How to Build the Fastest Website with Next.js? | Red Sun IT Services

2025-10-27 • RedSun IT Services

How to Create the Fastest Website: Next.js Performance Tips (2025)

In today's world, speed is essential in the development of your website; users expect instant loading pages, and a slow site is very frustrating for visitors, which leads to a higher bounce rate. For example, if users had a site that took 1 second to load and the load time increased to 3 seconds, the likelihood that users leave the site increases by 32%. Sites that load quickly contribute to a better user experience and have been proven to improve conversion rates: sites that load within approximately 1 second are shown to convert up to 3 times more than sites that load in 5 seconds. In addition, Google considers site speed an important ranking signal as it weighs user experience, and pagespeed is part of its Core Web Vitals metrics (which are Largest Contentful Paint, Cumulative Layout Shift, and First Input Delay). In summary, site speed is an important component of an enhanced user experience and also an important SEO factor.nextjs.org

Why Website Speed Matters

Speed is not just a luxury. Faster page load times result in greater engagement and a greater number of conversions. Users on mobile devices, for example, expect web pages to load in under 3 seconds. Otherwise, bounce rates increase dramatically. Speed also improves SEO ranking; Google's Search algorithm uses Core Web Vitals scores, for example. In short, improving page speed is a good investment in user experience and an investment in SEO. For example, if you can reduce page load time by just 1 second, you are far more likely to see a higher number of page views and more sales.nitropack.io

The positive impact of speed on a website's performance is well-documented. Shopify mentions that "businesses with fast-loading websites have better user engagement and convert more visitors into customers." It also mentions that websites under 3 seconds have an average bounce rate of just ~8% compared with 24% at 4 seconds and 38% at 5 seconds. In other words, slow-loading pages drive away users. In other words, speed is a crucial consideration for retention and sales.

Next.js: Built-In Speed Optimizations

Next.js has been developed with performance in mind, which makes it a great option if you are trying to build your most performant website. It comes with great defaults such as automatic code-splitting, image optimization, and server-side rendering (SSR) out of the gate.

For instance, with Next.js's static site generation (SSG), it pre-builds HTML at deploy time so that you can serve the "fastest page loads" as a static asset. Also, because Next.js's static pages are immediately crawlable, SSG will improve your first-time load speed and search ranking. When real-time data is needed, Next.js also supports SSR, but you should always default to SSG/ISR static sites for performance. trantorinc.com

Next.js includes performance features out of the box. Its Image component serves appropriately-sized, modern-format (WebP/AVIF) images and lazy-loads them when they enter the viewport. The Link component preloads the linked page in the background, which makes navigation "faster and smoother". The next/font module optimizes fonts by self-hosting Google Fonts and other fonts to avoid additional network requests.

These features reduce render-blocking resources and layout shifts. Likewise, Next.js’s <Script> component lets you defer or lazy-load third-party scripts, so they don’t slow initial rendering. nextjs.org

Lastly, Next.js encourages simple deployment on CDN-backed platforms (like Vercel) so static assets (from /public) are globally cached. Combined, these defaults help achieve excellent Core Web Vitals scores. nextjs.org

Key Tips to Build the Fastest Website

Achieving the fastest website means optimizing every layer. Here are essential steps and best practices:

• Use Static Generation (SSG/ISR) Whenever Possible:
  Pre-build pages at deploy time so they serve immediately from the edge. Next.js SSG pages (and Incremental Static Regeneration) are usually much faster than those that are generated on demand for each request. For static content and marketing pages, you should use getStaticProps or the new App Router static conventions to pre-render HTML.

• Optimize and Lazy-Load Images:
  Use the Next.js next/image component — it automatically resizes images to fit each device and applies lazy loading, which reduces initial load weight. Convert image formats to WebP/AVIF and provide explicit width/height to avoid layout shifts. For example, it serves the right size and format and uses native lazy loading, which improves Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).

