Next JS vs React: Which Framework Should You Opt For Front-End Development?

Ankur Akvaliya

CO-CTO

Published On: April 18, 2023

What is the most essential factor that can effectively enhance the developer’s experience? Of course, selecting the right library or framework for the project is the ultimate parameter. And if we talk about the developer experience, we simply redirect to the factors that easily emphasise the developer’s convenience.

The primary focus of the developers is to make a selection of easy-to-use and convenient frameworks. So, it becomes essential to search for the best and leading framework to make web app development easily.

Many developers or individuals struggle to figure out the difference between Next JS vs React. They generally find a lot of confusion while choosing the right technology stack for their project. Therefore, on a regular basis, we come up with comparison information on NextJS Vs React and review them in detail from time to time in our blog posts.

Key Takeaways

What is Next JS?

Before we start to understand the basic difference between React Vs NextJS, we need to get through the basic definition of NextJS and React. Next JS is an open-source JavaScript framework that allows you to quickly build a fast and user-friendly web application development for your business needs. Moreover, it is also responsible for developing static websites using React. Vercel is the creator of Next JS.

Typically based on Node.js and Babel, Next JS easily integrates with React to design and build robust Single Page Applications. This makes the server-side convenient and more for your web development needs. Many developers working with the best ReactJS development company typically use Next JS for building static websites.

With its active support of React babel and webpack, Next JS usually provides a feature-packed solution for server-side rendering (SSR) of React components. Next.js is an open-source JavaScript framework that allows developers to create dynamic and static web applications and websites using robust reusable components.

Furthermore, Next.js provides many features, such as static export, preview mode, pre-rendering, faster compilation, virtual DOM, and automatic building size optimization. In my view, the existing Next.js version is something React has been missing for quite a long time and it plays an essential role in designing and building complex web apps for your business needs.

Next JS is equipped with features that make it easy for the developers to create an application. Furthermore, the documentation is excellent, becoming increasingly popular among developers for front-end development services.

Next.js is a popular framework, but that doesn’t mean you should always use it.

Where You can use Next JS?

• Developing blocks to develop web applications
• Designing and Developing UI
• Website Development
• Landing Pages Creation

Advantages and Disadvantages of Next JS

After having a look at the concept of what is NextJS, we’ll focus on the NextJS vs React article about the advantages and disadvantages of Next JS.

Advantages of Next JS

1. Quicker Development

   Next.js is an open-source Javascript framework that comes up with various built-in Next JS components, libraries, and compatibility, which in turn, allows the developers to develop MVP within short intervals. This helps you get a quick user review or feedback and make proper changes using the virtual DOM feature without wasting any time.

2. Easy To Code

   With the help of Next JS, the developers can easily deal with web app development. As Next JS is totally dependent on JavaScript, the developers can efficiently enhance the performance optimization features of web applications by creating dynamic applications using less code and a familiar language.

3. Enhanced User Experience

   Next.js makes you stop being limited to plugins, templates, themes and other restrictions forced by developing web applications for almost all business needs. This platform is a boon for JavaScript developers, making it easy for them to develop front-end applications as per your requirements that align with your business goals.

4. Large Community

   For Next JS, you’ll come across different learning and production resources made available by a stronger user community. Such Next.js community help developers to chat about Next.js, ask questions, show off their projects, and find Next.js jobs

5. SEO-Friendly

   As we know, Next.js is a JS framework that helps developers build faster and lighter static websites, which in turn, the application automatically become SEO-friendly. Therefore, it’s a higher chance to rank your website and landing pages on the first static pages of search engines.

6. Super Fast Rendering

   You will be able to see every change you make by reloading the website. The component creation is rendered in real-time, making it easy to keep track of changes as they occur.

7. Built-in CSS

   You can import CSS styles from a JavaScript file into Next.js for faster automatic server rendering. The easiest way for the developers to write CSS in a Next.js application is through its global stylesheet using its built-in CSS support. Every newly created Next.js project comes with a styles folder and inside it, a global.css stylesheet.

