Why I Build Client Websites with Next.js

Clients rarely care what framework their website is built with — and they shouldn't have to. What they care about is that it's fast, reliable, easy to update and good for SEO. Next.js happens to be one of the best tools for delivering all four, which is why it's my default.

Speed by default

Next.js renders pages on the server (or at build time), so visitors get HTML immediately rather than waiting for JavaScript to boot up. Combined with automatic code-splitting and image optimisation, you get fast sites without having to fight for them.

Great for SEO

Server rendering means search engines see fully-formed content. The framework also makes it straightforward to manage metadata, canonical URLs, sitemaps and structured data — the technical SEO essentials that so many sites get wrong.

Scales with the business

The same framework can power a five-page brochure site and a full SaaS application. That means as a client's needs grow, the foundation doesn't have to be thrown away — we extend it.

When I don't reach for Next.js

It's not always the answer. For a tiny static one-pager with no future plans, a simpler setup can be lighter. For a content-heavy site where a team needs a mature CMS and don't need a custom frontend, other tools may fit better. The right choice always starts with the business goal, not the tech.

That's the real point: the framework is a means to an end. My job is to pick the tool that gets you the best outcome — and to build it properly.