Next.js - fundamentals

Author: Hubert Szczepaniak

Challenge

How does Next.js work? It seems to be a silly question - it just renders React code on a server - is there anything more to know? I have talked and worked with developers who used Next.js daily. In theory, they knew what it does, but after all, they had no idea how it works behind the scenes and how it changes the user experience for all of us, but most importantly, for the end user. What is the difference between other ways of deploying our apps - like Create React App or Vite - and Next.js itself? Let's find out.