The short version
Every web project we've shipped in the last two years has been built on Next.js. Not because it's trendy — because it solves real problems that every production web application eventually hits.
Server-side rendering, static generation, API routes, image optimisation, and a deployment story that actually works. All in one framework, with one set of conventions, and one mental model for your team to learn.
What Next.js gets right
Performance is the default
With React Server Components, most of your application renders on the server. Your users download less JavaScript, your pages load faster, and your Core Web Vitals scores improve without any extra work.
This matters because Google ranks fast sites higher, and users abandon slow ones. Performance isn't a nice-to-have — it's a business metric.
The full stack in one project
API routes mean your backend lives next to your frontend. For most web applications — especially SaaS products and internal tools — this eliminates an entire category of complexity: separate deployments, CORS configuration, API versioning, and the overhead of maintaining two codebases.
When you need a dedicated backend (and sometimes you do), Next.js doesn't fight you. But for 80% of projects, the built-in API layer is more than enough.
Static where possible, dynamic where necessary
Next.js lets you choose the rendering strategy per page. Marketing pages? Static. User dashboard? Server-rendered. Real-time feed? Client-side with streaming. You don't have to pick one approach for your entire application.
This flexibility means you're never fighting the framework. You're using the right tool for each part of your product.
When we don't use Next.js
We're honest about limitations:
- Heavy real-time applications (collaborative editors, trading platforms) — we'd reach for a WebSocket-first architecture
- Mobile apps — React Native, not Next.js
- Static marketing sites with zero interactivity — sometimes plain HTML is the right answer
- Existing codebases — if you have a working Rails or Django app, we're not going to rewrite it for the sake of it
The bottom line
Next.js is our default because it reduces the number of decisions we need to make on every project, without limiting the decisions that actually matter. It's boring in the best way — predictable, well-documented, and battle-tested at scale.
If you're starting a new web project in 2026, it should probably be built on Next.js. And if it shouldn't, we'll tell you that too.