Next.js Conf 2023 was this week, here's what I learned

About the Next.js Conf 2023

I've been a fan of Next.js and Vercel for some years now and I love that they like to make a big party around releasing new features every year 🎉

This year at the virtual event Next.js Conf I really liked that they went back to live presentations and unscripted content ❤️‍🔥 It makes everything much more authentic and much easier to follow. I personally can't sit in front of my computer and watch 3 to 5 hours of scripted video presentations 📺 😩

I spent a bunch of hours watching, taking notes and making some ugly doodles that I'll keep for myself. I really hope someone else can benefit from this 😄 So let's get to it. Here's what I learned from the talks in order:

1. Guillermo Rauch - CEO, Vercel

• Next.js 14 is faster than ever on both build and dev time. And it's not even it's final form! 👾
• They'll keep delivering a great product by following these three goals: Fast Initial Visual, Fast Dynamic Content and Great Developer Experience (DX) 🤓

2. Sam Selikoff - Founder, Build UI

• Server Components are the future. Imagine a world where you can copy and paste a <StripeCheckout /> without having to modify ten routes, API calls and user flows 🏖️
• Maybe right now is a great time to migrate your Next.js project and start using the app/ directory. It's only going to get better. Check out other tutorials at Build UI 🤔

3. Houssein Djirdeh - Senior Software Engineer, Google

• Make sure to check out @next/third-parties for the best approach to include third party scripts on your project 🌐
• This work comes from the same people that already delivered <Image />, <Script /> and <Font /> ✍️

4. Michelle Bakels - Program Director, G2i

• Using Open Source templates for your first big project can get you 80% there and you can learn the rest on your way 🚀
• Be careful what you commit and what you commit to. You can end up organizing React.js Miami! 🤭

5. Jared Palmer - VP of AI, Vercel

• If you were hyped about chatGPT, then you must try Vercel v0 to generate React Components ⚛️
• SDKs and extensibility make Next.js a really great framework for your next AI project 🤖

6. James Mikrut - CEO, Payload

• It's very probable that Payload gets migrated to Next.js and become even better 🧠
• If there are whole teams dedicated to improve React, Next.js and ORM's, then it's probably a good idea to let them do the heacy lifting so you can focus on delivering value! 📈

7. Katie Hoesley & Matt Volk, BigCommerce

• React Server Components are paving the future for agencies and e-commerce, says the clientele from BigCommerce 🫰
• There are still key issues to solve, but the future looks promising 😎

8. Lydia Hallie - Staff Developer Advocate, Vercel

• Lydia leverages clear explanations and neat graphics to make all the new changes in React and Next.js understandable 👩‍🏫
• If the previous talks didn't do the trick, the arguments from this talk really motivated me to test out the new app/ directory and migrate my stale projects 🍞

Thanks for reading

If you want to dive deep into any of these talks, I encourage you to watch the Livestream Recording directly at Next.js Conf.

And that's a wrap! I had a really good time watching these talks, doodling and taking notes for this year's conference. Can't wait to see what they come up with next time. I hope you find my takeaways useful 😊