic Code Splitting - Next.js automatically optimizes your app for the best performance by splitting code so users only load what's needed
- Route Prefetching - Next.js anticipates what routes/views users will visit next and prefetches resources in the background for faster transitions
- Built-In CSS Support - Supports CSS and Sass for styling without needing a separate webpack config
- API Routes - Build backend functions and APIs right in a Next.js app using serverless functions
- Easy Deployment - Next.js is flexible for deploying as a serverless app, Docker container, Node.js app on a traditional host, and more
In summary, Next.js aims to provide an optimal developer experience and production-ready web framework for React applications with SSR and static site generation capabilities out of the box.