Web development
Next.js or plain React for a marketing site?
Both can work. For a site that needs to be found on search, one of them saves a lot of effort.
Abdus Samad · · 5 min read
A plain React app renders in the browser. That is fine for a logged-in dashboard, but a marketing site needs its content ready the moment the page loads, for visitors and for search engines.
What Next.js adds
- Server rendering and static generation, so pages arrive as finished HTML.
- File-based routing and built-in metadata for titles, descriptions and share cards.
- Image and font optimisation out of the box.
- Easy deployment to platforms like Vercel.
When plain React is enough
Internal tools, authenticated apps and embedded widgets do not need to be indexed. A client-rendered app keeps the setup simpler there.
If strangers need to find it, render it on the server.
For a marketing or content site, we reach for Next.js by default and keep the interactive parts small.