• Self-Host and Subset Fonts:
  Web fonts block text from rendering. Use next/font (or similar) in Next.js to self-host your fonts. This will inline only the font subsets you need, avoiding additional requests to Google. You’ll reduce layout shift from font loading, speed up rendering, and eliminate extra network hops. Always select only the font weights and subsets you absolutely need (subsetting) to minimize your payload.

• Minimize JavaScript Bundles:
  Use code-splitting and analyze your bundle sizes. Next.js automatically code-splits on a per-page level, but you should lazily load large libraries or components using dynamic import(). The Webpack Bundle Analyzer (@next/bundle-analyzer) helps identify large dependencies in your bundle. Remove unused code and third-party scripts from your app. Consider delaying or deferring analytics/ads scripts until the main content of your webpage has loaded.

• Enable Compression:
  Ensure HTTP compression (gzip or Brotli) is enabled for HTML/CSS/JS. Most static hosts (Vercel, Netlify, AWS) handle this by default. Compressed text files can be 70% smaller, greatly speeding delivery. For APIs or custom servers, use middleware (e.g., compression in Node.js) to compress responses.

• Leverage Caching and a CDN:
  Host your site on a global Content Delivery Network. Next.js on Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages automatically caches static pages at edge locations. Set long cache headers on static assets (images, fonts, JSON) so repeat visits are instant. Even API responses can use caching (or ISR) to avoid re-fetching data on every view.

• Prefetch Critical Routes:
  Next.js’s <Link> prefetching loads page data in the background. Use it for important navigation links (especially above-the-fold) so that when a user clicks, the next page is instantly ready.

• Monitor with Performance Tools:
  Regularly audit with Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights. These tools highlight blocking resources and potential areas for optimization. Next.js provides Speed Insights (built on Google Lighthouse) to track metrics. Keep an eye on Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) and fix any regressions.

Implementing these practices will maximize speed. If something slows down your site, Lighthouse, Pingdom, or PageSpeed can pinpoint it.
nextjs.org
trantorinc.com

Fast Websites and SEO

Having a fast website is not only good for UX, but it is a ranking factor as well. Google’s algorithms reward a fast and smooth experience. The Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) are metrics that have an explicit impact on search rank. A fast-loading user experience with no layout shifts will, in general, rank better than a slow experience, even if they contain the same info. That said, speed should support great content. Google still prioritizes content relevance- consider performance in practice to be more about “delighting your visitors” instead of “hacking the algorithm”. nextjs.org cloudflare.com

In short, optimizing for speed can help SEO indirectly by improving user engagement, lowering bounce rate, and boosting Google page experience scores. The goal is to create the fastest website while giving away something of value.

Conclusion

Creating a fast website can be a complex endeavor, though Next.js gives you the tools to make it possible. Using static generation, image/font optimization, code-splitting, and holding up your end of the deal by hosting well, you can create a legitimately fast website. Keep in mind the major themes you will want to remember: do as little work as possible before first paint, load only what you need to, and serve content from the edge. The results are meaningful, a better experience for users, a higher conversion rate, and better SEO results.

No matter if you're building your marketing site, blog, or shopping experience, using these approaches will help you to achieve the fastest site possible. And when there is so much competition out there, it is nice to be able to say you are the fastest. Want to get started on speeding up your website? Follow these best practices, and you will be on your way to providing the snappiest experience possible.

Build the fastest website with Red Sun IT Services

If you want a website that truly performs, our team at Red Sun IT Services specializes in web development that is Next.js development, Vercel/edge deployments, image & font optimization, and Core Web Vitals tuning. We deliver sites that load fast, rank better, and convert more visitors.

What we offer:

• Custom Next.js builds (SSG/ISR/SSR as needed)
• Full performance audit (Lighthouse/PageSpeed + action plan)
• Image, font, and JS optimization (including next/image and next/font)
• CDN & hosting setup (Vercel, Cloudflare, or your preferred provider)
• Ongoing monitoring and Core Web Vitals maintenance

Ready to see the difference? Request your free performance review and project estimate, and we’ll show you exactly how much faster your website can be and what that speed will do for conversions.