Learn Next.js 14

Vercel has been up to some big things lately

When I started using Next.js in January of 2023, I was quickly thankful for the upgrade in developer experience. With the intro of version 13 in October, 2022, came the /app layout for the popular web framework. While the new layouts, page routing, and React Server Components were very useful, there was a bit of a learning curve.

The documentation was rather poor for the early months of version 13, and there were even some issues that needed work - it was an interesting challenge all the more.

Now

In my last post I talk a bit about my latest break, and how it helped me. I have decided to jump back into learning the latest updates of Next, with their release of Next.js Version 14.

What I learned so far

Next.js has a site - Learn Next.js 14 where they have some wonderful documentation in regards to the new update (Next.js Version 14 - released Oct 26, 2023).

Within the material, you will learn how to set up a fully functioning dynamic web application with a back end using Next.js v14 - all while learning about the new updates and how to add them. Not only is this good for new users, but also good for users that just would like to stay current with the latest updates in their tech stack.

Currently, I have seeded my postgres SQL database (offered with free tier version from Vercel) with my dummy info for customers in accordance with the course instructions, and I am working now on adding in dynamic information to the dashboard.

It is very pleasing when there is clear, guided documentation to walk you through the updates to a major framework like Next, especially when you learn better visually - like me. The team at Next.js really did an amazing job being very clear and helpful within the documentation, while even providing troubleshooting tips for some sections. I was honestly blown away.

This little course, completely free, is helping me come back from my break and re familiarize myself with a lot of the great benefits of Next.js, while also helping to really cement the new stuff - like how they have added font optimization by statically pre-rendering additional fonts at build time (the same way it does with the images).

Not to mention that it is a cool little project that can be hosted on your portfolio (or wherever you showcase your work). I personally am hosting my repo on my GitHub, and have started creating branches for each chapter so I can keep track of the curriculum. I am looking forward to continuing to building more this year with Next.js v14.