How do you detect if a website is built with Next.js by looking at the source code?
You can check for several hints in the page source:
- Open the Page Source: Right-click on the webpage and select “View Page Source” or press
Ctrl+U
(Windows) orCmd+Option+U
(Mac) to open the page source code. - Look for the Next.js Markup: Search for specific scripts or markers that indicate the use of Next.js. Use
Ctrl+F
(Windows) orCmd+F
(Mac) to open the search function and look for the following keywords:/_next/
: This indicates the presence of Next.js assets. You might see URLs likehttps://example.com/_next/static/chunks/main.js
.
- Check for Next.js Versioning: Within the
/_next/
directory, you might find version-specific information. Look for files named with versioning, for example,main-123456.js
, which can indicate the Next.js version used. - Look for Next.js Rendering Markers: Next.js enables functionalities like SSR (Server-Side Rendering) and SSG (Static Site Generation). Look for the following:
- Check for
data-reactroot
: This attribute is often found in the main HTML tag rendered by Next.js.
- Check for
- Search for Next.js Specific Meta Tags: Sometimes, websites using Next.js may include specific meta tags. Look for:
<meta name="next-head-count" content="X">
: This tag indicates the number of head elements that Next.js has processed.
- Inspect Network Activity: Open the Developer Tools (F12 or right-click and select “Inspect”) and navigate to the “Network” tab. Refresh the page and look for any requests to the
/_next/
directory. This is a clear indicator that Next.js is being used. - Look for Dynamic Imports: In the page source or the JavaScript bundle, you might find indications of dynamic imports which are common in Next.js applications. Look for patterns such as
import('...')
. - Check for Image Optimization: Next.js supports image optimization with the
next/image
component. Look for<Image>
tags in the source code, which may indicate the use of Next.js for optimized images.
Check out our in-depth guide on how to detect Next.js here.
What is Next.js?
Next.js is a popular web development framework built on React, a JavaScript library for building user interfaces.
It is designed to simplify building complex, fast, and SEO-friendly web applications.