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Glossary · Development

What is Next.js?

Definition

Next.js is an open-source React framework, maintained by Vercel, for building websites and web applications. It supports several rendering approaches, including server-side rendering, static generation and React Server Components, and includes file-based routing and server-side API endpoints, so a single project can serve both the interface and the backend logic.

Why it matters for your business

Next.js is a common foundation for customer portals, SaaS products, internal tools and AI-powered web apps because it handles performance and search-friendly rendering out of the box. Server-side code lets an app call language model APIs and internal systems without exposing API keys in the browser, which matters for any AI feature. It can be hosted on Vercel or on other platforms that run Node.js. For a simple marketing site, a lighter static site builder may be easier to maintain.

Example

A B2B software company builds its customer portal in Next.js. Public documentation pages are statically generated so they load quickly and can be indexed by search engines. Logged-in pages render on the server with account data, and a server-side route sends support questions to a language model along with retrieved documentation, so API keys never reach the browser.

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Next steps

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