Implementing Previews With Next Applications Using a Strapi Backend

The guide offers a comprehensive tutorial on setting up a blog using Strapi and Next.js, emphasizing the importance of preview modes in Jamstack web development. It explains how pre-rendering, a core feature of Jamstack, enhances website speed, reduces complexity, and cuts hosting costs by generating content during build time instead of at every request. However, this process is not ideal for content creation, as it requires drafts to be rendered with each request. To address this, the guide provides steps to implement a Preview Mode, allowing content editors to see changes instantly without waiting for the complete build process. The tutorial walks through creating a Strapi backend, setting up a Next.js frontend with Tailwind CSS, connecting the two, and configuring dynamic routing for individual blog posts based on their slug. It further details how to set up a preview API route to facilitate a more seamless content editing experience, highlighting the utility of preview modes in improving the user experience for content editors within the Jamstack architecture.