Creating a React App Using Next.js without create-react-app

In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of creating a React app with Next.js without using create-react-app. Next.js is a popular React framework that provides tools for building server-side rendered (SSR) React applications. By using Next.js, you can easily set up a React project with built-in support for SSR, routing, and more.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a React app with Next.js:

Step 1: Install Node.js
Before we start, make sure you have Node.js installed on your machine. You can download and install Node.js from the official website (https://nodejs.org). Node.js comes with npm (Node Package Manager) that we will use to install Next.js and other dependencies.

Step 2: Install Next.js
To create a new Next.js project, you need to install the Next.js package globally on your machine. Open your terminal and run the following command:

npm install -g create-next-app

This command will install the create-next-app package, which is a utility tool that helps you create new Next.js projects with ease.

Step 3: Create a new Next.js project
Once you have installed create-next-app, you can create a new Next.js project by running the following command in your terminal:

create-next-app my-next-app

Replace "my-next-app" with the name of your project. This command will generate a new Next.js project in a folder with the specified name.

Step 4: Navigate to the project directory
After creating the project, navigate to the project directory by running the following command:

cd my-next-app

Step 5: Run the development server
To run the development server of your Next.js project, use the following command:

npm run dev

This command will start the development server and open a new browser tab with your Next.js application running. You can now start building your React app using Next.js.

Step 6: Start building your React app
You can create new React components, pages, and routes in your Next.js project by adding files to the "pages" directory. Next.js automatically generates routes based on the file structure inside the "pages" directory. For example, if you create a file named "about.js" inside the "pages" directory, it will be accessible at "/about" in your application.

Step 7: Build and deploy your Next.js app
Once you have built your React app with Next.js, you can build it for production by running the following command:

npm run build

This command will create an optimized build of your Next.js app in the "build" directory. You can deploy this build to a web server or serverless platform of your choice.

That’s it! You have successfully created a React app with Next.js without using create-react-app. Next.js provides a powerful set of tools to build server-side rendered React applications with ease. You can explore the Next.js documentation (https://nextjs.org/docs) to learn more about its features and capabilities. Happy coding!