FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Next.js and when should you use it?

Next.js is a JavaScript framework built on React, created by Vercel. Unlike plain React (which renders pages exclusively in the browser), Next.js offers server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG) — meaning Google and the user receive ready-made HTML rather than an empty page that the browser has to assemble from JavaScript. This directly impacts PageSpeed, SEO and user experience.

SSR, SSG, ISR — what these abbreviations mean and why they matter

Next.js offers three main rendering strategies. SSG (Static Site Generation) generates pages as static HTML files at build time — the fastest option for content that does not change frequently (service pages, blogs, business sites). The files land on a CDN and load in tens of milliseconds.

SSR (Server-Side Rendering) generates the page on every user request — useful when content changes dynamically (user dashboard, search results, shopping cart). ISR (Incremental Static Regeneration) is a hybrid: the page is static, but Next.js regenerates it in the background every X seconds or on demand. For most business projects, ISR is the ideal solution — SSG-level performance with SSR-level freshness.

Next.js vs. traditional CMS platforms — when to use which

Requirement	Better choice	Why
Simple business site, budget up to €2,400	WordPress	Faster implementation, easy management, cheaper
High performance, PageSpeed 95+	Next.js	Static files on CDN, full code control
Blog with frequent updates	WordPress or Headless WP+Next.js	WP as CMS, Next.js as frontend
Web application (dashboard, SaaS)	Next.js	React ecosystem, API routes, auth
E-commerce with thousands of products	Next.js + headless commerce	Performance and SEO at large scale
Client manages content themselves	WordPress	Gutenberg editor is intuitive

Why Next.js achieves better PageSpeed results than WordPress

Traditional WordPress generates HTML via PHP on every request, loads dozens of CSS and JS files from plugins, serves images at original sizes without the right configuration, and runs on a single VPS that must handle all requests simultaneously. The result is typically a PageSpeed score of 50–70 on mobile without intensive optimisation.

Next.js with Vercel hosting serves static files from a CDN (server response time under 50ms instead of 200–500ms), automatically optimises images to AVIF/WebP with correct dimensions, minifies and splits JavaScript into chunks loaded only when needed (code splitting), and handles link prefetching — the next page loads in the background before the user clicks it. On my Next.js projects I achieve PageSpeed 95–100 on desktop and 88–96 on mobile as standard.

App Router vs. Pages Router — what to choose in 2025

Next.js 13+ introduced the App Router — a new architecture based on React Server Components (RSC). This is a significant change: server components render exclusively on the server and send no JavaScript to the browser. The result: a smaller JS bundle, faster initial load, better performance.

In 2025 the App Router is stable and is the default choice for new projects. The Pages Router still works and Vercel supports it, but new Next.js features are being developed primarily for the App Router. For any new project I would start with the App Router from day one. The site you are reading right now is built on the App Router of Next.js 15.

Next.js SEO — does Google index JavaScript pages?

This is one of the most common myths in discussions about JavaScript and SEO. Googlebots can render JavaScript, but they do so with a delay and not always correctly. In a plain React SPA without SSR, the page is an empty HTML file with a JS bundle — Google has to execute JavaScript to see the content, which can take days or weeks after the first crawl.

Next.js solves this problem at a fundamental level: it serves ready-made HTML with content (SSG or SSR), so the Googlebot sees the full page without running JavaScript. Next.js sites are indexed just as quickly as static HTML, and come with full support for sitemap.xml, canonical tags, Open Graph and Schema.org structured data — everything Google needs for correct positioning.

How much does a Next.js site cost?

Next.js build costs are higher than traditional WordPress because they require a developer with React and JavaScript skills. Indicative ranges: a simple business site (up to 10 subpages, static content, contact form) — €1,400–€2,800. A site with a CMS (Headless WordPress or Sanity/Contentful) and custom design — €3,500–€5,900. A full web application — €7,000 and up.

Next.js hosting is often cheaper than a WordPress VPS: Vercel offers a free plan for small projects, and the paid plan is $20/month for more serious traffic. No server management costs, automatic scaling and a built-in CDN. Over 3–5 years, the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a Next.js site can be comparable to WordPress, at significantly higher performance.