14 Best Practices For Next JS Speed Optimization

Are you looking to speed up your Next.js applications and boost performance? Vercel logging provides accessible insights into your application's behavior and performance. By implementing NextJS logging, you can make informed decisions to enhance speed and efficiency. 

Let's uncover how this valuable tool can optimize your NextJS logging applications.

Table of Contents

• What Is Next JS?
• Why Speed Optimization Matters
• The Basics of Site Speed
• 14 Best Practices For Next JS Speed Optimization
• Catch Issues Before They Affect Your Users With Alerty's NextJS Logging Tool

What Is Next JS?

Next.js is an open-source React framework that helps developers rapidly build high-performance web applications with excellent user experience and SEO benefits. It’s trusted by leading brands such as: 

• Netflix
• Uber
• Starbucks

Since its launch a few years ago, the Next.Js frontend framework has become one of the most popular tools in the React ecosystem. React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. 

Next.js Platform Compatibility

• Developed by Zeit
• Compatible with Windows
• Supports Linux
• Available for Mac

Requirements for Building Optimized Websites

• User-friendly design
• Superfast performance
• SEO-friendly structure
• Static website capabilities
• Comprehensive framework for application functioning

Next.Js can build hybrid apps with statically generated and server-side rendered pages. It involves creating dynamic designs, interactive modules, and performance-based web applications for users.

While the framework is simple, developers still struggle to increase the speed of their applications.

Factors Affecting Application Speed

• Time to serve application code
• Time to deliver styles
• Time to transmit data

When the server needs to send additional assets (for example, images) during the initial round trip, the application performance degrades. Developers can follow several best practices to improve the speed of their Next.js applications.

Related Reading

• NextJS Error Boundary
• Vercel Analytics
• NextJS Opentelemetry
• NextJS Error Handling
• NextJS Error

Why Speed Optimization Matters

User Experience

A fast-loading application significantly enhances the user experience. Studies show that users will likely abandon a website if it takes more than 4 seconds to load. By optimizing speed, Next.js applications can ensure that users have a smooth and engaging experience, reducing bounce rates and increasing the likelihood of user retention.

SEO and Search Engine Rankings

Search engines like Google prioritize fast-loading websites in their rankings. Next.js applications optimized for speed are more likely to appear higher in search results. This increased visibility can lead to more organic traffic and better overall website performance in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Performance Metrics

Key Performance Metrics for Web Page Loading

• Time to First Byte (TTFB)
• First Contentful Paint (FCP) 
• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

Optimizing Next.js applications for these metrics can lead to better performance scores, often used by tools like Google Lighthouse to evaluate website performance.

Mobile Performance

With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet, Next.js applications must be optimized for mobile performance. Mobile users often have slower network connections, and optimizing for speed ensures that the application performs well regardless of the device or network conditions.

Reduced Resource Consumption

Optimized applications consume fewer server resources, leading to cost savings on hosting and infrastructure. By reducing the server load, businesses can handle more traffic without additional resources, leading to more efficient operation and scalability.

Focus on Your Code, Alerty Handles Monitoring

Alerty is a cloud monitoring service for developers and early-stage startups. It offers application performance monitoring, database monitoring, and incident management. It supports technologies like NextJS, React, Vue, and Node.js, helping developers identify and fix issues. 

Database Monitoring with Alerty

• Monitors databases like Supabase, PostgreSQL, and RDS
• Tracks key metrics such as CPU usage
• Monitors memory consumption

It features quick incident management and Real User Monitoring (RUM) to optimize user experience. Its Universal Service Monitoring covers dependencies like Stripe API, OpenAI, and Vercel. 

Alerty uses AI to simplify setup, providing a cost-effective solution compared to competitors. It is designed for ease of use, allowing quick setup, and integrates with tools like Sentry, making it ideal for developers and small teams needing efficient, affordable monitoring. 

Catch issues before they affect your users with Alerty's NextJS logging tool today!

