Next.js 14 Features You Should Be Using Right Now

Introduction

Next.js 14 continues to push the boundaries of modern web development with performance optimizations, developer experience improvements, and powerful new features. Whether you're building a small-scale application or a large enterprise project, leveraging these features can significantly enhance your workflow and application performance.

In this post, we’ll explore the most impactful Next.js 14 features that you should integrate into your projects today. We’ll cover Server Actions, Partial Prerendering, the enhanced next/image, and improved caching mechanisms—complete with practical examples to help you get started.

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1. Server Actions (Stable)

Server Actions, now stable in Next.js 14, allow you to execute server-side logic directly from client-side components without writing API routes. This simplifies data mutations, form handling, and backend interactions while maintaining security and performance.

How to Use Server Actions

To define a Server Action, simply mark an async function with the 'use server' directive. Here’s an example of handling a form submission:

// app/actions.ts
'use server';

export async function submitForm(formData: FormData) {
  const email = formData.get('email');
  // Validate and save to database
  console.log(`User email: ${email}`);
}

Then, use it in a React component:

// app/page.tsx
import { submitForm } from './actions';

export default function Home() {
  return (
    <form action={submitForm}>
      <input type="email" name="email" required />
      <button type="submit">Subscribe</button>
    </form>
  );
}

Benefits

• Simplified Backend Logic: No need for separate API routes.
• Automatic Security: Built-in protection against CSRF attacks.
• Progressive Enhancement: Works even if JavaScript is disabled.

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2. Partial Prerendering (Experimental)

Partial Prerendering (PPR) is an experimental feature in Next.js 14 that combines static and dynamic rendering at the component level. This means you can prerender static parts of a page while dynamically rendering interactive sections—resulting in faster load times without sacrificing interactivity.

Example Implementation

Enable PPR in your next.config.js:

// next.config.js
module.exports = {
  experimental: {
    ppr: true,
  },
};

Then, wrap dynamic components with unstable_noStore:

// app/dynamic-component.tsx
import { unstable_noStore } from 'next/cache';

export default function DynamicComponent() {
  unstable_noStore(); // Opts out of prerendering
  const data = await fetchDynamicData();
  return <div>{data}</div>;
}

Why Use PPR?

• Faster Initial Load: Static content loads instantly.
• Dynamic Flexibility: Interactive parts update in real-time.
• Better SEO: Static portions are crawlable by search engines.

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3. Enhanced next/image with Automatic Optimization

Next.js 14 improves the next/image component with better defaults and automatic optimizations, reducing the need for manual configuration. Key upgrades include:

• AVIF Support: Smaller file sizes without quality loss.
• Lazy Loading by Default: Images load only when they enter the viewport.
• Simplified Placeholders: No extra config for blur-up placeholders.

Usage Example

import Image from 'next/image';

export default function ProductImage() {
  return (
    <Image
      src="/product.jpg"
      alt="Product"
      width={800}
      height={600}
      placeholder="blur"
      blurDataURL="/placeholder.jpg"
    />
  );
}

Performance Gains

• Reduced CLS: Proper sizing prevents layout shifts.
• Faster LCP: Critical images load prioritized.
• Bandwidth Savings: AVIF cuts image sizes by ~30%.

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4. Improved Caching & ISR

Next.js 14 refines Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) and introduces smarter caching strategies for both static and dynamic content. The new fetch cache options simplify data revalidation.

Cache Control Example

// Revalidate data every hour
const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
  next: { revalidate: 3600 },
});

For dynamic routes, use generateStaticParams with ISR:

// app/products/[id]/page.tsx
export async function generateStaticParams() {
  const products = await fetchProducts();
  return products.map((product) => ({ id: product.id }));
}

export default function ProductPage({ params }) {
  // ...
}

Key Improvements

• Simpler Revalidation: Set cache lifetimes declaratively.
• Stale-While-Revalidate: Serve stale content while updating in the background.
• Better DX: Fewer manual cache purges needed.

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Conclusion

Next.js 14 introduces game-changing features that streamline development while boosting performance. From Server Actions eliminating API boilerplate to Partial Prerendering blending static and dynamic rendering, these tools empower developers to build faster, more efficient applications with less code.

Start integrating these features today to:

• Reduce client-side JavaScript with Server Actions.
• Speed up page loads using Partial Prerendering.
• Optimize media delivery with next/image.
• Simplify caching with enhanced ISR.

Upgrade your Next.js projects and take full advantage of what version 14 has to offer! 🚀