Getting Started with Next.js

Next.js has become one of the most popular React frameworks, and for good reason. It provides an excellent developer experience while offering powerful features out of the box.

Why Next.js?

Here are some reasons why Next.js is a great choice:

1. Server-Side Rendering (SSR) - Improve performance and SEO
2. Static Site Generation (SSG) - Pre-render pages at build time
3. API Routes - Build your API alongside your frontend
4. File-based Routing - No need to configure routes manually
5. Automatic Code Splitting - Load only what you need

Installation

Getting started is simple. Create a new Next.js app with:

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

Basic Concepts

Pages and Routing

With Next.js, every file in the app directory becomes a route. For example:

• app/page.tsx → /
• app/about/page.tsx → /about
• app/blog/[slug]/page.tsx → /blog/:slug

Server and Client Components

Next.js 14 uses React Server Components by default. If you need interactivity, add 'use client' at the top of your component:

'use client'

import { useState } from 'react'

export default function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0)
  
  return (
    <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>
      Count: {count}
    </button>
  )
}

Next Steps

Once you're comfortable with the basics, explore:

• Data fetching patterns
• Middleware
• Image optimization
• Font optimization
• Deployment on Vercel

Happy coding!