Everything is a client component. The "use client" directive is at the top of every file, server components are unused, and the bundle ships React to the browser for content that should have been static HTML.
Hire a Next.js developer who builds for speed and Core Web Vitals, not just features.
Independent Next.js developer building on the App Router — server components, SSR/ISR, edge caching, deployed to Vercel. Headless commerce front-ends, fast marketing sites, and dashboards that hit sub-2s LCP because performance is built in, not bolted on.
Book a 20-min scope call → See selected work
◆ Next.js App Router · React Server Components · ISR + edge caching · Vercel · Core Web Vitals
What goes wrong with the typical Next.js hire.
Five patterns behind Next.js builds that ended up slow, expensive, or both. Next.js gives you the tools to be fast — used wrong, it's just a heavier React SPA.
No caching strategy. Every request hits the origin, ISR isn't configured, fetch caching is misunderstood, and the Vercel bill climbs while the pages stay slow.
Images and fonts unoptimised — next/image and next/font ignored, so LCP suffers exactly where Next.js could have won it for free.
App Router and Pages Router mixed without understanding the boundary; data fetching patterns from old tutorials cause hydration mismatches and waterfalls.
Headless commerce wired up without a plan for the Storefront API caching or the checkout hand-off, so the "fast" headless build is slower than the Liquid theme it replaced.
What you get when you hire me on Next.js.
Next.js built the way it's meant to be: server components by default, client components only where interactivity demands, a real caching strategy, and Core Web Vitals treated as a launch requirement.
- ◆ App Router architecture — server components by default, client components only where interactivity needs them, route handlers for APIs, proper layouts and streaming.
- ◆ Rendering strategy chosen per route — static, ISR, SSR, or PPR — matched to how the data actually changes, not one blanket choice.
- ◆ Caching done deliberately — fetch cache, revalidation tags, ISR windows, and edge caching, so origin load and Vercel cost stay low.
- ◆ Core Web Vitals as a requirement — next/image, next/font, LCP under 2.0s, INP under 200ms, CLS near zero, measured on real devices.
- ◆ Headless commerce — Shopify Storefront API or other headless backends, with a sane caching layer and a clean checkout hand-off (see my headless Shopify work).
- ◆ Data layer — connect to your Laravel / Node / MERN API, a headless CMS (Sanity, Storyblok, Contentful), or a database directly via the route handlers.
- ◆ Auth — NextAuth/Auth.js, Clerk, or a custom JWT/session flow against your backend.
- ◆ Marketing sites that are genuinely fast — MDX or CMS-driven, SEO metadata API, sitemap, OG images via the image-response API.
- ◆ Deploy + ops — Vercel (or self-hosted Node), preview deployments, environment config, analytics and Web Vitals reporting.
- ◆ 14 days of post-launch monitoring + iteration to land the speed and tracking targets.
Three ways to work together.
Most Next.js projects fit one of these. If yours doesn't, I quote inside 48 hours after a scope call.
From $2,400
- Marketing site, landing system, or a scoped app surface
- App Router, server-component-first
- next/image + next/font, Core Web Vitals pass
- SEO metadata, sitemap, OG images
- Deployed to Vercel + 7 days support
From $6,000
- Full Next.js app or headless storefront front-end
- Rendering + caching strategy per route
- Auth, API/CMS integration, data layer
- LCP under 2.0s on real devices
- Preview deployments + Web Vitals reporting
- 14 days post-launch iteration
From $15,000
- Headless commerce or multi-region platform
- Storefront API integration + edge caching
- CMS (Sanity / Storyblok / Contentful) editorial layer
- Custom configurator / real-time UX where needed
- Full observability + performance budget enforcement
- 30 days post-launch support + retainer option
How a typical project ships.
Scope call (20-30 min)
You walk me through what you're building and where speed or content-editing matters. I tell you whether Next.js is the right call (sometimes a simpler stack wins).
Architecture + fixed quote
Within 48h: rendering/caching plan, data-layer choice, and a fixed-price quote with a delivery date.
Build + weekly demo
Code in your repo from day one, preview deployment on every push. Daily Loom updates, weekly demo. Web Vitals tracked as I build.
Ship + 14-day support
Production deploy, written handoff, 14 days of iteration to land the speed and tracking targets.
Questions clients ask before hiring.
No fluff — the specifics buyers want before booking a call. If yours isn't here, ask on the call.
What kind of Next.js work do you take on?
Headless commerce front-ends, fast marketing/content sites, and app dashboards — anything where the App Router, server components, and a real caching strategy earn their keep. If your project is a simple brochure site, I'll tell you a lighter stack is cheaper and just as fast.
App Router or Pages Router?
App Router for new builds — server components, streaming, and the modern caching model are worth it. I work in the Pages Router too when I'm joining an existing codebase, and I can plan a gradual migration if you want to move over without a big-bang rewrite.
Can you do headless Shopify on Next.js?
Yes — Storefront API integration with proper caching and a clean checkout hand-off back to Shopify. That said, most stores don't need headless; my headless Shopify page lays out honestly when it's worth it and when OS 2.0 plus speed work gets you the same result for far less.
How do you keep the Vercel bill and the pages both under control?
A deliberate rendering and caching strategy per route — static and ISR wherever the data allows, fetch caching with revalidation tags, edge caching for hot paths. Most runaway Vercel bills come from rendering everything on every request; I design against that from the start.
Will the site actually be fast?
Core Web Vitals are a launch requirement, not a phase 2. next/image, next/font, server-component-first, LCP under 2.0s and INP under 200ms measured on real devices. I report Web Vitals from production, not just a one-off Lighthouse score.
Do I own the code?
Yes — full IP transfer on final payment, code in your repo from day one, deployed to your Vercel (or self-hosted), documented. No lock-in.
Related pages & posts.
Headless Shopify Developer
When the Next.js front-end is a Shopify storefront.
Open →Hire a MERN Developer
React + Node + MongoDB full-stack.
Open →Hire a Laravel Developer
The API/backend behind a Next.js front-end.
Open →Selected work
Headless builds, dashboards, integrations.
Open →
Spec your Next.js build
in a 30-min call.
Tell me what you're building and what "fast enough" means for it. I send back an architecture plan and a fixed quote inside 48 hours.