Building a Modern Portfolio with Next.js 16 and React 19

Building a portfolio website is one of the best ways to showcase your skills and attract potential clients. In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through the process of creating a modern, high-performance portfolio using Next.js 16, React 19, and other cutting-edge technologies.

Why Next.js 16?

Next.js 16 brings incredible improvements to the developer experience and performance:

• React 19 Support: Full compatibility with the latest React features
• Improved App Router: Better caching and routing performance
• Server Components: Reduced JavaScript bundle sizes
• Built-in Optimization: Automatic image and font optimization

Setting Up Your Project

Let's start by creating a new Next.js project:

npx create-next-app@latest my-portfolio --typescript --app --tailwind
cd my-portfolio

This command sets up a new project with TypeScript, the App Router, and Tailwind CSS pre-configured.

Project Structure

Here's the structure I recommend for a portfolio site:

src/
├── app/
│   ├── (routes)/
│   │   ├── about/
│   │   ├── projects/
│   │   ├── blog/
│   │   └── contact/
│   ├── layout.tsx
│   └── page.tsx
├── components/
│   ├── ui/
│   └── sections/
├── lib/
└── data/

Key Features to Implement

1. Responsive Navigation

Your navigation should work flawlessly on all devices:

export default function Header() {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);
  
  return (
    <header className="sticky top-0 z-50 backdrop-blur-md">
      <nav className="max-w-6xl mx-auto px-4 py-4">
        {/* Navigation content */}
      </nav>
    </header>
  );
}

2. Project Showcase

Use dynamic routes to display your projects:

// app/projects/[slug]/page.tsx
export default async function ProjectPage({ params }) {
  const project = await getProject(params.slug);
  
  return (
    <article>
      <h1>{project.title}</h1>
      {/* Project details */}
    </article>
  );
}

3. SEO Optimization

Next.js 16 makes SEO incredibly easy with the metadata API:

export const metadata = {
  title: 'My Portfolio',
  description: 'Full-stack developer portfolio',
  openGraph: {
    images: ['/og-image.png'],
  },
};

Performance Tips

1. Use next/image for automatic image optimization
2. Preload critical fonts to avoid layout shifts
3. Implement proper caching headers
4. Use Server Components where possible

Conclusion

Building a portfolio with Next.js 16 gives you the best of both worlds: developer experience and end-user performance. The combination of Server Components, automatic optimization, and the App Router makes it the perfect choice for showcasing your work.

Start building your portfolio today and stand out from the crowd!

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Have questions? Feel free to reach out or connect with me on LinkedIn.