Static Site Generation (SSG) with Next.js: When and Why?

In today’s fast-paced web environment, performance, scalability, and SEO are crucial for building successful web applications. Next.js, a powerful React framework, offers multiple rendering strategies, one of which is Static Site Generation (SSG).

But what exactly is SSG, and when should you use it over Server-Side Rendering (SSR) or Client-Side Rendering (CSR)?

What is Static Site Generation (SSG)?

SSG is a rendering method where HTML pages are generated at build time, not on the server or in the browser during runtime. This means content is pre-rendered and served as static HTML files.

Next.js uses the getStaticProps() function to generate these pages at build time.

// pages/blog/[slug].js
export async function getStaticProps(context) {
const { slug } = context.params;
const post = await fetchPost(slug);
return { props: { post } };
}
export async function getStaticPaths() {
const posts = await fetchAllPosts();
const paths = posts.map(post => ({
params: { slug: post.slug }
}));
return { paths, fallback: false };
}

Benefits of Using SSG

• Blazing Fast Performance Since pages are static files, they load almost instantly via a CDN.
• SEO-Friendly Search engines can index pre-rendered HTML easily.
• Lower Server Load No need to generate HTML on each request; it’s already ready.
• Increased Security No backend processing on request reduces the attack surface.

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When Should You Use SSG?

Use SSG when:

• Your content doesn’t change frequently
• You want maximum performance
• You don’t need user-specific or real-time data
• You’re building blogs, documentation, landing pages, or marketing websites

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When to Avoid SSG

Avoid SSG if:

• Your content updates frequently and needs to be reflected instantly
• You’re working with user-specific data (like dashboards)
• You have a huge number of pages that make the build time unmanageable

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ISR: Incremental Static Regeneration

Next.js also offers ISR, allowing you to update static pages after deployment without rebuilding the entire site. It’s the best of both worlds—SSG performance with dynamic data flexibility.

export async function getStaticProps() {

  const data = await getData();

  return {

    props: { data },

    revalidate: 60, // seconds

  };

}

Conclusion

Static Site Generation with Next.js is a game-changer for performance-focused web apps with relatively static content. It’s ideal for blogs, portfolios, landing pages, and documentation sites. With the option of Incremental Static Regeneration, you can even blend static performance with dynamic content.

Choosing SSG boils down to one key question: Does your content need to be dynamic per request? If not, SSG might just be your best bet.

What do you think—Is SSG the right fit for your next project? Or would you go with SSR/CSR instead? Share your thoughts!

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