How to Create a PWA with Next.js: A Step-by-Step Guide?

Modern digital applications are available in a wide range of designs and sizes. Platform-independent and flexible development practices for web and mobile applications are now in demand as companies strive to present their products to the maximum audiences in a short period of time. Next.js offers the means for creating mobile and web applications that guarantee that a given app or website offers a faultless seamless user experience, making it a preferred tool for designers and industry giants.

In the past, it was quite difficult to create a PWA with Next.js due to some complexities, PWA employs service workers, manifests, and gradually improved features to give your ordinary website the look and feel of a native app. You are not required to make a desktop or mobile application. Activate PWA in your Next.js app that’s all you need to do. You must approach proficient progressive web app development services for creating your PWA with Next.js for better and error-free web applications.

The manual configuration of the PWA’s multiple features including service workers, catching schemes, and offline support, required developers to overcome a difficult learning process. Then, a new invention came in PWA that is the Next-PWA plugin. With this plugin, you can now build a PWA with Next.js by offering a zero-config solution thus becoming a lot more approachable. In this blog, we are going to discuss how to create a PWA with Next.js. whether it is hard or not. Before that let’s understand PWA and Next.js with a brief definition.

What is Progressive web app development?

The progressive web application is referred to as PWA. It is a web-based application created using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It also offers functionalities and imitates the features of a native program. Push notifications, offline functionality, and many other native-like capabilities are available on PWAs, which enable them to function like a web page and a mobile application.

Progressive web app development is not as difficult as native applications. You can easily develop it without even learning the programming languages that are required for creating a native app. You only need a service worker and an interface to an already existing web page. A progressive web app development company can provide you with a well-trained team of experts to create or convert your PWA to a Next.js PWA.

Features of a Progressive web app with Next.js:

• For a flawless user experience, PWA with Next.js allows offline support and caching of essential components.
• A responsive user interface and quicker initial load times are made possible by the implementation of an app shell architecture using Next.js.
• To provide consumers with timely updates and formation, Next.js PWA can integrate push notifications.
• PWAs can be installed on users’ home screens with the help of Next.js, making them more accessible and discoverable.
• In order to reach a wider audience, Next.js PWAs are cross-platform and usable with web browsers on many operating systems.

What is Next.js?

Next.js, one of the best technological stacks is an open-source development framework, which enables React-based web app features on static websites. Its API is simple and easy to use, and there is plenty of documentation and examples to guide you. Next.js’s key characteristic is its usage of server-side rendering, which lessens the load on web browsers and offers improved security.

Moreover, next.js capabilities handle typical application requirements such as routing, data fetching, and integrations while enhancing the experience for both developers and end users. Overall, it makes it easier to create online apps that are truly engaging, highly adaptive, and performant.

Why Create Web Applications using Next.js?

The reasons why one should choose to create a PWA with Next.js are as follows:

• Fast loading speed and response.
• Next.js PWA uses automatic code splitting and prefetching to accomplish quick page transitions.
• An outstanding user experience.
• Greater SEO results in a shorter time to market.
• Enhanced efficiency and enables scaling.
• Makes it simpler for developers to work by enabling the import of CSS files from a JavaScript library.
• Provides a quick real-time editing experience.
• Integrated new features and elements of the next image to assist in image optimization.

PWA For E-Commerce: Top Features And Advantages

Steps to Develop Progressive Web App Development using Next.JS:

Installing the progressive web app dependency:

Instal progressive web app dependency on your computer system or mobile device using any version manager like yarn, npm, etc. We above discussed the npm package that is next-PWA. Install it.

Generate a manifest file:

{
    "theme_color": "#3579f6",
    "background_color": "#ffffff",
    "display": "standalone",
    "scope": "/",
    "start_url": "/",
    "name": "Next-PWA",
    "short_name": "Next-PWA",
    "description": "A Demo for Next-PWA",
    "icons": [
        {
            "src": "/icon-192x192.png",
            "sizes": "192x192",
            "type": "image/png"
        },
        {
            "src": "/icon-256x256.png",
            "sizes": "256x256",
            "type": "image/png"
        },
        {
            "src": "/icon-384x384.png",
            "sizes": "384x384",
            "type": "image/png"
        },
        {
            "src": "/icon-512x512.png",
            "sizes": "512x512",
            "type": "image/png"
        }
    ]
}

After the installation, with the help of the manifest generator of PWA, create a manifest.json file. Add this manifest file to the public folder of your app by clicking on the generate manifest button if you wish to.

Create a document.js file:

import Document, { Html, Head, Main, NextScript } from "next/document";

class MyDocument extends Document {
  render() {
    return (
      <Html>
        <Head>
          <link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json" />
          <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/icon.png"></link>
          <meta name="theme-color" content="#fff" />
        </Head>
        <body>
          <Main />
          <NextScript />
        </body>
      </Html>
    );
  }
}

export default MyDocument;

Change The default document in Next.js to a document.js file to avoid Next.js pages missing past descriptions of the enclosing document’s content. The body tag and any other HTML changes must be made in _document.js, which is where the HTML is typically arranged.

Configure the next.config.js file:

const withPWA = require("next-pwa");

module.exports = withPWA({
  pwa: {
    dest: "public",
    register: true,
    skipWaiting: true,
  },
});

The PWA dependency must be configured by adding the necessary code to our next.config.js file, which is the final step. We must run the following command [npm_run_build] in the terminal after putting up the next.config.js file. This command creates the application for usage in production.

Start & validate your PWA:

Finally, the build has been created, now use [npm_run_start] this command to run the server on localhost. A small install icon will appear on your web browser. Your PWA with Next.js is ready to click and install. After installation, the icon you selected in the manifest.json file will appear on your device’s homepage. Click on the icon and start using your progressive web app. Lastly, validate your PWA with Next.js using dev tools in the lighthouse.

And we are all done! Your app is ready. But it is not that easy you will need to hire Progressive web app developer for converting or creating a PWA with Next.js from scratch. An experienced developer will know more about the latest plugins and will create your PWA more efficiently.

To Conclude,

When you want a broad spectrum of audiences but don’t have enough time to build separate websites and apps for different platforms PWA is the best option for you. The plus point of PWA with Next.js is that they provide an excellent user experience similar to native apps. It makes sure that your homepage loads swiftly even if it has hundreds of pages. If only one-page malfunctions, the rest of the application will continue to function.

You will have the freedom to create a responsive app that satisfies all of your criteria, offers all of the functionality you want, and still offers all of the SEO benefits of a simple text-based website. Hence, it is evident that if you create a PWA with Next.js, you can stand out in the cutting-edge market. In the market of app development, progressive web app development cost is around $10,000 to $100,000 approximately. If you have a tight budget, look around for cost-effective progressive web app development services to create your web app with Next.js.

FAQs

Read More:-

1. PWA Vs Native App – Which Is Better For Your Business?
2. Top PWA Frameworks for Progressive Web App Development
3. On-Demand App Ideas For Startup Growth