Quick Start Guide: Building Your NextJS Website in 10 Minutes

Creating a website can often seem like a daunting task, especially if you're not familiar with the nuances of web development. But what if you could get your website up and running in just 10 minutes? Yes, you read that right – 10 minutes! With Next.js, a powerful framework built on top of React, launching a new site is quicker and less complicated than you might think. In this article, we'll walk through the steps to create a basic Next.js website, so grab your timer, and let's get started!

Step 1: Setup Your Environment

First things first, you need to have Node.js installed on your computer. Node.js is the backbone of Next.js, and you can download it from Node.js official website. It comes with npm (node package manager), which you’ll use to install Next.js. Make sure you install Node.js version 10.13 or later.

Once Node.js is installed, you can verify it by opening your terminal or command prompt and typing:

Copy code
node -v
npm -v

This will display the version of Node and npm installed on your system, ensuring everything is ready for the next steps.

Step 2: Create Your Next.js Project

Creating a new Next.js project is incredibly straightforward. Open your terminal and run the following command to create a new project:

Copy code
npx create-next-app my-nextjs-site

Replace my-nextjs-site with whatever you want to name your project. This command creates a new folder in your current directory with all the initial setup and dependencies you need.

Step 3: Explore Your New Project

Once the installation process is complete, change into your project directory:

Copy code
cd my-nextjs-site

Take a moment to explore the file structure. You should see several directories and files, including:

• pages/ - Contains all your application's pages. The index.js in this folder is your homepage.
• public/ - For static files like images, fonts, etc.
• styles/ - Put your CSS files here.

Step 4: Run Your Development Server

Next.js comes with a built-in development server which refreshes your page automatically as you edit files. To start the server, run:

Copy code
npm run dev

This command will start the Next.js application on a local server, usually available at http://localhost:3000. Open your web browser and go to this address to see your new site in action.

Step 5: Edit Your Homepage

Let’s personalize the homepage a bit. Open the pages/index.js file in your favorite code editor. You'll see React components in action. Don’t worry if you're new to React—just follow along for now.

Change the <h1> tag to something more personal, perhaps:

Copy code
<h1>Welcome to My Awesome NextJS Site!</h1>

As you save the file, the development server automatically updates what’s shown in the browser. Pretty neat, right?

Step 6: Add a New Page

Adding new pages is super easy in Next.js. Let's create an "About" page. Create a file called about.js in the pages folder and add the following:

Copy code
import React from 'react';

export default function About() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>About Us</h1>
      <p>This is a great place to tell visitors more about yourself or your site.</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Now, if you go to http://localhost:3000/about, you'll see your new "About" page.

Step 7: Deploy Your Site

Ready to share your site with the world? Deploying a Next.js site is also straightforward, especially with platforms like Vercel (the creators of Next.js). Go to Vercel’s website, sign up or log in, and simply import your new GitHub repository into Vercel. It will handle everything from there, deploying your site with a live URL.

Step 8: Celebrate!

Congratulations! You've just created and deployed a Next.js website in about 10 minutes. That wasn’t too hard, was it?

Next.js is an excellent framework for both beginners and seasoned developers. It simplifies the process of creating a React application and offers excellent features like server-side rendering and static site generation. The ease with which you can deploy and scale your application, thanks to platforms like Vercel, makes Next.js a powerful tool for modern web development.

If you’ve followed these steps, you now have a functional, deployable Next.js website. This is just the beginning. Next.js is incredibly powerful, and there's a lot more to explore. Enjoy building!