Next.js
Products that load fast and get indexed
Our engineers know which parts of a product belong on the server and which need a browser. Getting that line right is most of what Next.js is for, and you interview them before anyone starts.
What you are getting
4 things that decide this
- 01Senior engineers only, shipping Next.js in production. Shift Link runs its web app on it, with a React Native app beside it.
- 02You interview every engineer yourself, so nobody arrives as a profile chosen for you.
- 03They open pull requests in your repository under your review rules, and stay on the same product rather than rotating off it.
- 04You own the code from the first commit, including the deploy pipeline. Interview every engineer, and say no to any of them.
What a Next.js developer actually does here
The whole job is one boundary. What renders on the server, and what has to run in the browser.
In the App Router, pages are server components by default. Marking a file for the client pulls everything it imports into the browser bundle, which is how a team ends up shipping a whole design system to render a login button. An engineer who understands that keeps interactive parts small and leaves data fetching next to the database, where the API keys already are.
This site runs on it. Next.js with Payload CMS, one repository, one deploy. Shift Link uses it for the recruiter-facing web app while shift workers use React Native, sharing one Supabase backend.
What they get right that a tutorial does not
The server and client line
Interactive components kept small and specific, so your bundle carries what users need rather than everything imported near it.
Content crawlers can read
Numbers and copy rendered on the server. A metric that only appears after hydration is a metric search engines and assistants never see.
Caching that matches the data
Static where content rarely moves, dynamic where it must be current. Getting this wrong shows up as stale prices or a slow site.
Routing and metadata
Titles, canonicals and structured data generated per page from real data, not pasted into a template and left to drift.
Upgrades that do not stall
Next.js moves quickly, currently at version 16. Staying two majors behind is how a codebase becomes hard to hire for.
- Server renderData fetched near the source
- HTMLReadable without JavaScript
- StreamSlow parts arrive later
- HydrateOnly the client components
- NavigatePrefetched, no full reload
The second box is why this matters commercially. Crawlers and assistants read that HTML, and they do not wait for your JavaScript.
Server-rendered products in production
Shift Link
AI workforce compliance and shift management for healthcare and logistics.
Read the case study →
TrialTriage
AI clinical trial matching for oncology nurses and insurers.
Read the case study →
ZhoopZhoop
AI receptionist and parts procurement for a multi-branch auto repair business.
Read the case study →
“They will treat your vision like their own and build it that way.”
Ron Klabunde · Founder, SmartREI ↗
How hiring works
- 01
Tell us where it has to be found
A free call about the product, the traffic and the pages that must rank. If a lighter stack serves you better, we say so before you have spent anything.
- 02
Meet the engineers
We put forward people who have carried a Next.js app across a major version, and you interview them. Your bar, your questions, your call.
- 03
They embed
Your repository, your standups, your deploy pipeline. One of our engineers is named on the work and stays with it.
- 04
They hand over
The render boundary written down, tests, and an upgrade path your team can follow when the next major lands. Some clients ask us to stay for the upgrades instead, under a service level we agree.
Stack
Framework
Data and hosting
Practices
Bring us the page that will not rank
Show us the product and where it needs to be found. The scoping call is free, and you will leave knowing whether this is a rendering problem or a content one.
01We are on the Pages Router. Do they have to migrate us?
No, and they will not suggest it without a reason you agree with. The App Router can be adopted route by route in the same application, so the usual path is new work in the new router while the rest keeps earning.
02Does Next.js lock us into Vercel?
No. Next.js is open source and runs anywhere Node runs, including your own containers on AWS. Vercel is the smoothest host because they build the framework, and some features arrive there first, which is worth knowing before you commit.
03Our site is slow. Will Next.js fix it?
Only if the slowness comes from how the page is built and delivered. A slow database query is still slow after a rewrite. The first thing an engineer does is measure where the time goes, then tell you honestly if a framework change is not the answer.
04Can they work with our marketing team's CMS?
Yes. Next.js pairs with headless content systems so marketing publishes without a deploy, which is how this site works: Payload CMS in the same application, pages going live at their URL with no release.
05Who owns what they build?
You own all of it, starting at the first commit. Components, infrastructure config and the deploy pipeline are all yours, so nothing about ending the engagement needs our cooperation or our accounts.
06How do you price a Next.js engagement?
Cost tracks the size of the product and how much existing code has to be understood before anything is safe to change. A greenfield build prices faster than a rescue. Scoping calls are free. Where we have to get inside a codebase to answer honestly, a paid two-week diagnostic produces a fixed price instead of an estimate.
