Next.js Development

WAYF is a Next.js Development Agency

WAYF is a Next.js Development Agency

React got you here. Next.js gets you to production.
Next.js is how we ship React applications that need to perform in the real world—where search engines matter, where first-load times affect revenue, where "it works on my machine" isn't good enough.

What We Build

Production web applications. SaaS platforms that need to rank. E-commerce systems where a slow page costs sales. Marketing sites that justify React's complexity because they actually need it. Enterprise dashboards that load fast despite the data behind them.

We've built customer-facing products where SEO was the entire growth strategy and internal tools where server-side rendering cut load times in half. We've migrated legacy React SPAs to Next.js and built greenfield applications from day one. The scope changes; the goal doesn't—software that works for users, not just developers.

What we build less of: static brochure sites that would be better served by a simpler stack, applications where client-side rendering is genuinely fine, projects where Next.js is chosen because it's popular rather than because it solves a real problem. We'll tell you if you don't need it.

Why Us

Next.js is React In Production.

Next.js is React In Production.

We've been building React applications for years; Next.js is the natural extension of that work into the problems that matter when software meets reality—rendering strategies, deployment, caching, performance at scale.

Depth in Both Layers.

Depth in Both Layers.

Our team understands React deeply, which means we understand Next.js properly. We don't treat the framework as magic. We know what it's doing underneath, which matters when something breaks or when the defaults aren't right for your case.

Seniority as Default.

Seniority as Default.

Our engineers average 10+ years in software. They've shipped Next.js applications that succeeded and inherited ones that failed. They know the difference between following the docs and understanding the tradeoffs.

Opinions, not Just Implementation.

Opinions, not Just Implementation.

Next.js offers choices—static generation, server-side rendering, incremental static regeneration, edge functions, the App Router vs. Pages Router. We have positions on when each makes sense. You're not paying for someone to ask you what to do; you're paying for judgment, guidance, and support at every step.

Range.

Range.

We've shipped for early-stage startups (Framer, Rye), global manufacturers (Ingersoll Rand), and international institutions (Council of Europe Development Bank). A marketing site and an enterprise application require different rendering strategies, different caching approaches, different deployment concerns. We know how to navigate it all.

How We Work

We integrate with your team or operate independently. Your tools, your rituals, your preferences—we adapt to what's already working.

Most engagements start with a conversation: what you're building, what constraints exist, what success looks like. For Next.js projects specifically, we spend time understanding your performance requirements, your SEO goals, and your deployment environment. These shape architectural decisions that are expensive to change later.

One thing we do that surprises some clients: we push back on complexity. Next.js makes certain things easy that used to be hard. That doesn't mean you need all of them. We'll tell you when static generation is enough, when you don't need edge functions, when the simpler approach is the right one. Build less, but build it right.

We document architectural decisions, not just code. When we choose between rendering strategies, you'll know why. When someone else inherits the codebase, they'll understand the reasoning, not just the result.

What We See Go Wrong

The most common pattern: teams adopt Next.js because it's the default choice for React in 2024, then use it as a client-side SPA with extra steps. All the complexity, none of the benefits.

We also see the opposite—over-engineering. Server components everywhere because they're new. Edge functions because they sound fast. Incremental static regeneration on pages that change once a month. The framework offers options; that doesn't mean you need all of them.

Another pattern: teams that migrated to the App Router because “it's the future”, then struggled with the mental model shift from Pages. Or teams still on Pages who assume they need to migrate when their current setup works fine.

We're not here to judge how you got here. Sometimes the original decisions made sense at the time. Sometimes the team that made them is gone. We come in as partners—assess what exists, understand the constraints, and figure out the path forward that actually makes sense for your situation.

Technical Approach

Rendering Strategy is an Architectural Decision

We don't have a default. Static generation for content that doesn't change. Server-side rendering when freshness matters. Client-side for genuinely dynamic interfaces. Hybrid approaches when the page demands it. The decision depends on your data, your users, and your infrastructure—not on what's newest.