8. Image Optimization

   With the help of the Next.js framework, the developers can easily scale-up images by using the best format – WebP using the image optimization feature. The Next.js Image component, “next/image”, is nothing but an extension of the HTML element, designed explicitly for modern web development. These scores are an important measurement of user experience on your website and are factored into Google’s search rankings.

9. ESLint Support

   EsLint is one of the best analytic tools that help developers quickly identify problems and error patterns. And Next.js is one such best backend frameworks that makes it easy for the developers to easily use ESLint with “scripts”: { “lint”: “next lint”}. Moreover, Next.js ESlint help find errors like image, anchor, CSS, etc.

Disadvantages of Next.JS

1. Few Usage Options

   Next.js is a framework that is limited to using only a file router. It means that the developers are not allowed to perform any modifications or cannot change the way it works with API routes. In addition, the developers can also make use of the Node.js server to use dynamic API routes.

2. No Router Flexibility

   React framework does not come up with the facility that allows the developers to utilize a router other than its own populated one (or perhaps add Redux). In simple words, we can say that React framework’s dynamic routing is not flexible as compared with other frameworks.

3. Cost of Flexibility

   Next JS is one such framework that does not provide many built-in front pages. So, the developers need to create pages or applications from scratch by strictly following the front-end layer lifecycle.

4. Development and Management

   To create an eCommerce platform by using the Next.JS framework, you are not required to have a team of in-house developers. Instead, you will need a dedicated person to handle the development and management afterwards.

5. Lack of Built-in State Manager

   With the help of the Next.js framework, if the developers make use of state management patterns, they also need to use Redux, MobX or something like that.

6. Low on Plug-ins

   As compared to other leading Javascript frameworks like Gatsby.js, it is not possible to make use of other easy-to-adapt plugins.

   By having a look at the basic details of what is NextJS, we’ll analyze the basic concept of ReactJs in to understand the major difference between NextJS vs React.

What is ReactJS?

Jordan Walke is the creator of ReactJS. The first deployment of React was done on Facebook’s newsfeed in the year 2011 and then in 2012 on Instagram.

ReactJS is an open-source Javascript library used explicitly to build robust and interactive user interfaces for SPAs (Single Page Applications). React is a client-side JavaScript library, which means it runs on the client/user’s machine in the browser instead of on a server.

ReactJS is an open-source library used explicitly for building robust user interfaces for SPAs (Single Page Applications). React is a client-side JavaScript library, which means it runs on the client/user’s machine in the browser as opposed to running on a server.

React makes it easy for developers to create web apps that can change or synchronise your data without reloading the page. The primary purpose of React is that it can be used to create components that can efficiently handle the view layer for web and mobile apps. It comes with various React features like server-side rendering that allows ReactJS developers to create reusable UI components.

What is React Used For?

• Building an Interactive User Interfaces
• Developing Social Networking sites
• Development of Single Page Applications(SPAs)
• Native App Development
• Big Brands Use it: New York Times, Meta, Netflix, SalesForce SoundCloud and WhatsApp Web

Advantages and Disadvantages of React

Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of React that will help you know the real difference between Next JS vs React.

Advantages of React

1. Easy-To-Learn and Use

   It comes with good React docs, tutorials, and training resources to create React project. Any React developer with JavaScript experience can easily understand and start building web applications using React in a few days.

2. Building Dynamic Web Applications Just Got Easier

   Building a dynamic web app specifically using HTML strings was tricky because it required complex coding process, but React solved that problem and made it easier. In short, the development of React application is much easier than Next JS.

3. Reusable Components

   React consists of multiple components, each with its own logic and controls. These React components are responsible for rendering a small, reusable piece of HTML that can be reused wherever needed. All such reusable components help you build robust web application development smoothly with the help of server-side rendering features.

   Related Post: Best React UI Frameworks

4. Increased Productivity

   React improves performance through the virtual DOM. React is the framework that helps both businesses and React developers enhance their productivity by developing robust web applications.

