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Creating a component in Nextjs

Next.js is a powerful framework built on top of React.js that allows you to build server-side rendering and static web applications. One of the fundamental concepts in both React and Next.js is the idea of components. In this tutorial, we will walk you through creating your first Next.js component.

To start, ensure that you have Next.js installed on your local development environment. If you haven't installed it yet, you can follow the official Next.js Installation Guide to set it up.

What is a Component?​

In React and Next.js, a component is a reusable piece of code that returns a React element to be rendered on the website. The purpose of components is to break down the complex UI into simpler, reusable pieces.

Creating a Basic Component​

Let's create our first component, a simple HelloWorld component. In Next.js, we usually put our components in a separate folder. Create a new folder named components at the root of your project directory.

Inside the components folder, create a new file named HelloWorld.js. This is where we will define our HelloWorld component.

In HelloWorld.js, input the following code:

function HelloWorld() {
  return <h1>Hello, World!</h1>
}

export default HelloWorld

The HelloWorld function is our component. It's a simple function that returns a React element (<h1>Hello, World!</h1>). We then export the function so that it can be imported and used in other parts of our application.

Using the Component​

To use our new HelloWorld component, we need to import it into one of our Next.js pages. For instance, let's import it into the main page of our application.

Open the pages/index.js file and import the HelloWorld component at the top of the file:

import HelloWorld from '../components/HelloWorld'

Then, add the HelloWorld component inside the return statement of the Home component:

export default function Home() {
  return (
    <div>
      <HelloWorld />
    </div>
  )
}

Now, if you start your Next.js development server (npm run dev or yarn dev), and navigate to http://localhost:3000 in your web browser, you will see "Hello, World!" displayed on your webpage.

Conclusion​

Congratulations! You have just created and used your first Next.js component. You can now create more complex components and build more complicated interfaces by breaking them down into smaller, reusable components. Keep practicing and happy coding!