App Router vs. Pages Router—We Work With Both

The App Router is the future of Next.js; it's also newer and has rough edges. Pages Router is stable, well-understood, and isn't going away. New projects usually start with App Router. Existing projects don't need to migrate unless there's a concrete reason. We'll help you decide.

App Router vs. Pages Router—We Work With Both

The App Router is the future of Next.js; it's also newer and has rough edges. Pages Router is stable, well-understood, and isn't going away. New projects usually start with App Router. Existing projects don't need to migrate unless there's a concrete reason. We'll help you decide.

Server Components Change How You Think About Data Fetching

We use them where they make sense—reducing client JavaScript, moving data fetching to the server, simplifying component logic. We don't use them everywhere just because we can. Components that need interactivity stay client components. The goal is simpler code, not ideological purity.

Caching is Where Next.js Gets Complicated

The framework has opinions; your infrastructure has constraints; your data has characteristics. We configure caching deliberately, understand the invalidation model, and don't rely on defaults that might not match your needs.

Caching is Where Next.js
Gets Complicated

The framework has opinions; your infrastructure has constraints; your data has characteristics. We configure caching deliberately, understand the invalidation model, and don't rely on defaults that might not match your needs.

Performance is Measured, not Assumed

Performance is Measured,
not Assumed

Core Web Vitals matter for SEO and user experience. We instrument, measure, and optimize based on real data. Server-side rendering isn't automatically faster than client-side—it depends on your backend, your CDN, your users' devices. We make decisions based on evidence.

Deployment Shapes Architecture

Vercel makes certain things trivial. Other platforms make other things possible. We've deployed Next.js to Vercel, AWS, Cloudflare, and traditional infrastructure. We know what works where and what tradeoffs each involves.

Deployment Shapes Architecture

Vercel makes certain things trivial. Other platforms make other things possible. We've deployed Next.js to Vercel, AWS, Cloudflare, and traditional infrastructure. We know what works where and what tradeoffs each involves.

TypeScript—Non-Negotiable for Production Work

Strict mode. Proper type design for server components, API routes, and the increasingly complex type signatures that modern Next.js requires.

Who We Work Well With

Clients focused on outcomes—performance, SEO, user experience—not on using Next.js for its own sake.

Also: clients building something new who want help thinking through the architecture. Should this be Next.js at all? If so, what rendering strategy? How should it be deployed? We help with the what and why, not just the how.

What both types have in common: direct communication, realistic expectations about complexity, and treating our team as partners rather than vendors executing a spec.

Who We're Not For

If you're comparing agencies on hourly rate alone, we'll lose that spreadsheet every time. What we won't lose is months of your roadmap to rendering strategy mistakes, caching bugs, and deployment surprises.

If you've read that Next.js is the best React framework and want us to use it without discussion—even if a simpler approach would serve you better—we're probably not the right fit. We do our best work when we can be honest about what you actually need.

If you want someone to "just implement the designs" without thinking about how rendering strategy affects user experience or how data fetching patterns affect performance—find a different agency. We don't know how to build Next.js applications without thinking about these things.

Compounding Trust

Founders, CTOs, and Procurement Officers choose WAYF.
Hundreds of 0 → 1 launches · Fortune 500 partnerships · Global public institution contracts

Founders, CTOs, and Procurement Officers choose WAYF. Hundreds of 0 → 1 launches · Fortune 500 partnerships · Global public institution contracts

Client spotlight

Client spotlight

Client spotlight

Client spotlight

Client spotlight

Client spotlight

Council of Europe Development Bank

Billions of Euros in capital deployed each year to support social cohesion.

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Council of Europe Development Bank

Billions of Euros in capital deployed each year to support social cohesion.

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Fortune 500:
Ingersoll Rand

Worldwide manufacturer and distributor of unrivalled compressed air solutions.

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Fortune 500: Ingersoll Rand

Worldwide manufacturer and distributor of unrivalled compressed air solutions.

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Let's talk

Let's talk

Have a Next.js project—new build,
migration from React or Pages Router, performance problems, or a codebase that's fighting the framework instead of using it?

Have a Next.js project—new build,
migration from React or Pages Router, performance problems, or a codebase that's fighting the framework instead of using it?