What Next.js Adds to React

This lesson explains the practical gap between React as a UI library and Next.js as a production application framework. Students learn why teams add Next.js when they need routing, rendering strategies, data access, optimization, and deployment conventions without assembling every tool by hand.

By the end, students should be able to describe what Next.js contributes, recognize the role of the App Router, distinguish Server Components from Client Components at a high level, and identify which topics will be explored more deeply later in the course.