The Basics of Site Speed

Experts consider key metrics in a typical user journey when evaluating a website's speed. This includes the server response time, which denotes how long it takes for the user to get feedback once they land on the page. 

Page render time is another significant metric, showing how long it takes for a page to become fully visible and interactive. User interaction time helps in understanding how long it takes for the user to make key interactions on the page, like navigating between pages or adding an item to the cart. 

The Role of Data in Speed Optimization

Data is the critical element in making and keeping a website fast. It is essential to comprehend that speed is more than just a way to assess user experience. It is also crucial for securing the top spot on any search platform and winning essential organic page views. 

To ensure that experts are measuring the correct data accurately, tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Vercel Speed Insights can provide objective metrics. These tools are useful for diagnosing page performance issues and offering insights into loading times, interactivity, and visual stability.

Testing Under Various Network Conditions

It is equally important to test the user journey under diverse network conditions. Combining objective tools with a hands-on approach offers a comprehensive view of a website experience, ensuring it is optimized for all users. Experts can ensure that a website provides an exceptional user experience while accurately measuring and optimizing the relevant metrics and maintaining fast loading times.

14 Best Practices for Next JS Speed Optimization

1. Use Server-Side Rendering

Using server-side rendering (SSR) in Next.js can significantly improve your application's performance. This technique involves rendering the initial HTML of a webpage on the server before delivering it to the browser. By implementing server-side rendering, your app can reduce the time required to render the first page on the client side, resulting in faster content delivery to users. 

Tap into Server-Side Rendering Power with getServerSideProps

Next.js provides an async function called getServerSideProps, which allows you to render any page on the server and return static HTML to the client. This function can also fetch data from an external API and pass it to the page component as props, improving application performance, especially on mobile devices.

2. Use Dynamic Imports

Dynamic imports in Next.js allow you to split your code into smaller chunks and load them on demand. This approach is beneficial for reducing the initial load time and the overall bundle size of the application.

Load Components on Demand with Next.js

You can optimize performance by dynamically importing specific components only when needed, especially on mobile devices. Next.js offers a dynamic component that you can use to load components on demand. This feature is valuable for lazy loading components like login buttons based on user interactions.

3. Code Splitting and Lazy Loading

Code splitting and lazy loading are essential techniques for optimizing the performance of your Next.js application. By breaking your application's JavaScript bundle into smaller chunks and deferring the loading of specific components until needed, you can significantly reduce load times and improve the user experience.

Streamline Performance With Code Splitting & Lazy Loading

Next.js automatically handles code splitting at the page level, ensuring users download only the required JavaScript for each page. Lazy loading, implemented using dynamic imports, allows you to load components on demand, reducing your application's initial load time.

4. Image Optimization

Optimizing images is crucial for web performance. Next.js provides the next/image component, automatically optimizing images by serving them in the appropriate format and size for the user's device. This component ensures that images are displayed efficiently, further enhancing the performance of your application.

5. Cache Frequently Used Content

Caching frequently used content can improve response times and reduce bandwidth usage by serving content from a cache instead of the source. Next.js has built-in caching to help pages load faster. By manually setting headers on API routes and server-side rendered props using Cache-Control, you can implement caching in your Next.js application efficiently. This practice ensures that your application performs optimally and delivers content faster to users.

6. Remove unused dependencies

Unused dependencies in your Next.js application can increase its size and loading time. To optimize performance, you must watch for unused dependencies and remove them from your project. Tools like dep check can identify and remove unused dependencies, ensuring that your application runs smoothly and efficiently without unnecessary bloat.

7. Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Utilizing a Content Delivery Network (CDN) can significantly improve your Next.js application's performance by reducing latency and ensuring faster content delivery to users worldwide. Hosting static assets on a CDN can enhance the user experience, especially for users geographically distant from your primary server. 

Next.js & Automatic CDN Integration

Next.js offers automatic CDN support for images when using the Image component, providing integration with CDN providers for other static assets.

8. Optimizing Fonts

Optimizing font loading is crucial for performance. The next/font/google module in Next.js allows you to maximize font loading effectively. You can enhance your application's overall performance by ensuring that fonts are displayed efficiently and without blocking rendering.

