Next js vs React js

What is React.js?

React is a declarative, fast, and flexible JavaScript toolkit for designing interactive user interfaces influenced by XHP, an HTML component library for PHP. It was created by Facebook in 2011 and later open-sourced in 2013.

ReactJS is frequently used to create web applications with UIs that demand continual data updates.

Consider social media feeds or live scorecards, where you scroll to view new posts and material, yet the majority of the page sections stay static.

When you click on something on a traditional website (or application), the entire website (or application) reloads, which is time-consuming and annoying for visitors. But by employing UI segments called ‘components’, React avoids having to reprocess every line of code.

So, when creating React applications, separate, simple, reusable components are developed and then assembled to create sophisticated user interfaces.

Advantages of React JS

React offers the following advantages:

1. It's built on JavaScript and comes with a lot of documentation to help you get started.
2. Every React project comprises reusable components that you can combine to create web applications.
3. It has a community made up of hundreds of thousands of developers working globally.

Check out our React Js Course and enhance your coding skills to stay ahead in the fast envolving tech industry. 

What is React Used For?

React is a popular JavaScript library used for building user interfaces (UIs), primarily for web applications. It allows developers to create reusable UI components and manage the state of complex applications efficiently.

What can we build with React JS?

We can build many things using React JS. Let’s take a look at different types of projects using React JS.

Twitter Clone

You can build a Twitter clone using React JS, not completely but atleast your fundamentals will be clear by creating a Twitter clone. If you are new in React JS, then this project is very helpful for you. Let’s now talk about some advantages of this project.

• First of all, you will learn how to use create-react-app command.
• You will get to know about the hooks along with its functionality.
• You will learn the use of MaterialUI to style your component.

eCommerce Apps

You can also build an eCommerce web application using React JS. This application will help you to gain the experience of working with long projects. You can add many features using React JS. Let us discuss them.

• You can learn how to create a user registration page using React JS.
• You will get to know about the Scroll and SearchList components in React JS.
• You can also use the Styled Component which is an CSS tool to organize your app.

To-Do Application

The To-Do application is an advanced level project, but it covers some special features that will help you in your growth with the React JS. Here you will not only learn but also use them in your live project. Let’s now take a look at the part of project where you will work.

• You will learn the use of react-router-dom.
• You will use the custom hooks from the third party libraries.
• You will also use the React Router to add navigations in your application.

What is Next js?

Next js is a lightweight framework for building React applications. Because of its static site and server-side rendering, it's commonly utilised in web development to create quick web applications.

It was created by Vercel (previously Zeit) and incorporated several of React's most popular features. Pre-rendering, routing, code splitting, and webpack support are all included out of the box with Next js.

Next enables you to create a React application that stores content in advance on the server using server-side rendering. It has many features, including static export, pre-rendering, automated building size optimisation, and a preview option. Also, the documentation is excellent, and it is becoming increasingly popular among front-end developers.

All kinds of web applications that need fast, high-performance load times like e-commerce and SEO-friendly web pages are built using Next js.

Also Read, Front End Web Development

Advantages of Next JS

Next js has these advantages:

1. Static site construction and server-side rendering help Next js build incredibly dast applications.
2. User authentication, form submission, database queries, and even custom Slack commands are all supported with Next js API Routes.
3. Titles and keywords for each page are simple to develop for individuals wishing to improve their SEO. Just use the Head component.

What can we build with Next JS?

We can build many things using React JS. Let’s take a look at different types of projects using React JS.

Streaming Website

You can start by building a streaming website using Next JS. We all know how important it is for today’s generation. You will learn the following things while making this project.

• Handling database using Rest APIs.
• Libraries like next-auth to authenticate the user.
• You will also learn how to render images using Next.JS components.

Chatting Website

This project will help you to learn almost everything about Next JS. You can make a real-time chatting application that contains certain features. Let us now look at the learnings that you will get after this project.

• Creating multiple chat lobbies.
• Adding real-time functionality with the help of Ably.
• Hosting the application on the Vercel

Grammarly Clone

This project comes under the advanced-level project. Using Grammarly, a user can check their grammatical mistakes along with the suggested corrections. Let’s discuss the learnings below.

• You will get to know about the user interface using Next JS.
• Methods of pre-processing the text that includes tokenizing and stemming.
• Use of NLP libraries and algorithms.

Next js vs React js

Functionality

React and Next js use different kinds of functionality and have different workflows. A task may be achieved one way in React and a completely different way in Next js. The following are some tasks which have significant differences in code for React and Next js

Retrieving Data

Getting the data is one of the most important tasks for any application. While React uses a simple Redux action to retrieve the data it wants, Next js comes with APIs built into it that make the action even more convenient.

