---
title: 'The Superpowers and Kryptonite Brought by Next.js'
seoTitle: 'Superpowers and Kryptonite of Next.js'
seoDescription:
  'A field report on Next.js in a patient-appointment platform serving 8M+ patients a year: where it
  delivered and where it bit back in production.'
date: 2024-09-22T14:09:59-05:00
coverImage: 'images/cover.jpg'
event: 'Windy City DevFest 2024'
location: 'Google Chicago Office'
duration: '45 min'
description: >-
  A field report on building a cutting-edge digital marketing app and patient-appointment platform
  supporting 8M+ patients annually — where Next.js delivered, and where it bit back. The real
  triumphs and trials of running a high-performance commerce platform in production.
tags:
  - Next.js at Scale
  - Web Performance
  - Observability
  - GraphQL
slides: '/content/talk/2024-09-22-the-superpowers-and-kryptonite-brought-by-nextjs/slides/WindyCityDevFest2024-TheSuperpowersAndCryptoniteBroughtByNextJS.pdf'
eventUrl: 'https://windycity.devfest.io/'
photoUrl: 'https://photos.app.goo.gl/TCFRy1WBRvYzMh2VA'
learn:
  - >-
    How server-side rendering lifts Core Web Vitals, SEO, and perceived performance.
  - >-
    Why feature toggling makes rollouts safer and gives you control over what ships.
  - >-
    Running OpenTelemetry observability outside of Vercel — and the prefetch & memory-leak pitfalls
    to watch for.
  - 'Setting realistic expectations: Next.js is powerful, not a silver bullet.'
---

## Event Details

{{svg:images/windy-city-devfest-logo.svg:"Windy City DevFest 2024"}}

- **Event:** Windy City DevFest 2024
- **Date:** August 28, 2024
- **Time:** 13:00 - 13:45
- **Location:** Google Chicago Office, Chicago, IL
- **Room:** Map
- **Reference Links:**
  - [Windy City DevFest 2024](https://windycity.devfest.io/)
  - [DevFest 2024 Shared Photo Album](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://photos.app.goo.gl/TCFRy1WBRvYzMh2VA&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1727036610010457&usg=AOvVaw0MTd5aK4mRVv0314SvwwXK)
  - [2024 Event Pamphlet](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QHh6SxgUIYXkZ6Swj7s-XYKoABc8eYRH8zOlSX-vOg4/pub)

## Talk Description

In today's digital landscape, creating a robust and scalable web application is essential for
reaching and retaining millions of users. Our journey involves building a cutting-edge digital
marketing app, managing patient appointments, and showcasing an extensive office directory—all
designed to support over 8 million patients annually.

### What You'll Learn:

- The Power of Server-Side Rendering: Discover how server-side rendering can significantly boost
  your web vital scores, enhance SEO, and provide a seamless user experience.
- Leveraging Feature Toggling: Learn why feature toggling is a game-changer for your development
  process, allowing for smoother rollouts and better control over your app's features.
- GraphQL in Action: See how GraphQL can revolutionize the way you manage data across multiple
  brands, providing flexibility and efficiency.

### Challenges and Solutions:

- The Observability Dilemma: While Next.js offers great potential, observability can be tricky,
  especially when dealing with OpenTelemetry outside of Vercel. We'll explore strategies to overcome
  this challenge.
- Experimental Features: Sometimes, pushing the envelope requires using experimental features. We'll
  discuss the risks and rewards of this approach.

### Lessons Learned:

- Prefetch Pitfalls: Understand the quirks of prefetch requests, including how to handle this
  scenario.
- Memory Management: Explore common memory leak issues and how to mitigate them effectively.
- Realistic Expectations: Next.js is powerful, but it's not a silver bullet. We'll discuss its
  limitations and how to navigate them.

Join us for an insightful session where we dive deep into the technical triumphs and trials of
building a high-performance digital commerce platform with Next.js.

The platform behind this talk is written up in the
[multi-brand Next.js platform case study](/case-study/digital-commerce) and in
[Share Packages, Not Applications](/blog/2026-02-14-share-packages-not-applications).

## Slides

{{pdf:./slides/WindyCityDevFest2024-TheSuperpowersAndCryptoniteBroughtByNextJS.pdf:"View Slides"}}