Next Contentful

Next Contentful is a Next.js boilerplate bootstrapped with create-next-app, built on the Pages Router and designed to kick-start a React website with API routes and Vercel deployment.

What is Next Contentful?

Next Contentful is the default project template produced by create-next-app, the official scaffolding tool for Next.js. It provides a minimal file structure with a homepage in pages/index.js, an API endpoint in pages/api/hello.js, and a pages/api directory that maps all files to /api/* routes. It runs locally on Node.js using any of the npm, yarn, or pnpm package managers.

Key Features

• Pages Router — Next Contentful uses the classic pages directory for file-based routing, where index.js renders the homepage and new files automatically become routes.
• API routes — Files placed in pages/api are treated as serverless API endpoints rather than React pages; the included pages/api/hello.js returns a JSON message.
• Automatic font optimization — The project imports next/font, which automatically optimizes and loads the Inter Google Font with no manual font-link setup.
• Hot reloading — Editing pages/index.js updates the browser instantly when the development server is running.
• Multiple package managers — Commands are provided for npm, yarn, and pnpm, so the same scaffold works across common Node.js tooling.
• Vercel deployment — The README links directly to the Vercel platform and points to the official Next.js deployment documentation.

Who is it for?

• New Next.js developers — Learn how the Pages Router, API routes, and next/font fit together by running the starter and reading the accompanying documentation links.
• Freelancers and agencies — Use the scaffold as a clean base when starting a client site, then add a CMS, styling system, or other libraries on top.
• Open-source maintainers — Fork the boilerplate when creating a demo project or template for a tutorial, since it contains only the minimal official structure.

What can you do with it?

• Build a React-powered marketing site — Edit pages/index.js to replace the default content, then add new page files under pages to create static routes.
• Prototype an API endpoint — Modify pages/api/hello.js or add new files in pages/api to expose JSON data under the /api/* path.
• Deploy to Vercel — Connect the repository to Vercel using the provided link and the project will build automatically with the production Next.js configuration.

How does it work?

First, run npm run dev, yarn dev, or pnpm dev to start the development server on http://localhost:3000. Edit pages/index.js to change the homepage, and place new API files in pages/api to add endpoints. Finally, deploy by pushing the repository to Vercel through the platform's new-project flow.