5. Support for Convenient Tools

   React has also gained popularity due to its handy set of visualization tools. These tools make the developer’s task clear and simple. The primary aim of React development is to design and build scalable web applications using server-side rendering functionality for all business needs.

6. Optimized for SEO

   Traditional JavaScript frameworks have an SEO problem. Search engines usually have trouble reading JS-heavy applications. Many web developers have criticized this problem. React solves this task by helping developers navigate various search engines with ease. This is because React apps can run on the server and the virtual DOM will render and return to the browser just like a normal web page.

Disadvantages of React

1. High rates of the development process.

   High growth rates have a constantly changing landscape. In the event of the inconvenience that the development environment is constantly changing so quickly, some developers do not feel comfortable regularly re-learning new ways of working.

   It can be difficult for them to accept all these changes with all continuous updates. They need to constantly update their skills and learn new ways of doing business.

2. Too frequently updated documentation

   This is another disadvantage of constantly updated technologies. React technologies are updated and accelerated so quickly that there is no time to create proper documentation. To overcome this, developers write instructions themselves as new releases and tools become available in their current software project development needs.

3. View Part

   React only covers the app’s complex UI layers and nothing else. Therefore, you still need to choose other technologies to get a complete set of development tools for your project.

4. Development Pace

   React JS is constantly evolving and changing. The pace at which React is developed can be seen as an advantage or a disadvantage depending on who you are. The developers who see these ongoing changes as an advantage would argue that React is constantly being improved and making their jobs easier.

   The React JS developers who see the pace of the development environment as a disadvantage would argue that they have to constantly relearn how to work with React JS, which is difficult to keep up with. It should be noted, though, that React’s core API routes have gotten a lot more stable in recent years. Most updates today affect the library and new features like virtual DOM, server-side rendering.

5. Lack of Documentation

   This drawback is tied to people’s concern with the pace of React’s development process. As a result of rapid development, educational documentation and resources can be sparse in covering the latest updates and changes. Due to the number of updates and new releases, there’s simply not enough time for writing complete documentation.

   Since ReactJS is an open-source framework, developers are able to create their own offline support documents, but since anyone can create these resources, you could come across poor resources that offer little help.

6. Non-Vigilant Focus on User Interface

   React contains a myriad of tools used to develop and create user interfaces. However, unlike frameworks, React JS is not an ‘all-in-one tool’ for the app development process.

   Therefore, if you happen to use a model-view-controller (MVC), React development is only responsible for the UI. The developers have to create the model and controller part by using other tools. For building user interfaces, you will have to apply more tools that will cover other crucial parts like the backend and data storage.

   You will need additional tools for app programming interfaces (APIs), dynamic routing, and other parts as well.

   Related Post: NativeScript vs React Native

7. JSX as a Barrier

   In simple terms, JSX is a JavaScript extension that can make the code more readable and clean. While the JSX syntax extension makes things easier for some developers, other web developers and designers find the JSX code too complex and challenging to grasp.

   JSX doesn’t negatively impact the performance or User Interface capabilities of ReactJS. This con is more of a preference than anything else.

8. Incomplete Tooling Set

   Businesses should understand that the horizon of React only covers the UI layer of the application. Other than this, everything related to the web development project is out of its periphery. Thus, even after implementing React web app development, the developers still need to choose a framework to build fast, beautiful, and compatible UI.

   Since the entire tooling set is not available only with React, the developers will face difficulties completing the project.

Next JS VS React: The Comparison Table

Now, let’s compare NextJS Vs React by considering various essential parameters.

Next JS Vs React: Which One is Better?

Next Vs React: which is the best one? That’s a great question, but it’s not right! Using a framework for building web apps depends on your requirements, cost, and other development requirements.

Both React and Next.js are great technology providing you with the best development experience. Using Next.js provides you with the best server-side rendering (SSR) and static site development experience and also lets you manage your web applications easily with many tools.

So, if we compare React and Next.JS, React can be a great framework for building single-page apps like UI, etc moreover React is more versatile as it is a Javascript library, not a framework.