Next.js Conf 2023 was this week, here's what I learned
Tags: nextjs, react, javascript, webdev
Published: 2023-10-29 15:31:08

---
title: Next.js Conf 2023 was this week, here's what I learned
published: true
description: A personal take on the live talks at Next.js Conf 2023 and what I learned from them.
tags: nextjs, react, javascript, webdev
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/676etvfcjh1zctymq06a.png
---

### TL;DR
- [About the Next.js Conf 2023](#about-the-nextjs-conf-2023)
- [Guillermo Rauch - CEO, Vercel](#%C2%A01-guillermo-rauch-ceo-vercel)
- [Sam Selikoff - Founder, Build UI](#%C2%A02-sam-selikoff-founder-build-ui)
- [Houssein Djirdeh - Senior Software Engineer, Google](#3%C2%A0houssein-djirdeh-senior-software-engineer-google)
- [Michelle Bakels - Program Director, G2i](#4-michelle-bakels-program-director-g2i)
- [Jared Palmer - VP of AI, Vercel](#5%C2%A0jared-palmer-vp-of-ai-vercel)
- [James Mikrut - CEO, Payload](#6%C2%A0james-mikrut-ceo-payload)
- [Katie Hoesley & Matt Volk, BigCommerce](#7-katie-hoesley-amp-matt-volk-bigcommerce)
- [Lydia Hallie - Staff Developer Advocate, Vercel](#8%C2%A0lydia-hallie-staff-developer-advocate-vercel)
- [Thanks for reading](#thanks-for-reading)



### About the Next.js Conf 2023
I've been a fan of [Next.js](https://github.com/vercel/next.js/) and [Vercel](https://vercel.com/) for some years now and I love that they like to make a big party around releasing new features every year 🎉

This year at the virtual event [Next.js Conf](https://nextjs.org/conf) I really liked that they went back to live presentations and unscripted content ❤️‍🔥 It makes everything much more authentic and much easier to follow. I personally can't sit in front of my computer and watch 3 to 5 hours of scripted video presentations 📺 😩

I spent a bunch of hours watching, taking notes and making some ugly doodles that I'll keep for myself. I really hope someone else can benefit from this 😄 So let's get to it. Here's what I learned from the talks in order:

### 1. [Guillermo Rauch - CEO, Vercel](https://twitter.com/rauchg)

* Next.js 14 is faster than ever on both build and dev time. And it's not even it's final form! 👾
* They'll keep delivering a great product by following these three goals: Fast Initial Visual, Fast Dynamic Content and Great Developer Experience (DX) 🤓

### 2. [Sam Selikoff - Founder, Build UI](https://twitter.com/samselikoff)

* Server Components are the future. Imagine a world where you can copy and paste a `<StripeCheckout />` without having to modify ten routes, API calls and user flows 🏖️
* Maybe *right now* is a great time to migrate your Next.js project and start using the app/ directory. It's only going to get better. Check out other tutorials at [Build UI](https://buildui.com/) 🤔

### 3. [Houssein Djirdeh - Senior Software Engineer, Google](https://twitter.com/hdjirdeh)

* Make sure to check out [@next/third-parties](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/building-your-application/optimizing/third-party-libraries) for the best approach to include third party scripts on your project 🌐
* This work comes from the same people that already delivered `<Image />`, `<Script />` and `<Font />` ✍️

### 4. [Michelle Bakels - Program Director, G2i](https://twitter.com/michellebakels)

* Using Open Source templates for your first big project can get you 80% there and you can learn the rest on your way 🚀
* Be careful what you commit and what you commit to. You can end up organizing [React.js Miami](https://www.reactmiami.com/)! 🤭

### 5. [Jared Palmer - VP of AI, Vercel](https://twitter.com/jaredpalmer)

* If you were hyped about chatGPT, then you must try [Vercel v0](https://v0.dev/) to generate React Components ⚛️
* SDKs and extensibility make Next.js a really great framework for your next AI project 🤖

### 6. [James Mikrut - CEO, Payload](https://twitter.com/JamesMikrut)

* It's very probable that [Payload](https://payloadcms.com/) gets migrated to Next.js and become even better 🧠
* If there are whole teams dedicated to improve React, Next.js and ORM's, then it's probably a good idea to let them do the heacy lifting so you can focus on delivering value! 📈

### 7. [Katie Hoesley & Matt Volk, BigCommerce](https://twitter.com/katie_hoesley)

* React Server Components are paving the future for agencies and e-commerce, says the clientele from [BigCommerce](https://www.bigcommerce.com/) 🫰
* There are still key issues to solve, but the future looks promising 😎

### 8. [Lydia Hallie - Staff Developer Advocate, Vercel](https://twitter.com/lydiahallie)

* @lydiahallie leverages clear explanations and neat graphics to make all the new changes in React and Next.js understandable 👩‍🏫
* If the previous talks didn't do the trick, the arguments from this talk really motivated me to test out the new app/ directory and migrate my stale projects 🍞

### Thanks for reading

If you want to dive deep into any of these talks, I encourage you to watch the Livestream Recording directly at [Next.js Conf](https://nextjs.org/conf).

And that's a wrap! I had a really good time watching these talks, doodling and taking notes for this year's conference. Can't wait to see what they come up with next time. I hope you find my takeaways useful 😊