Getting Started with Next.js 14

Next.js 14 brings exciting new features and improvements that make building modern web applications easier than ever. In this post, we'll explore the fundamentals and build our first application.

What is Next.js?

Next.js is a React framework that provides a great developer experience with features like:

• Server-side rendering (SSR) for better SEO and initial load performance
• Static site generation (SSG) for blazing-fast static websites
• API routes for building full-stack applications
• File-based routing for intuitive navigation structure
• Built-in CSS support including CSS Modules and Tailwind CSS

Setting Up Your First Project

Getting started with Next.js is straightforward. Here's how to create your first project:

npx create-next-app@latest my-app
cd my-app
npm run dev

This will create a new Next.js application with all the necessary configurations.

The App Router

Next.js 14 uses the App Router by default, which provides:

1. Layouts - Shared UI that preserves state
2. Server Components - Components that render on the server
3. Streaming - Progressive rendering of UI
4. Data Fetching - Simplified async data fetching

Building Your First Page

Creating a new page is as simple as adding a file to the app directory:

// app/about/page.tsx
export default function AboutPage() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>About Us</h1>
      <p>Welcome to our website!</p>
    </div>
  )
}

Conclusion

Next.js 14 provides a powerful foundation for building modern web applications. With its intuitive file-based routing, built-in optimizations, and excellent developer experience, it's an excellent choice for projects of any size.

Stay tuned for more tutorials where we'll dive deeper into advanced features like Server Actions, Parallel Routes, and more!