Boosting Performance with Pre-rendering in Next.js
In today’s fast-paced digital world, website performance is crucial. Users expect web pages to load quickly, and any delay can result in a negative user experience and potential loss of business. This is where Next.js, a popular React framework, shines by offering various techniques to optimize performance. One of the most effective strategies it employs is pre-rendering. In this article, I ‘ll dive into what pre-rendering is, its benefits, and how to leverage it to boost your website’s performance using Next.js.
What is Pre-rendering?
Pre-rendering is a technique that generates HTML pages for your website in advance, during the build process, rather than waiting until a user requests a page. Each generated HTML is associated with minimal JavaScript code necessary for that page. When a page is loaded by the browser, its JavaScript code runs and makes the page fully interactive. (This process is called hydration.)
This approach offers several key advantages:
1. Improved Loading Speed: Pre-rendered pages can be served instantly to users, eliminating the need to wait for data fetching and rendering on the client-side.
2. Better SEO: Search engines can easily crawl and index pre-rendered pages since they are already in HTML format. This can significantly boost your website’s search engine rankings.
3. Enhanced User Experience: Faster loading times result in a smoother and more satisfying user experience, which can lead to higher user engagement and conversion rates.
Types of Pre-rendering in Next.js
Next.js provides two main types of pre-rendering:
1. Static Site Generation (SSG)
2. Server-Side Rendering (SSR).
Each has its use cases and advantages.
1. Static Site Generation (SSG)
Static Site Generation is the preferred method for most Next.js applications. It generates HTML files during the build process, allowing you to pre-render entire pages, including dynamic data, at build time.
Some key points for SSG are:
- Pages are pre-rendered to HTML files for all possible routes.
- Ideal for content-rich websites where the content doesn’t change frequently.
- Enables the use of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) for even faster content distribution.
You can use Static Site Generation for many types of pages, including:
- Marketing pages
- Blog posts
- E-commerce product listings
- Help and documentation
2. Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
Server-Side Rendering generates HTML on each user request, making it suitable for pages that need to display real-time data.
SSR is beneficial in scenarios like:
- Personalized user experiences with dynamic content.
- Real-time data updates, such as live chat or analytics dashboards.
- Authentication, where user-specific content needs to be fetched.
Implementing Pre-rendering in Next.js
Here’s are the step-by-step guide on how to implement pre-rendering in Next.js:
- Installation: Start by creating a new Next.js project using
`npx create-next-app`
or any other your preferred method.
2. Static Site Generation: For static pages, create a component and use the `getStaticProps` function to fetch data and return it as props. Next.js will handle the pre-rendering during the build process.
//NEXT JS code
export async function getStaticProps() {
// Fetch data from an API or database
const data = await fetch(“URL Here”);
return {
props: {
data,
},
};
}
3. Server-Side Rendering: For dynamic pages that require SSR, use the `getServerSideProps` function instead. This function runs on the server for every request.
//NEXT JS code
export async function getServerSideProps(context) {
// Fetch data based on the context (e.g., user authentication)
const data = await fetch(context);
return {
props: {
data,
},
};
}
4. Build and Deployment: Build your Next.js application using `npm run build` and deploy it to your hosting platform of choice, such as Vercel, Netlify, or AWS.
5. Monitoring and Optimization: Continuously monitor your website’s performance using tools like Lighthouse or Google PageSpeed Insights. Optimize as needed by improving data fetching, optimizing images, and leveraging caching mechanisms.
Conclusion
Incorporating pre-rendering into your Next.js application is a powerful technique to boost performance, improve SEO, and enhance the user experience. By choosing the right pre-rendering method — Static Generation or Server-Side Rendering — and following best practices, you can create lightning-fast web applications that delight your users and rank higher in search engine results. So, don’t wait; start implementing pre-rendering in Next.js today and watch your website’s performance soar.
It is not so simple to understand concept of Static Site Generation (SSG) or Server Side Rendering using Next JS, for completely understand it, you can watch best YouTube playlist on Dr. Vipin Classes Channel for Next JS.
Link of Playlist for Next JS is:
