Next.js as a backend: honest limits for production apps
Next.js route handlers and server actions work for many backend needs, but have real limits. Here's where they hold and where they break.
Tag
Next.js
Practical articles on the Next.js App Router — ISR, PPR, RSC, bundle optimisation, and shipping production-grade sites.
78 posts
5 min read
Webflow vs Next.js cost in 2026: where the curve crosses
A straight total-cost comparison of Webflow site plans vs a custom Next.js + CMS build. Real numbers, one table, honest about where each wins.
Hire a Next.js developer who can actually ship production
Vetting guide for founders and PMs: portfolio signals, App Router interview questions, Core Web Vitals checks, and real rate benchmarks for 2026.
Node.js CMS in 2026: Payload, Strapi, Directus, Keystone, and Sanity compared
Choosing a Node.js CMS for a custom website? Honest trade-offs across Payload, Strapi, Directus, Keystone, and Sanity with a side-by-side comparison table.
The Next.js + React stack explained: what each layer does and when it's wrong
A practical guide to the Next React stack — React, Next.js, hosting, CMS, and styling — what each layer does, why this combination won, and when to walk away.
Next.js API routes vs route handlers: when to use each
Pages Router API routes vs App Router route handlers compared — caching, streaming, edge runtime, and a clear migration path with real code examples.
Vercel pricing 2026: what you actually pay for a real Next.js project
Hobby, Pro, and Enterprise Vercel pricing explained with real usage line items, per-seat maths, and a realistic monthly total for a mid-traffic marketing site.
Marketing website performance: what fast pages are actually worth
Marketing website performance affects conversions, ad ROI, and SEO rank. Here's what the numbers mean in business terms and what to demand from any build.
Hire a web developer in 2026: freelance, agency, or in-house?
A founder's practical guide to hiring a web developer — budget ranges, freelance vs agency vs in-house trade-offs, vetting, and contract structure.
Startup app development: how to avoid wasting your first sprint
Practical advice for founders on scoping an MVP, picking boring tech, and staging from day one — before startup app development begins.
How I build a Next.js blog that stays fast at 100+ posts
Static generation, pagination, image handling, and bundle discipline for a Next.js blog that doesn't slow down as content grows. Practical code included.
How to choose a CMS for SEO: rendering, structured data, and Core Web Vitals
Pick the right SEO CMS by understanding rendering strategy, structured data support, sitemap control, and editorial workflow. A practical guide for 2026.
Storyblok Pricing 2026: Free Tier Limits, Per-Seat Costs & When to Upgrade
Storyblok's free tier: 1 user, 1 space. Paid plans start at $99/month per seat. Here's every plan limit, a real cost example for growing teams, and the upgrade triggers most people hit first.
Hire a web designer: what performance-aware buyers should check first
Thinking about hiring a web designer? This guide covers portfolio signals, performance questions, and the designer vs developer trade-off. Read before you sign.
Tailwind CSS in 2026: what actually changed for teams
Tailwind CSS v4 rewired how teams configure, share, and ship styles. Here's what the CSS-first engine means in practice.
Sanity vs WordPress cost: annual TCO once you're already live
A steady-state cost breakdown of Sanity + Next.js vs WordPress: hosting, plugins, security, and editor time. Real annual totals compared.
Sanity image-url hotspot not working: four causes and fixes
Sanity hotspot not applying to your rendered image? Here are the four real causes and exact fixes for each one.
Sanity vs Directus for Next.js in 2026: An Honest Comparison
Sanity vs Directus compared across data ownership, schema design, querying, editor UX, and self-hosting for Next.js projects in 2026.
Payload CMS Pricing 2026: What's Free and What It Actually Costs to Run
Payload CMS is open-source and free. The real cost is hosting, database, and storage. Realistic monthly costs from $5/month to $200+ depending on your setup — full infrastructure breakdown for 2026.
Sanity vs Hygraph 2026: An Honest Side-by-Side for Next.js Teams
Sanity vs Hygraph in 2026: GROQ content lake vs GraphQL-native federation compared on DX, editor UX, pricing, and Next.js fit. Make the right call.
Contentful Alternatives for Next.js in 2026 (5 Compared)
Switching from Contentful? Compare Sanity, Payload, Strapi, Storyblok, and Hygraph as Contentful alternatives for Next.js in 2026 — pricing, schema model, and fit.
How I Migrate WordPress to Sanity + Next.js: A Technical Walkthrough
A step-by-step guide to exporting WordPress content, mapping schemas, running an import script, converting HTML to Portable Text, and preserving SEO with 301 redirects.
Sanity Embeddings: Semantic Search in a Next.js App Router Site
Step-by-step guide to indexing Sanity content with native Embeddings, running a semantic query, and wiring a debounced search UI in Next.js App Router.
Sanity Agent Actions: Complete Setup Guide for AI-Powered Content Workflows
How to configure Sanity Agent Actions to trigger AI content workflows from the API — generate drafts, translate, and enrich fields at scale. Includes working code examples and real automation patterns.
Sanity AI Assist Setup for Editors in Next.js
Step-by-step setup of Sanity AI Assist (@sanity/assist) in a Next.js + Sanity project: install, config, field instructions, and real editor workflows. Updated for 2026.
Strapi vs Contentful 2026: An Honest Side-by-Side Comparison
Strapi vs Contentful 2026 — self-hosted open-source vs managed SaaS. Pricing, admin UX, API, Next.js fit, and lock-in compared honestly.
Sanity + Mux Signed HLS Video Playback in Next.js
Step-by-step guide to Sanity Mux video playback in Next.js: signed URLs, hls.js adaptive streaming, poster images, and LCP optimisation.
How to Archive Documents in Sanity — Unpublish Without Deleting
Step-by-step: custom Sanity document actions to unpublish, archive, and restore content without deleting, plus Next.js front-end handling for archived docs.
Sanity Scheduled Publishing with Next.js ISR Revalidation
A practical guide to Sanity scheduled publishing in Next.js: enabling the plugin, wiring SANITY_REVALIDATE_SECRET, and triggering ISR so content goes live on time.
Payload CMS vs Contentful 2026: Which Fits Your Next.js Project
Payload CMS vs Contentful compared on schema control, API, pricing curve, and Next.js fit for 2026. Pick the right tool before you commit.
Best Free Headless CMS for Next.js in 2026: 5 Tiers Compared
Comparing the best free headless CMS options for Next.js in 2026 — Sanity, Payload, Strapi, Contentful, and Storyblok free tier limits and trade-offs.
Sanity vs Strapi in 2026: an honest side-by-side comparison
Sanity vs Strapi 2026: GROQ content lake vs self-hosted SQL, editor UX, image pipelines, pricing, and lock-in trade-offs compared honestly.
Payload CMS vs Strapi in 2026: Complete Head-to-Head for Developers
Payload vs Strapi: compared on self-hosting costs, TypeScript support, plugin ecosystem, and real migration complexity. Here's which one wins for most teams — and why.
Sanity Live Preview in Next.js App Router (Presentation)
Step-by-step guide to wiring Sanity Presentation plugin for live preview in Next.js App Router, with overlay clicks, GROQ live queries, and draft mode.
Sanity Roles & Document-Level Permissions (RBAC) Setup
Step-by-step guide to wiring Sanity CMS role-based access control with document-level permissions in a Next.js project. Covers custom roles, GROQ filters, and Studio UI.
Tailwind CSS v3 to v4 Migration Guide: Next.js Steps & Gotchas
Tailwind v4 migration in Next.js, step by step: the upgrade codemod, CSS-based @theme config, dropped utilities like bg-opacity-*, PostCSS changes, and production gotchas.
React 19 New Hooks in Next.js App Router: What Changed
How useFormStatus, useActionState, and use() from React 19 changed the way I build forms and async UI in Next.js App Router. Concrete before/after code.
Next.js + Sanity CMS for Marketing Teams: What Editors Get
Wondering if Next.js and Sanity CMS gives marketing teams real editorial control? Here is what the editor experience looks like in practice.
How to Write a Project Brief for Hiring a Next.js Developer
Hiring a Next.js developer without a solid brief wastes time and money. Here is what a good agency brief contains and the mistakes to avoid first.
Sanity CMS + Next.js website cost in 2026: a straight breakdown
What does a Sanity CMS Next.js website cost to build in 2026? Real budget ranges by project type, plus hosting, retainer, and what drives cost up.
Next.js vs Astro for Content Sites and Blogs: An Honest Comparison
Next.js vs Astro for content-heavy sites — rendering models, Sanity CMS integration, bundle size, ISR, and when to pick each for a real project.
Framer Motion in Next.js App Router Without Layout Shift
Step-by-step guide to AnimatePresence page transitions in Next.js App Router, cutting CLS to 0 and lazy-loading Framer Motion to save bundle size.
Syncing Sanity CMS to Algolia Search in Next.js
Step-by-step: webhook-driven Sanity-to-Algolia sync, InstantSearch React UI, and handling stale index edge cases in Next.js. Practical and production-tested.
Next.js SEO: Adding JSON-LD Structured Data (schema.org)
A practical guide to adding JSON-LD structured data to Next.js App Router pages using BlogPosting, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage, and Person schemas.
Sanity Multilingual Content in Next.js with next-intl
Step-by-step guide to connecting Sanity document internationalisation to next-intl in the App Router, with schema design, GROQ patterns, hreflang, and slug pitfalls.
Sanity Scheduled Publishing & Custom Document Actions (2026 Guide)
How to set up true scheduled publishing in Sanity via the Releases API, plus custom document actions: an approval gate before publish and Slack notifications.
Advanced GROQ Queries: Joins, Coalesce & Array Flattening
Deep dive into advanced GROQ queries in Sanity: inline joins, the coalesce() function, conditional projections, and array flattening with real payload sizes measured.
Next.js Partial Prerendering (PPR) in Production: What Works
An honest look at Next.js partial prerendering PPR in production — what it solves, where it breaks, and which page patterns benefit most.
How I use @next/bundle-analyzer to find and fix Next.js bundle size bloat
A step-by-step walkthrough of Next.js bundle size analysis and reduction: finding large imports, fixing vendor chunks, and trimming icon libraries.
How I rotate Sanity draft mode secrets at the edge without redeploying Next.js
Step-by-step: Sanity draft mode preview in Next.js App Router with Vercel Edge Config for zero-downtime secret rotation. No content leaks.
Payload CMS vs Sanity for Next.js in 2026: An Honest Comparison
Payload CMS vs Sanity for Next.js in 2026: hosting, GROQ vs the local API, TypeScript DX, pricing, and lock-in — compared honestly by someone who's shipped both.
Next.js Bundle Size: Analyzing and Cutting Chunk Bloat
A practical walkthrough of Next.js bundle size analysis using @next/bundle-analyzer, with before/after numbers from a real project (487 kB to 301 kB).
Sanity Draft Mode Preview: Next.js App Router + Edge Config
Step-by-step: route handlers, cookie strategy, and Vercel Edge Config secret rotation for Sanity draft mode preview in Next.js. No leaks.
Mux Video in Next.js + Sanity CMS: Upload & Playback Guide
Step-by-step guide to Mux video hosting in Next.js and Sanity CMS: sanity-plugin-mux-input setup, direct uploads, signed playback URLs, and poster images for fast LCP.
Sanity vs WordPress Headless CMS: When Headless Wins
Sanity vs WordPress headless CMS compared on editor UX, performance, dev experience, and real migration numbers. Honest about where WordPress still wins.
Core Web Vitals Monitoring in Next.js with Vercel Analytics
A practical guide to wiring up Vercel Analytics and @vercel/speed-insights/next for real-user Core Web Vitals monitoring in Next.js, with a workflow for catching regressions fast.
Sanity Portable Text Custom Components in Next.js
Learn how to build Sanity Portable Text custom components in Next.js — code blocks, callouts, embedded forms, and captioned images with full TypeScript types.
Signs Your WordPress Site Needs a Headless CMS Rebuild
Slow pages, locked content, and plugin chaos are warning signs your WordPress site has hit its ceiling. Here's how to know when a headless rebuild makes sense.
Best Headless CMS for Next.js in 2026: Honest Comparison & Developer Pick
Which headless CMS works best with Next.js App Router in 2026? Honest comparison of Sanity, Contentful, Payload, and Storyblok on DX, pricing, and real integration complexity — with a clear recommendation by team type.
Sanity TypeGen: Fully Typed GROQ Queries in TypeScript
A step-by-step guide to Sanity TypeGen: CLI config, generating TypeScript types from GROQ queries, CI integration, and handling schema evolution gotchas.
Next.js App Router Tutorial 2026: Pages Router to Production
A practical Next.js App Router tutorial guide for 2026. Covers layouts, route groups, Server Components, data fetching, static export, and the metadata API.
Sanity CMS + Next.js App Router: A Practical Getting Started Guide
A step-by-step Sanity CMS + Next.js tutorial for developers setting up schemas, GROQ queries, and Sanity Studio with the App Router for the first time.
Sanity Webhooks + Next.js ISR Revalidation with HMAC Verification
Step-by-step guide to connecting Sanity webhooks to Next.js route handlers for on-demand ISR revalidation, with correct HMAC signature verification and error handling.
Sanity CMS vs Contentful for Next.js Projects: An Honest Comparison
Sanity CMS or Contentful for your next Next.js build? Honest comparison — pricing, GROQ vs GraphQL, editor DX, lock-in, and which one wins where.
Sanity Webhook Revalidation: Batching Tags in Next.js
A pattern for consolidating dozens of per-document Next.js revalidations into one tagged endpoint using SANITY_REVALIDATE_SECRET, cutting webhook noise and deploy times by 70%.
Fix Sanity Hotspot Image CLS by Pre-Calculating Focal Crops
How I pre-calculate Sanity image hot-spot crops server-side to eliminate layout shift and guarantee stable LCP under 2.5s on editorial pages.
Sanity Slug Validation: Block Duplicate Slugs Before Publish
Sanity's slug field doesn't enforce uniqueness by default. Here's the custom GROQ validation hook that blocks duplicate slugs at publish, across multiple document types.
Sanity Content Versioning Without Breaking Client Pages
A production pattern for rolling schema changes in Sanity without throwing runtime errors or requiring a full site rebuild — coalesce in GROQ, migrate later.
GROQ Conditional Projections: Cut Query Payload by 60%
A pattern for projecting only the fields your Next.js components actually render, using GROQ's select() and type filters to prune unused blocks from a union array.
Avoiding N+1 Queries: Modeling Sanity References in RSC
A pattern for structuring Sanity references and GROQ projections that eliminates query waterfalls in server components, cutting fetch latency by 200–400 ms.
Sanity Image Placeholders Under 50 kB: Palette, Not Base64 LQIP
Cut LQIP overhead on Sanity + Next.js sites to nearly zero using Sanity's built-in metadata.palette instead of inline Base64 blur data. Exact GROQ and component code.
Structuring Sanity Schemas to Avoid Query Waterfalls
Denormalising references and embedding common fields in Sanity schemas cuts server component render time by 40–60%. Here's the pattern I ship.
Next.js TTFB Optimization: Sub-200ms with PPR, Edge & Sanity
Next.js TTFB optimization in practice: Partial Prerendering for the shell, edge runtime for dynamic fragments, and tight GROQ projections — with before/after benchmarks (420ms → 140ms).
Shaving 140 kB Off a Next.js Bundle: Lazy-Load Portable Text
Portable Text blocks can bloat client bundles. Here's how I defer serializers with dynamic imports and RSC boundaries to keep marketing pages under 80 kB — and where lazy-loading trades away SEO visibility.
Sanity Draft Mode Without Sacrificing Edge Performance
A production pattern for Sanity draft previews in Next.js that keeps published pages on the edge while editors see real-time changes.
How to Fix LCP on Image-Heavy Pages (Next.js Patterns That Work)
LCP is usually one big image. Here’s how to identify the true LCP element, reduce TTFB, ship the right image bytes, and consistently hit <2.5s on real devices.
Core Web Vitals in 2026: Thresholds, Ranking Impact & Fixes
Core Web Vitals 2026 explained: LCP, INP, and CLS thresholds, how much they really affect Google rankings, field vs lab data, and the fixes that consistently move each metric.
Why I Use Next.js + Sanity for Content Sites
A practical breakdown of when Next.js + Sanity is the right stack, what it buys you for SEO and velocity, and the trade-offs to watch.