9. Leveraging Next.js Middleware

Next.js middleware enables you to run code before a request is completed, offering various optimizations like caching and redirects. By leveraging Next.js middleware effectively, you can enhance your application's performance and user experience, providing tailored solutions to specific optimization needs.

10. ISR

ISR, or Incremental Static Regeneration, is a powerful feature of Next.js that is particularly useful for publications like blogs. ISR allows you to generate and cache pages at build time, serving them without regeneration until the next deployment. By using ISR, you can significantly improve the speed and efficiency of your application, especially for dynamic content that doesn't change frequently.

11. Optimize Your Scripts

Optimizing third-party scripts in your Next.js application is essential for improving performance. Using the next/script component and setting loading priorities for third-party scripts allows you to control when and how scripts are loaded, further enhancing the user experience. Different loading strategies in the next/script component provide flexibility in optimizing script loading behavior, ensuring optimal performance for your application.

12. Delay Loading the Non-Essential Scripts Until It Gets Neutral

Delaying the loading of non-essential scripts can significantly improve the performance of your Next.js application.

Control Script Loading with Next.js's next/script

Using the next/script component to specify when the browser should fetch related scripts, you can optimize the loading of third-party scripts without impacting critical rendering components. Prioritizing script loading in this manner helps enhance your application's overall performance and user experience.

13. Analyzing and Reducing Bundle Size

Visualizing your bundle size and identifying large modules is essential for optimizing performance. Tools like the @next/bundle-analyzer package in Next.js allow you to visualize your bundle and identify areas for reducing size. Analyzing and reducing your bundle size can improve your application's performance and speed, delivering a better user experience.

14. Integrate an Analytics or APM Tool

Integrating an analytics or Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tool in your Next.js application is crucial for monitoring performance and user interactions.

Enhance Application Performance With Insights

• Utilize Next.js Speed Insights
• Leverage APM libraries like Alerty, Sentry, New Relic, and AppSignal
• Gain performance insights
• Ensure a smooth user experience

Deploying analytics and APM tools helps you track site traffic, monitor performance metrics, and address any issues promptly, ensuring optimal performance for your Next.js application.

Related Reading

• Javascript Error Logging
• NextJS Debugger
• NextJS CSRF
• Next JS Best Practices
• NextJS Security
• Javascript Monitoring

Catch Issues Before They Affect Your Users With Alerty's NextJS Logging Tool

Alerty is a cloud monitoring service designed to assist developers and early-stage startups optimize their applications and databases.

Alerty's Versatile Monitoring Services

• Application performance monitoring
• Database monitoring
• Incident management
• Compatible with NextJS, React, Vue, and Node.js

Alerty monitors key database metrics, including CPU usage and memory consumption. This allows developers to track the health of their databases seamlessly.

Comprehensive Monitoring Solutions

• Covers dependencies such as Stripe API, OpenAI, and Vercel
• Provides comprehensive monitoring for developers

One of Alerty's standout features is its Real User Monitoring (RUM) functionality, which enables developers to gain insights into user behavior and optimize the user experience. This feature is essential for identifying and resolving performance issues impacting user engagement and retention.

Effortless Setup and Cost-Effective Monitoring with AI

Alerty leverages AI technology to simplify setup and configuration, making it a user-friendly and cost-effective monitoring solution. It integrates seamlessly with tools like Sentry, enhancing its functionality and usability for developers and small teams.

Proactive Issue Detection and Performance Optimization

Alerty is an efficient and affordable monitoring solution that helps developers catch issues before they impact their users. Its compatibility with NextJS and other technologies makes it a valuable tool for optimizing application and database performance.

Try Alerty's NextJS logging tool today to ensure proactive issue detection and seamless performance monitoring across diverse tech environments.

Related Reading

• Datadog NextJS
• Posthog NextJS
• NextJS Prometheus
• Newrelic NextJS
• Front End Monitoring Tools