Next.js vs React: Their Differences, and Which One to Choose

This article will compare the differences in popularity, documentation, and performance of React and Next.js, helping you make choices based on the size of your application and the intended use.

React and Next.js are both excellent choices for durability and occupy an important position in the ever-changing JavaScript ecosystem. If you are a JavaScript developer and may be using or considering Next.js, it is crucial to understand the pros and cons of both.

Key points:

• React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, focusing on view layer and state management; Next.js is a framework built on React, providing a complete solution for building server-side rendering React applications, with server-side rendering, Automatic code segmentation and routing functions.
• React is ideal when lightweight UI components are required without server-side rendering; Next.js is the recommended choice when server-side rendering is required to improve SEO, speed up initial page loading and automatic routing.
• While React provides more control and customization capabilities, Next.js provides unique out-of-the-box features such as fast loading speeds, SEO capabilities, file-based routing, and API routing, making it in many cases Become a convenient choice.

React Introduction:

React official documentation defines it as:

React is a declarative, efficient and flexible JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It allows you to combine complex UIs from small, independent snippets of code called "components".

It is maintained by Meta and the developer community and is designed to help developers create fast user interfaces for websites and applications easily. The core concept of React is a virtual DOM, which maintains an ideal representation of the UI in memory and is synchronized with "real" DOM ​​by libraries such as ReactDOM. You can use React to develop single-page, mobile, and server-side rendering applications.

However, React only focuses on state management and rendering state to the DOM, so creating React applications often requires routing using other libraries as well as certain client features.

Next.js Introduction:

Wikipedia's introduction to Next.js is as follows:

Next.js is an open source web development framework created by Vercel that supports server-side rendering and static website generation for React-based web applications.

Next.js provides the best development experience and includes all the features required for production: hybrid static and server-side rendering, TypeScript support, smart bundling, routing prefetching, and more. No configuration is required. The React documentation lists Next.js as a "recommended toolchain" and is recommended for building server-side rendered websites using Node.js.

Next.js' main function is to use server-side rendering to reduce the burden on web browsers and enhance security. It uses page-based routing, which is convenient for developers and supports dynamic routing. Other features include hot module replacement (allowing real-time module replacement), automatic code segmentation (including only the code required to load the page), and page prefetching to reduce loading time.

Next.js also supports incremental static regeneration and static site generation; compiled versions of websites are usually built at build time and saved as .next folders. When a user makes a request, the prebuilt version (static HTML page) is cached and sent to them. This makes loading very fast, but not suitable for all websites, such as interactive sites that frequently change and use a lot of user input.

Materio: MUI React NextJS Administrative Templates

Materio is built on Next.js and MUI and provides TypeScript and JavaScript versions. It is easy to use by developers, features rich, and has a highly customizable management dashboard that can be used to build high-quality, high-performance web applications such as SaaS applications, e-commerce applications, fitness applications, CRM projects, and more.

Materio Function:

• Based on Next.js
• Based on React
• Using MUI Core v5 Stable Edition
• 100% React hooks and function components
• Redux Toolkit and React Context API
• React Hook Form plus Yup
• ESLint and Prettier
• RTL (from right to left) supports
• JWT Authentication
• Dark and light color layout
• Wait

The difference between Next.js and React:

特性	Next.js	React
类型	React 框架	JavaScript 库
可配置性	高	低
主要功能	服务器端渲染和静态网站生成	用户界面构建
应用速度	快	慢
学习曲线	相对平缓 (如果您熟悉 React)	陡峭
社区	较小但活跃	庞大
SEO 友好性	开箱即用	需要额外设置
离线支持	不需要	需要
框架特性	有明确的约定和最佳实践	更灵活，允许更多自定义

Pros and cons of React and Next.js:

React Advantages:

• Easy to learn and use
• Using virtual DOM
• Reusable Components
• SEO Friendly
• Scalability
• Abstract clear
• The community is huge and helpful
• Rich plug-in ecosystem
• Excellent developer tools

React Cons:

• Fast development speed may lead to instability
• The documentation may not be perfect
• SDK update may be lagging

Next.js Advantages:

• Picture optimization
• Internationalization
• Zero configuration
• Quick Refresh
• Mix: SSG (static site generation) and SSR (server-side rendering)
• API Routing
• Built-in CSS support
• Support TypeScript
• Enhanced User Experience
• SEO Friendly

Next.js Cons:

• The plugin ecosystem is weak
• No built-in state manager
• The frame features are clear and limit flexibility
• File system-based routing

Select Next.js or React?

This is not a question of choice, because React is a library for building UIs, while Next.js is a framework for building the entire application based on React. The selection depends on the specific needs of the application/project.

When to use React:

• High dynamic routing required
• Already familiar with JSX
• Require offline support

When to use Next.js:

• A comprehensive framework is needed
• Requires server-side rendering
• Requires backend API endpoint

Conclusion:

Although React is popular, Next.js provides server-side rendering, fast loading speeds, SEO capabilities, file-based routing, API routing, and many other unique features out of the box that make it very good in many cases Convenient choice. While React provides more control and customization capabilities, it requires manual configuration to achieve the same functionality.

FAQ:

• What is the difference between React and Next.js? React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, and Next.js is a framework built on React. React focuses on view layers, and Next.js is a complete solution for building server-side rendering React applications.

• What are the main functions of React? React provides component-based architectures for building UIs, virtual DOMs for efficient rendering, and one-way data flow. React is mainly a client library.

• What are the main functions of Next.js? Next.js is known for server-side rendering (SSR), automatic code segmentation, routing, API routing, and a variety of optimizations for building fast and SEO-friendly web applications.

• When should you choose React instead of Next.js? Use React when building a single page application (SPA) or when you need a lighter UI component solution without server-side rendering. React is for projects where SEO is not a priority.

• When should you choose Next.js instead of React? Choose Next.js when you need server-side rendering for better SEO, faster initial page loading speed, automatic routing, and API routing. Next.js is ideal for complex, performance-required web applications.

• Can I use React components in my Next.js application? Yes, you can use React components in your Next.js application. Next.js is built on React, so React components can be seamlessly integrated into Next.js projects.

• Did Next.js replace React Router for routing? Yes, Next.js comes with its own routing system. You do not need to use React Router in your Next.js application. Next.js provides file-based routing, simplifying routing configuration.

• Can I build a static website using React, or is this just a feature of Next.js? You can use React to build static websites, but this usually requires more configuration and tools. Next.js makes static website generation (SSG) easier with its built-in support for exporting pages as static HTML.

• What are the performance advantages of Next.js compared to React? Yes, Next.js provides performance advantages such as server-side rendering, automatic code segmentation, and optimized routing. These features can speed up initial page loading and improve performance.

The above is the detailed content of Next.js vs React: Their Differences, and Which One to Choose. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!