Next.js is the production framework most React projects converge on. Vercel built it to solve the things React itself does not: routing, server-side rendering, image optimization, edge caching, API routes, and a coherent build pipeline. Since Next 13 it has been pushing React Server Components and the App Router as the new default.
The mental shift in modern Next.js is that components run on the server by default and only opt into client-side hydration when they need interactivity ("use client"). Data fetching happens directly in async server components without getServerSideProps. Server Actions replace most form handlers and small mutation endpoints. The result is React with significantly less plumbing.
What you'll work with in these 91 courses
- App Router: layouts, route groups, parallel and intercepted routes
- React Server Components, streaming, Suspense boundaries
- Server Actions for forms, mutations, optimistic updates
- Data fetching:
fetchwith cache tags,revalidatePath, ISR - Edge runtime, Middleware, Route Handlers
- Deployment: Vercel, self-hosted Node, Docker, standalone output
TikTok, OpenAI, GitHub Copilot Workspace, Notion's marketing site, Hashnode, and Vercel's own dashboard ship on Next.js. Most YC-backed early-stage SaaS projects pick it as the default React full-stack option.
