Option 1: Vercel (The Recommended Path)

Vercel is the company that created Next.js, and their hosting platform is tailor-made for it. For 99% of projects, this is the best and easiest deployment option.

  • How it Works:
  1. Push your Next.js project to a Git provider (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).
  2. Sign up for Vercel and import your Git repository.
  3. That's it. Vercel automatically detects it's a Next.js project, runs next build, and deploys your site.
  • Key Benefits:
  • Zero Configuration: It just works.
  • Global Edge Network: Your static assets, images, and Edge Functions are served from data centers around the world, making your site fast for everyone.
  • CI/CD Built-in: Every git push can trigger a new deployment. Pushing to a new branch automatically creates a unique preview URL for testing.
  • Optimized Infrastructure: Vercel's infrastructure is specifically designed to support all of Next.js's features (SSR, ISR, Middleware, etc.) out of the box.

Option 2: Self-Hosting with a Custom Server or Docker

While Vercel is recommended, you might need to self-host for compliance reasons, to integrate into existing infrastructure, or if you're using a cloud provider like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure.

The general process is:

  1. Build Your App: Run the next build command. This creates an optimized production build in the .next folder.
  2. Start the Server: Run next start to start the Next.js production server, which serves the files from the .next folder.

Using Docker

Containerizing your application with Docker is the most common way to self-host. It creates a portable, self-contained package of your app.

First, you need to configure your next.config.js for standalone output. This copies only the necessary files (including node_modules) into a special folder, dramatically reducing the size of your Docker image.

next.config.js:

JavaScript


/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
const nextConfig = {
  output: 'standalone',
};

module.exports = nextConfig;

Dockerfile Example:

Dockerfile


# 1. Install dependencies only when needed
FROM node:18-alpine AS deps
WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json yarn.lock* package-lock.json* pnpm-lock.yaml* ./
RUN \
  if [ -f yarn.lock ]; then yarn --frozen-lockfile; \
  elif [ -f package-lock.json ]; then npm ci; \
  elif [ -f pnpm-lock.yaml ]; then yarn global add pnpm && pnpm i --frozen-lockfile; \
  else echo "Lockfile not found." && exit 1; \
  fi

# 2. Build the application
FROM node:18-alpine AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
COPY . .
RUN npm run build

# 3. Production image, copy all the files and run next server
FROM node:18-alpine AS runner
WORKDIR /app

ENV NODE_ENV=production

# Copy the standalone output
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/standalone ./
# Copy the static assets
COPY --from=builder /app/.next/static ./.next/static
# Copy the public assets
COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public

EXPOSE 3000
ENV PORT 3000

CMD ["node", "server.js"]

You can then build and run this Docker image on any platform that supports containers, like Google Cloud Run, AWS Fargate, or your own server.