Building Modern Web Apps with Next.js

Next.js has become my go-to framework for building web applications. Here's why.

The App Router

The new App Router in Next.js 13+ brings some powerful patterns:

• Server Components by default for better performance
• Streaming for progressive page rendering
• Layouts that persist across navigation

Server Actions

Server Actions are a game-changer for form handling and mutations. No need for separate API routes for simple operations.

async function createPost(formData: FormData) {
  'use server'
  const title = formData.get('title')
  // Handle the post creation
}

Performance Benefits

The combination of server components, automatic code splitting, and image optimization makes Next.js apps incredibly fast out of the box.

Conclusion

While there's a learning curve, the benefits of Next.js for modern web development are substantial. It's worth the investment.