Hey there, fellow readers! 👋 I'm thrilled to share the journey of building my very first Next.js blog with you all. It's been an exhilarating ride filled with learning, challenges, and a whole lot of coding fun!
When I first set out on this journey, my primary motivation for learning Next.js was its promise of server-side rendering (SSR) for enhanced SEO. As someone passionate about creating content that's not only engaging but also easily discoverable, the idea of SSR resonated with me. And let me tell you, Next.js didn't disappoint!
In addition to SSR, I wanted to add authentication and a rich text editor to my blog to empower users and foster engagement. NextAuth, a powerful authentication library compatible with Next.js, seamlessly integrated with my blog, providing a secure and user-friendly authentication experience.NextAuth simplified the implementation of authentication features, allowing me to focus on delivering value to my users.
And then there's React Quill, the cherry on top of the cake. As a content creator, having a feature-rich rich text editor was essential for composing captivating blog posts. React Quill's intuitive interface and extensive customization options made it the perfect tool for the job, enabling users to unleash their creativity and express themselves effortlessly.
Navigating through the development process of my blog wasn't without its share of challenges. Initially, I planned to handle the backend functionality using ExpressJS, a popular choice for building robust server applications. However, my plans hit a roadblock when I encountered a major bug with NextAuth.
The issue revolved around token rotation functionality, a crucial aspect for maintaining the security of user sessions. Unfortunately, NextAuth wasn't persisting the new tokens as expected, which posed a significant concern for me. This setback was particularly disappointing as I had prioritized the separation of concerns in my architecture.
Faced with this unexpected hurdle, I had to pivot and explore alternative solutions. That's when I decided to leverage Next.js's built-in API routes and server actions for database operations. While this approach deviated from my initial plan, it turned out to be working just fine so far.
Together, Next.js, NextAuth, and React Quill formed the perfect trinity for building my blog. With SSR driving better SEO, NextAuth ensuring secure authentication and React Quill facilitating immersive content creation.