In this React, we use a Redux action to retrieve the matinee data,

const dispatch = useDispatch();
const matinees = useSelector((state) => state.Matinees.matinees);
useEffect(() => {
	if (matinees.length === 0) {
		dispatch(MatineesActions.retrieveMatinees());
	}
});
return (
	<section className="matinees">
    <h1>Matinees</h1>
    {matinees !== null &&
        matinees.map((matineesItem) => (
            <article key={matineesItem.key}>
                <h2>
                    <a href={matineesItem.link}>{matineesItem.key}</a>
                </h2>
                <p>{matineesItem.value}</p>
            </article>
        ))}
    <div className="matinees__source">
        <p>
            original content copied from
            <a href="https://playbill.com/article/schedule-of-broadway-shows">
                here
            </a>
        </p>
    </div>
	</section>
);

The Redux action itself would look something like this,

import matinees from '../../config/matinees';

export function retrieveMatinees() {
    return function (dispatch) {
        dispatch(getMatinees());
        return dispatch(setMatinees(matinees));
    };
}

In Next js we can do this and also use its built-in APIs which would be much more convenient. The biggest convenience of this method is that the imported data would be prerendered by the application, thus making the whole process faster.

The task would look like this Next js,

function MatineesPage({matinees}) {
    return (
        <>
            <section className = "matinees">
                <h1>Matinees</h1>
                {matinees !== null &&
                    matinees.map((matineesItem) => (
                        <article key = {matineesItem.key}>
                            <h2>
                                <a href = {matineesItem.link}>{matineesItem.key}</a>
                            </h2>
                            <p>{matineesItem.value}</p>
                        </article>
                    ))}
                <div className = "matinees__source">
                    <p>
                        original content copied from
                        <a href="https://playbill.com/article/schedule-of-broadway-shows">here</a>
                    </p>
                </div>
            </section>
        </>
    );
}
export default MatineesPage;
export async function getStaticProps(context) {
    const matinees = [...];
    return {
        props: {matinees},
    };
}

Building Pages

We need to use the react Router to build pages in React. It handles the transition between different components of the application. A traditional application in React would look like this,

export default function App() {
    return (
        <Router>
            <section>
                <Header />
                <Switch>
                    <Route path = "/matinees">
                        <MatineesPage />
                    </Route>
                    <Route path = "/fall">
                        <FallPage />
                    </Route>
                    <Route path = "/jubilee">
                        <JubileePage />
                    </Route>
                    <Route path = "/awards">
                        <AwardsPage />
                    </Route>
                    <Route path = "/">
                        <HomePage />
                    </Route>
                </Switch>
            </section>
        </Router>
    );
}

Here, the React Router is used to render every page in the application, i.e. the Header, HomePage, AwardsPage, JubileePage, FallPage and MatineesPage.

In Next js, we don’t need a Router to render the pages, the routes are embedded in the original page. We can use the Link tag within the Header to embed all the other pages. A typical Next js page would look like this,

import Link from "next/link";
const Header = () => {
    return (
        <nav className = "header">
            <span>
                <Link href = "/">Home</Link>
            </span>
            <span>
                <Link href = "/matinees">Matinees</Link>
            </span>
            <span>
                <Link href = "/fall">Fall</Link>
            </span>
            <span>
                <Link href = "/jubilee">Jubilee</Link>
            </span>
            <span>
                <Link href = "/awards">Awards</Link>
            </span>
        </nav>
    );
};
export default Header;

Check out Advantages of React JS here.

Which one is Better?

Both Next and React JS are better. Everything depends on the task you have to perform using these languages. In case you need applications like grocery shopping or marketing websites, you can go with the Next JS. On the other hand, if you need to create an application like streaming, social media or youtube, you can refer to React JS.

Is Next JS Better Than React?

Next.js is a React framework that extends React's capabilities by offering built-in features like server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), and file-based routing, making it ideal for SEO-friendly and performance-optimized applications. React, on its own, is a library for building UI components but requires additional tools for routing, SSR, or state management. If you're building a simple frontend application or prefer full control, React is sufficient. However, for projects requiring SEO, dynamic rendering, or backend integration, Next.js provides a more comprehensive solution with minimal configuration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Next.js replace React?

No, Next.js cannot replace React as it is built on top of React, enhancing it with additional features like SSR and routing.

Is Next.js required for React?

No, Next.js is not required for React. React can be used independently, but Next.js simplifies tasks like SSR, routing, and performance optimization.

Is Next.js a backend framework?

Next.js is a hybrid framework, primarily for frontend development, but it supports backend functionality through built-in API routes and server-side rendering.

Conclusion

This article discusses React and Next js, how they perform as agile frontend development tools and what is the answer to Next js vs React js.

Recommended Readings:

• For Loop in React JS
• Difference Between Analog and Digital Computer

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