Varty’s Videos: A CTO’s Take on Next.js

Agility CMS Chief Technical Officer Joel Varty just wrapped up his first YouTube video series, Building with Next.js and Headless CMS. It’s an 8-part series looking at the power of Next.js when paired with Agility CMS. 

Next.js and headless CMS go hand-in-glove to help developers build fast, scalable, and dynamic websites. Joel’s video series walks you through integrating Agility CMS with Next.js, examining essential topics such as previewing, creating components, caching, authenticating, and more.

Watch the Full Series: Building with Next.js and Headless CMS on YouTube 

The What and Why of Next.js 

The What 

Next.js was developed in 2016 by Vercel as an open-source, React-based JavaScript framework. It enables server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), and incremental static regeneration (ISR) to optimize performance and search engine optimization (SEO). 

In other words: 

Next.js decides the best way to show content based on how data is fetched from pages: 

• SSG prepares pages ahead of time. 
• SSR generates them on demand. 
• ISR generates them statically at first, but then incrementally updates them as changes happen in the CMS. 

All these options reduce the work a visitor’s browser must do. This makes the browsing experience smoother and more efficient. 

The Why 

Both developers and marketers benefit from Next.js: 

Marketing websites benefit from fast-loading, SEO-rich content. E-commerce platforms can take advantage of dynamic product pages using ISR. With Next.js and a headless CMS, your content becomes omnipresent – meaning it’s ready for websites, apps, digital signage, and beyond. 

Joel’s Key Takeaway 

If there’s one thing Joel wants you to take away from Building with Next.js and Headless CMS, it’s this (in his own words): 

“As a modern web framework, Next.js is the leader when it comes to building actual production sites for customers. A front-end developer with React skills can really level up their game by following along with this series. I see it as an opportunity for someone to take their career to a whole new level.” 

Next.js Makes a Difference 

React is powerful. But by itself, it doesn’t offer SSR, SSG, ISR, SEO, or many other amazing acronyms. Next.js fills in those gaps and transforms React into a full-featured web framework. 

From there, Next.js: 

• Spans developer and marketing needs: Developers can build quickly while content teams manage content effectively – without stepping on each other’s toes.  
• Future-proofs your tech stack: Next.js works with Jamstack and deploys on platforms like Vercel or Netlify. It’s flexible and adaptable, meaning you aren’t “locked in” to, well, anything. 
• Powers better web experiences: Build faster, more accessible, and more scalable websites and apps without wrestling the framework.  

Get Your Popcorn Ready 

Joel has been a mainstay within the industry for 20 years. He’s known for his engaging and insightful webinars. And his ability to craft dad jokes out of thin air borders on the supernatural. 

All that to say, you’re going to learn quite a bit – and get some unexpected chuckles too – when you check out Building with Next.js and Headless CMS. 

Looking for guidance on Agility? Talk to an expert.

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