Sitefinity React/Next.js Renderer Is Going Live in October 2024

Here’s what to look forward to with the Sitefinity React/Next.js Renderer, planned for release in October 2024.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, delivering fast, dynamic and highly responsive web experiences has become a top priority for developers and businesses alike. Recognizing this, we decided to make a significant leap forward with the upcoming release of the Progress Sitefinity React/Next.js Renderer. This powerful combination is scheduled for general availability in October 2024 along with our 15.2 release. As you all know, things could change but this is the trajectory we are aiming for in the following months. 😊

What Is the Sitefinity React/Next.js Renderer?

I am pretty sure that most of you are aware of our decoupled approach and how our ASP.NET Core Renderer works. It benefits developers with its multi-tiered architecture, while marketers get all the benefits from a classic DXP. Both renderers are on par in terms of out-of-the-box (OOB) widgets, and developers have the freedom to pick their tech preference.

The Sitefinity React Renderer is a frontend framework designed to enable developers to build rich, interactive web applications while leveraging the flexibility and power of Next.js. By using the renderer, developers can create highly responsive user interfaces that are both performant and scalable. Also, we bring tons of components and functionalities out of the box so there is no need to start from scratch.

We’re talking about a powerful combination for developing modern web applications with Sitefinity complementing one of the most used frameworks out there. You can bring tons of tooling and ready-to-use components like our Progress KendoReact controls and wrap them into Sitefinity widgets without a hassle.

Why Next.js Integration Matters

Next.js is one of the most popular frameworks for React, known for its server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG) and the ability to easily build full-fledged web applications. By integrating with Next.js, developers can leverage their favorite frameworks and rely on APIs/SDK to bring any content to the client. Along with our SaaS solution, this will allow developers to code against the renderer into PaaS fashion. They will greatly benefit from our platform by using React only.

Key Benefits

• Headless/decoupled fashion of work: Our patent-based page builder and the Sitefinity Next.js renderer follow our blueprint for creating separate applications to deal with frontend. The basic difference compared to the traditional headless systems is that our technology under the hood is indistinguishable to marketers. They have great OOB experience when it comes to page building, personalization and doing changes without the help of developers—everything that the classic DXPs offer today.

• Support of classic functionalities of Sitefinity DXP: Everything that you witnessed with Sitefinity as core functionalities within Sitefinity and the ASP.NET Core renderer is present here as well—OOB personalization, OOB full set of widgets to build pages, section presets, AI capabilities, etc.

• WYSIWYG editor: As I mentioned above, our marketing power users will continue doing their job undisturbed.

• SEO optimization: Next.js’s SSR capabilities enhance SEO by helping the search engine to easily index content and improve visibility and search rankings.

• Flexible deployment: The integration supports a wide range of deployment scenarios—from fully server-rendered apps to hybrid approaches that combine static and dynamic content.

• Developer experience: This is one of the coolest parts that I’ve seen on the market. Our widgets can be found in a public source repo. But this is not enough, so we delivered more than expected by allowing developers to create multiple template views for widgets and/or extending the core functionalities of the widgets. Here is a short video from our “kitchen”:

• SaaS support and cloud hosting: Our SaaS solution will support the Sitefinity Next.js renderer in October. This way developers can focus on frontend development without having any prior experience with Sitefinity and in general with .NET. In case you have specific preferences, we have customers utilizing Vercel and Azure.

How Do We Know that All the Above Works?

The Brand Agency and RWWA went live with their websites’ consolidation and achieved remarkable outcomes. You can find more details in their official press release. We have other early adopters in the queue, who are working toward the release of their projects.

How to Kickstart?

For all of you looking to kickstart with the product, you can do so by following the instructions from our GitHub repo or documentation. Our packages for early access are on npm. 😊

Looking Ahead

The general availability of the Sitefinity React/Next.js Renderer is planned for the end of October 2024 with the release of Sitefinity 15.2. It marks a significant milestone for Sitefinity DXP. This development underscores the commitment of Progress to staying at the forefront of web technology, empowering developers with the tools they need to create world-class digital experiences.

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting with Sitefinity and React, this new integration opens up a world of possibilities for building the next generation of web applications. Keep an eye out for the release and get ready to take your web projects to the next level!