Next.js 14 - Highlights and New Features

Next.js 14

The React Framework for the Web. To create a Full-stack Web app by extending the latest React features. Next.js is a popular open-source(free to use) framework for building server-side rendering (SSR), ISR, and static web applications using React. It is built on top of React, Node.js, and Webpack, providing a streamlined and efficient way to create modern web applications.

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Main Features

Built-in Optimizations

Automatic Image(Image generator), Font, and Script Optimizations for improved UX and Core Web Vitals.

Data Fetching

React component async and wait for your data. Next.js supports both server use server; and client use client; data fetching. 

Node.js & Edge Runtimes

Easy to build scalable solutions with Serverless functions, and deliver fast dynamic, personalized content with the Edge.

Advanced Routing and nested Layouts

No need to specify route config (like react-dom).To create routes using the file system, including support for more advanced routing patterns and UI layouts.

Dynamic HTML Streaming

 Dynamic HTML streaming breaks down the response into smaller chunks and sends them to the client as they are generated.

CSS Support

Style your application with your favorite tools, including support for CSS Modules, Sass, Tailwind CSS, styled-jsx, Material UI, and more.

Route Handlers

Build API endpoints to securely connect with third-party services and consume from your front end.

Middleware

Middleware allows you to intercept and modify the request and response objects, perform authentication, handle error handling, and more.

React Server Components

Add components without sending additional client-side JavaScript. Built on the latest React features.

Client and Server Rendering

Client-side rendering (CSR) and server-side rendering (SSR) are two approaches to rendering web pages and delivering content to the client. Caching options, including Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR), on a per-page level.

Next.js 14 Highlights 

  • Improved Performance: Next.js 14 introduced various performance improvements, including automatic image optimization, faster page rendering, and smaller bundle sizes.

  • Next.js Image Component: The new Next.js Image Component provides an easy way to optimize and lazy load images, improving page load times and overall performance.

  • Incremental Static Regeneration: Next.js 14 introduced Incremental Static Regeneration, which allows you to update static pages without rebuilding the entire site. This feature is especially useful for frequently changing content or data.

  • Improved API Routes: Next.js 14 includes improved API Routes, making it easier to create backend APIs within your Next.js application. The new API Routes support includes automatic parsing and handling of request bodies, middleware support, and more.

  • Improved Webpack 5 Support: Next.js 14 has improved support for Webpack 5, which brings various performance improvements, better long-term caching, and improved build times.

  • ESM Support: Next.js 14 added support for ECMAScript Modules (ESM), allowing you to use the import/export syntax directly in your Next.js applications.

  • Improved TypeScript Support: Next.js 14 introduced better TypeScript support, including improved type inference, faster builds, and better error reporting.

  • Improved CSS Support: Next.js 14 includes improved CSS support, making it easier to import CSS modules, support for CSS-in-JS libraries like styled-components, and better handling of CSS imports.

  • Improved Built-in Analytics: Next.js 14 added an improved built-in analytics feature, allowing you to track page views and user interactions without relying on external analytics tools.

  • Improved Documentation: Next.js 14 includes improved documentation, making it easier to get started with Next.js and find answers to common questions.

Next.js 14 New Features

Next.js 14 includes several updates and improvements that will make the development of web applications a lot faster, let’s look at some of the important updates and improvements:

Turbopack
  • Turbopack, an exciting new feature introduced in Next.js 14, represents a significant leap forward in enhancing local development (loading and rendering) speed. Building on a continuous improvement journey that began with Next.js 13(it's slow), it has been fine-tuned for optimizing local development in both Pages and the App Router.
  • The Rust-based compiler is on the brink of stability, with a renewed focus on ensuring compatibility with all Next.js features.
  • These gains aren't just theoretical; they reflect tangible improvements, especially in larger applications with extensive module graphs. With 90% of the Next.js dev tests now successfully passing, you can anticipate consistently faster and more reliable performance when using.
  • Turbopack has powered 5,000 integration tests for the Next.js devs, which span seven years of bug fixes and reproductions. While on vercel.com, the results have been remarkable(Test results):
  1. Local server startup speeds have surged by up to 53.3%.
  2. Fast Refresh now delivers code updates up to 94.7% faster.
  • As we approach the milestone of 100% test passage, Turbopack will transition to a stable state in an upcoming minor release. Rest assured, we remain committed to supporting the use of Webpack for custom configurations and ecosystem plugins.
Server Actions (Now stable)

In Next.js 14, Server Actions represent a substantial evolution in granting developers greater authority over server-side rendering. This empowering enhancement equips developers with the capability to fetch essential data from the server before page generation, ensuring that vital information is readily available when the page loads. This not only accelerates the initial load times but also minimizes superfluous client-side requests.

These Server Actions are seamlessly woven into the fabric of the entire App Router model, offering a versatile toolkit that enables developers to:

  • Dynamically revalidate cached data using functions like or.
  • Effortlessly steer users to different routes with the method.
  • Manage cookies efficiently through the function, both for setting and retrieval.
  • Harness optimistic UI updates, enhancing user experience, with the utility.
  • Handle and elegantly display server-side errors through the function.
  • Keep users informed with loading states on the client side, thanks to the function.

This multifaceted suite of capabilities empowers developers to not only fine-tune server-side rendering but also to create more responsive and robust web applications with Next.js 14.

Enhanced Metadata Options

Importantly, the incorporation of meta tags into the initial page content ensures a seamless user experience. This practice prevents issues like page flickering due to theme color changes or layout shifts resulting from viewport adjustments.

Moreover, Next.js 14 distinguishes between blocking and non-blocking metadata, enabling a smoother experience. Only a select few metadata options are marked as blocking, ensuring that non-blocking metadata won't hinder partially prerendered pages from serving the static shell.

Notably, the following metadata options are now deprecated and will be phased out in future major releases:

viewport: Previously responsible for setting initial zoom and viewport properties.

themeColor: Defined the color for the chrome surrounding the viewport.

colorScheme: Used for specifying support modes (light/dark) for the viewport.

Next.js 14 introduces the replacement options of viewport and generateViewport while retaining all other metadata options.

Partial Prerendering

The newest star in the release of Next.js 14 is Partial Prerendering. In a world where there is a constant battle between SSR and SSG, Next.js 14 gives you the best of both worlds. It provides you with a fast initial static response whilst streaming dynamic content based on your React Suspense boundaries, all this whilst eliminating the need to learn any new APIs. Thus giving you the speed of static sites and the dynamism of server-rendered applications.

Upgrade Next.js 14 or get started with:

npx create-next-app@latest

These are just a few of the highlights in Next.js 14. Overall, the new version brings several performance improvements, new features, and better support for various technologies, making it a more powerful and efficient framework for building React applications.

Next .js official website

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