Understanding Traditional vs. Modern Web Hosting

Trying to deeply understand how to hosting works with modern web

September 3, 2024

To understand why the npm run start command is used, especially in the context of hosting complex JavaScript frameworks like Next.js, let's break down the process of hosting a website, particularly focusing on how modern JavaScript frameworks and libraries work.

1. Traditional vs. Modern Web Hosting

  • Traditional Websites
  • : For basic websites with static files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), a server (like Apache or Nginx) simply serves these files to clients (web browsers). There's no processing on the server side beyond delivering the files.
  • Modern JavaScript Frameworks
  • : Frameworks like React, Next.js, or Angular often involve more than just serving static files. They may involve server-side rendering (SSR), API integrations, authentication, routing, and other server-related tasks.

2. Next.js and the Deployment Process

Next.js is a React framework that allows for advanced features like server-side rendering, static site generation, API routes, and more. Here's the typical flow for deploying a Next.js application:

Step 1: Build the Application (npm run build)

  • Purpose
  • : The 
  • npm run build
  • command compiles the Next.js application, turning all your React components and pages into optimized JavaScript, HTML, and CSS files.
  • Output
  • : It produces a 
  • .next
  • folder with optimized and pre-rendered files, suitable for deployment.

Step 2: Start the Server (npm run start)

  • Purpose
  • : This command is used to start the Node.js server that serves your Next.js application.

Hosting Static vs. Server-Rendered Content

  • Static Deployment
  • : For purely static pages (generated during build time), you can use a static file server (like Vercel, GitHub Pages, or Netlify) without running a Node.js server. This is suitable for apps using static site generation (SSG).
  • Dynamic or Server-Side Deployment
  • : If your app uses SSR or has dynamic pages, you need a server that can execute the JavaScript logic on demand. This is where 
  • npm run start
  • comes in—it starts the server that handles these dynamic operations.

3. Summary: Why npm run start?

The npm run start command is crucial when your application relies on a running server for server-side rendering, handling API routes, or performing other server-side tasks. It's not just about serving static files but about providing a server environment for the app to execute its JavaScript logic on the server side, as intended by frameworks like Next.js.

In essence, npm run start starts a Node.js server that provides all the backend capabilities that your Next.js application requires to function fully, especially in a production environment.

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