Frontend development; the best of both worlds (React.js and Next.js)

Hello friend and friends! Your friendly frontend developer here 😊. Let’s talk about some frontend technologies (React.js VS Next.js).

If you’re getting into the world of frontend development or you’re already into this world, you’ve probably heard of Next.js and React.js. These two are like Batman and Superman, Ronaldo and Messi of the web development universe. In most cases the issue is which one should you choose for your project? Let’s break it down and see what makes each of them so cool.

React.js; What’s that?

Let’s start with React.js, often simply called “React”, is a JavaScript library created by Facebook (Meta) for building user interfaces using reusable UI components. These reusable components are like perfectly molded blocks or bricks which can be used to build any kind of building structure.

Let’s talk about some features of React that makes it standout;

1. Component-Based: with React, everything on a UI can be seen as a component. which is why It is all about creating reusable components and using them together. Example; if your UI has lots of buttons on it, you can simple create one button component and reuse it throughout your website.
2. Virtual Dom: React uses a virtual dom to make updates and changes to only parts of the page where a change was made. This helps reduce load time and makes your application/website really fast.
3. Ecosystem: React has a very large ecosystem with tons of libraries and tools available to use, making development a flow easily. Whatever you need, there’s probably a React library for it, Lol.

Next.js; Let’s talk about it

Now, you may be thinking Next.js is probably entirely different from React. If that’s a thought in your head, then I’m glad you made it to this article.😊

Next.js is a framework built on top of React Just like the image above ☝️ shows the Next.js logo on top of a fainted React logo. Next.js is developed by Vercel and comes with capabilities of React and some very amazing features that just makes life easier when developing an application. Features like server-side rendering which enhances performance and SEO.

Let’s talk about some of these features of Next.js;

1. Server-Side Rendering (SSR): We talked about this feature earlier. It renders pages on the server, thereby improving load times which helps the performance of the application and SEO.
2. File-Based Routing: Create routes based on your file structure, simplifying navigation and routing. Routes are created just by adding a file in the ‘pages’ directory.
3. Static Site Generation (SSG): Generates static pages at build time, perfect for content-heavy sites, blogs, and/or documentation sites.

Up next, let’s make some comparison between both React.js and Next.js

Comparison Between React.js and Next.js

These comparison will be based on some key variables. variables like; SEO — how they support or not support SEO, Performance — how they perform in terms of speed and smoothness, Flexibility — can it be manipulated easily, Ease of Learning — how easy or not so easy it is to learn.. Let’s get into it 🚀

Ease of Learning

• React.js: It is more straightforward which make it easier for beginners to understand, especially if you have some Javascript knowledge.
• Next.js: It’s a bit more complex to learn due to some of its features that may be new to a beginner (features like server-side-rendering). In my opinion, one may need to be a bit comfortable with React to easily understand Next.js.

SEO

• React.js: your site may require additional tools and setup to be SEO-friendly since React focuses on client-side-rendering.
• Next.js: sue to its server-side-rendering feature, it has a built-in support for SEO, which helps your site in search Rankings.

Performance

• React.js: it uses client-side rendering which can be a bit slow some times on initial load, mostly on slower networks.
• Next.js: due to features like SSR (server-side rendering) and SSG (static site generation), pages load faster and perform better, especially on slower networks.

Flexibility

• React.js: It is very flexible. You can manipulate and use it however you please with any other libraries of your user. It is very developer-friendly in my opinion.
• Next.js: it’s more structured. Helps when you want to be consistent or working in large capacities. Although it might restrictive in some cases.

That’s about that for comparison. I hope you’ve been informed now 😊

My Experience

In my experience, I have used more of React.js than Next.js, mostly because I have done more personal projects. However, I believe both are pretty cool.

Recently I signed up for an Internship program at HNG and I got to understand they will be using React.js which is cool, both for me and generally lol. Its component-based capabilities would be very important in creating any UI for me. Helping me save time and write clean codes. Plus, since React has a very huge ecosystem, it is easier to find help when you may get stuck.

It is somewhat relieving to know HNG uses React.js. I’m glad they also recognize its awesomeness 😊 Yeah yeah I’m biased.

Conclusion

Finally, I’ll conclude by saying; both technologies (React.js and Next.js) are really revolutionary and great. The choice of which to use for your project will solely depend on you and what you want.

If you’re looking for a framework or technology that handles everything from performance to SEO, then Next.js is your option. But if you want more flexibility, straightforward and simple technology, React.js is your guy.

That said, I really hope you find this whole gist interesting and it helps you. See you around .👍

Yours.