Using Next.js in web development

News from the world of frameworks! A new web development framework is rising in popularity, namely Next.js. Some of our developers already had a go with Next.js by using it in a project or comparing it with other frameworks such as Angular. Let's see what all the fuss is about. We’ll start by locating Next.js in the framework landscape.

Web? JavaScript

Our developers at Endare are familiar with a variety of programming languages and frameworks. For web development, our chosen language is naturally JavaScript. All modern web browsers can understand and process JavaScript. With an adoption rate of 98% (!) of all websites, this makes JavaScript the de facto standard for every website.

It is possible to build and write websites in plain JavaScript, even for websites on a large scale. However, it is quite time-consuming and very difficult to maintain this way. This is where frameworks and libraries come in handy. Tech enthusiasts may have heard of Angular, React, Vue.js, jQuery and others. At Endare, the main focus is on the three major frameworks: React, Angular and Vue.js. Other frameworks are also within our capabilities, but React is one of our preferred choices. Let's take a moment to talk about React.

React as a library in web development

React is a JavaScript library used to build UI components for the web. This can also be done for mobile devices by using React Native. React is loved by developers because it is lightweight, very powerful and quite easy to learn. At Endare, we regularly carry out projects using React. Just look at apps we have built for De Tijd and Amber, for example.

But not everything is included in React itself. This is a big advantage in terms of flexibility since it allows the developer to decide how to tackle things. However, there are also some drawbacks. Things like routing, server-side rendering and image optimisations need to be added manually. So the developer needs to add these things during the early stages of the project. Some of them are also quite difficult and time-consuming to set up and maintain, such as server-side rendering. However, there is a solution to this. Enter Next.js.

Next.js framework

Next.js is a framework built on top of React. It has a lot of great tools built in that extend the React library. Things like server-side rendering (which is great for SEO, by the way), are already set up. Images are automatically optimised so that your website loads almost immediately after opening. It takes just a few minutes to start a Next.js project. That means you have more time left to develop features for your project! As a result, Next.js is a very popular choice for web development.

Features like server-side rendering can be very beneficial for your website in terms of (for example, but not limited to) SEO and security. Much of the page logic happens on the server, so you have more control over that. Since your visitors will see a fully rendered page, web crawlers will be happier than ever!

Looking forward to what’s Next(.js)

At Endare, we value constant learning. Some of our developers have already experimented with this framework and shared their experience and knowledge with the team. Amber's promo website was not only developed in React, but we also used Next.js! So be sure to take a look!

Next.js is a real contender when it comes to building fast, secure and SEO-optimised websites and web applications.