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Add Next.js as a specialized stack #763

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7 changes: 7 additions & 0 deletions tech-stack/README.md
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Expand Up @@ -67,6 +67,13 @@ in the Core Stack, most developers won't learn these technologies, and the
specialists who learn these stacks are unlikely to be able to learn many layers
in the Core Stack.

### Next.js for Web

- Use Next.js for web applications that benefit significantly from static site
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@jimmythigpen I'd somehow mention that it's also a good choice for companies whose developer team is already heavily invested in the JS ecosystem

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@FerPerales I know we've used Next.js in past clients, but maybe other full-stack options like Remix, Adonis.js or Blitz.js are closer to Rails.

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Is Next.js our current preferred stack for static sites?

Also you highlighted SEO. Is tech stack that relevant when it comes to SEO?

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@JoelQ these are good questions, as I bet there are ways to enable something like static site generation and improve SEO optimization in Rails. Out of the box Next.js does make it pretty easy to manage metadata for routes, and incremental static regeneration (ISR) is nice if your site depends on a headless CMS like Contentful and content is constantly updating. I think Next.js was chosen for WorkMoney for example for these reasons- though there may be others I'm unaware of.

I guess we should ask ourselves.. was choosing Next.js in the past a fluke? Can we see ourselves choosing it again for a future project? If we decide to add it as a stack choice somehow we should probably also list why we would choose it over Rails, and make sure to mention pros/cons, and concerns.

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Yeah Rails is not the tool for static sites. I'm happy to have a recommendation for static sites. I know there is a whole panoply of tools for this in a variety of languages. If we find that we have strong opinions on what our go-to tool for static sites should be, I'm happy to include that in the guide. I know back in the day go-tos were jekyll and middleman (the thoughtbot blog used to be middleman!).

My understanding is that the new generation of static site generators have a fancier build process that allows you to include more dynamic elements. I've not done a lot of work in that space for years though so I'm not sure what is the the expected feature set of a static site generator framework these days.

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I'd still use Jekyll today, but I have had success with https://bridgetownrb.com/ too (recommended by @FerPerales)

generation (SSG) and SEO optimization.
- Use TypeScript when writing Next.js applications.
- Use Vercel with automatic git deploys.

### Android (Native)

- Use Kotlin for writing native app code.
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