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React, plus what a real website needs
Next.js turns React, a library for building screens, into something you can run a whole website on. React on its own builds interfaces in the browser. Next.js adds what a real site needs around it: a page per address, rendering on the server or at build time, image handling, routing and a build that produces fast files.
It is maintained by Vercel, the company that also hosts Next.js sites, but you are not tied to Vercel: a Next.js site can run on any server, or, as a static export, as plain files on storage such as Amazon S3.
Zeit, now Vercel, in 2016
The first version, 1.0, was published on 25 October 2016, by the company then called Zeit, now Vercel. The idea was to make server rendering of React as simple as putting a file in a folder. In 2022 Next.js 13 introduced a new structure, the app directory, with layouts and React Server Components; in May 2023, with version 13.4, that App Router became stable. Version 16 followed in October 2025, and it is the version our current sites run on.
Three ways to render a page
Next.js can make a page in three ways. Static: at build time, every page becomes a finished HTML file, ready before anyone visits. Server: the page is made on a server at the moment someone asks for it, useful when content changes per visitor. Client: parts of the page are built in the browser, for interactive pieces. A business website is usually best served fully static: no server to maintain, and every page arrives complete.
Code, visitor and what it did for Villa Lidia
From code to visitor
- 01Next.js and ReactPages as components, content from files or a CMS.
- 02BuildEvery page becomes ready-made HTML in advance, with images in the right sizes.
- 03CDNThe files sit on S3 behind CloudFront, close to the visitor.
Villa Lidia's homepage, old and new build
Before the rebuild8.4 MB
Next.js static export1.4 MB
Next.js itself does not rank. The fast, complete HTML it produces does help Google and your visitors.
Good for SEO, if you use it right
The honest answer: Next.js itself does not rank. Google ranks pages, not frameworks. What Next.js does is make it easy to deliver what Google and visitors need: complete HTML on the first request, fast pages, one address per page, a title and description per page, and structured data in the code. Google can render JavaScript, but it does so in a later stage; a page that arrives as finished HTML is read at once. For SEO that is a head start, not a guarantee: content, search intent and links still decide.
| Approach | What the visitor and Google get first | Speed | Maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next.js static export | Complete HTML from a CDN | Very fast | No server, no plugins |
| Next.js on a server | Complete HTML made per request | Fast | A server to run |
| WordPress | HTML from PHP and a database | Depends on theme and plugins | Updates for core, theme and plugins |
| A React app without a framework | An empty page, then JavaScript | Slower first view | Depends on setup |
Why our client sites run on it
We build our client sites as a Next.js static export on Amazon S3 behind CloudFront: Business Centrum, SN Group, Villa Lidia and FK Boekhouding. No server to patch, no plugins to update, and pages that load fast anywhere in Europe. On Villa Lidia's site the homepage went from 8.4 MB to 1.4 MB in the rebuild. For Business Centrum, a site in four languages, impressions in Google went from 220 to 10,200 a day in five weeks, with the content and term map doing the heavy lifting on a fast base.
Free software, paid hosting and hours
The framework is free and open source. The cost is in building: a Next.js site is written by developers, not assembled in a page builder, so it starts higher than a template. In return, hosting a static export costs little per month, and there is no plugin upkeep. Rates for developers are in web developer hourly rates. A content editor can be added through a headless CMS when you want to edit pages yourself, see headless website agency.
What clients ask before a rebuild
Why use Next.js instead of plain React?
React builds interfaces; Next.js adds pages, routing, server or build-time rendering and image handling. For a public website that needs to be found and load fast, those are exactly the parts plain React leaves to you.
Is Next.js good for SEO?
It makes good SEO easier: complete HTML per page, fast loading and full control over titles and structured data. It does not rank a page by itself; content and links still decide.
Do I need Vercel to run Next.js?
No. Vercel makes Next.js and offers hosting, but a Next.js site runs on any server, and a static export runs as plain files on storage such as Amazon S3 behind a CDN.
Can I edit a Next.js site myself?
Yes, if it is connected to a content system. Many sites keep their content in files or a headless CMS that you edit in a browser, while Next.js builds the pages.