A developer recounts their journey of migrating a personal blog from Gatsby to Next.js, emphasizing the differences and challenges encountered with each framework. Initially drawn to Gatsby for its ability to treat the blog as a React application with static site capabilities, the developer appreciated its powerful programmatic features and plugins despite grappling with GraphQL's verbosity. However, the desire for a more streamlined and minimal tool led them to explore Next.js, which had improved significantly since their initial attempt. The transition involved overcoming challenges related to MDX, a format that combines Markdown and JSX, and required creative solutions like custom plugins and scripts to replicate Gatsby's functionality. The developer also explores tools for generating sitemaps and feeds in Next.js and highlights the potential of emerging MDX v2 features to address existing limitations. Throughout the process, they stress the importance of understanding the tools available and adapting them to fit specific needs, while also recommending LogRocket for enhanced application debugging and monitoring.