How to Build a Simple Web Application with Next.js

In this guide, we will walk through the steps to create a basic web application using Next.js, a powerful framework for building server-side rendered React applications.

Step 1: Install Node.js and npm

Make sure you have Node.js installed on your machine. You can download it from the official Node.js website. npm comes bundled with Node.js, so it will be installed automatically.

You can check if Node.js and npm are installed by running the following commands in your terminal:

node -v
npm -v

Step 2: Create a Next.js Project

To create a new Next.js project, you can use create-next-app, which sets up a Next.js project with everything you need.

Run the following command in your terminal:

npx create-next-app@latest my-next-app

Step 3: Run the Development Server

Navigate into your project directory and start the development server by running:

cd my-next-app
npm run dev

The app will be available at http://localhost:3000. Open this URL in your browser, and you should see the Next.js welcome page.

Step 4: Modify the Pages

Next.js uses a file-based routing system. The pages directory contains different pages of your app.

You can modify pages/index.js to customize the home page. For example:

export default function Home() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Welcome to My First Next.js App</h1>
      <p>This is a simple web application created with Next.js.</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Save the file and refresh your browser to see the updated page.