Why Use Next.js or React.js Over Vanilla HTML, CSS, and JS?

In the early days of the web, websites were often built using plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. While that still works for simple pages, modern websites and web applications demand more - better performance, scalability, interactivity, and maintainability.

That's where frameworks like Next.js and React.js come in.

Code Example

Here's a simple comparison of how a component might be handled:

// React.js component
function Welcome({ name }) {
  return <h1>Hello, {name}!</h1>

Versus using vanilla JavaScript:

The React version is more readable, reusable, and maintainable - especially as apps grow.

Why Not Vanilla?

Here are some reasons vanilla HTML, CSS, and JS fall short:

• Scalability Issues: As your site grows, managing pure JS becomes hard.

• No Component System: Vanilla code doesn't promote reusability.

• Manual DOM Management: Leads to bugs and inconsistent behavior.

• No Built-in Routing: You have to build your own router logic.

• Lack of Optimization: No server-side rendering, image optimization, or code splitting.

Why Use React.js?

React allows you to:

• Create reusable components

• Manage complex state easily

• Use tools and libraries from a huge ecosystem

• Build highly interactive UIs efficiently

Why Use Next.js?

Next.js builds on React and adds:

• File-based Routing: Pages are created as simple files.

• Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Better SEO and performance.

• API Routes: Build backends right in your app.

• Static Site Generation (SSG): Faster load times with pre-rendered pages.

• Built-in Optimizations: Image handling, code splitting, and more.

Features

• Component-Based Architecture: Build maintainable and scalable apps

• Performance Optimizations: SSR and SSG for blazing speed

• Developer Experience: Hot reload, TypeScript support, etc.

• Ecosystem: Huge community, libraries, and tooling

Conclusion

While vanilla HTML/CSS/JS is still essential to understand, frameworks like React and Next.js make modern development faster, easier, and more scalable. They help teams ship production-grade applications efficiently and with confidence.

Next Steps

Try building a simple app in both vanilla JS and React - you'll quickly feel the difference!