Static Site Generation with Next.js

1. Introduction

Static Site Generation (SSG) is a method of serving pre-rendered HTML pages to users. Next.js is a powerful React framework that supports SSG, allowing developers to create fast, SEO-friendly websites.

2. Key Concepts

• Pre-rendering: The process of generating HTML at build time.
• Static Generation: A method to generate HTML for pages that can be served without any server-side processing.
• Dynamic Routing: Next.js allows building dynamic routes based on file system structure.

3. Static Generation

Next.js provides two forms of pre-rendering: Static Generation and Server-Side Rendering. In Static Generation, the HTML is generated at build time, which is ideal for performance and SEO.

4. Step-by-Step Guide

To implement Static Site Generation in Next.js, follow these steps:

1. Set up a Next.js project:

npx create-next-app my-static-site

2. Create a page using Static Generation:

pages/index.js

import React from 'react';

const Home = () => {
 return <div>Hello, World!</div>;
};

export default Home;

3. Use getStaticProps to fetch data:

export async function getStaticProps() {
 const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
 const json = await data.json();
 return { props: { json } };
}

4. Run the Next.js application:

npm run dev

5. Best Practices

When using Static Site Generation with Next.js, consider the following best practices:

• Utilize getStaticPaths for dynamic routes.
• Cache API responses to improve build performance.
• Optimize images and assets for faster load times.

6. FAQ