Next.js je dominantni React framework za production web apps. Vercel je default deployment platform, ali self-host opcija postoji i ima smisla za EU compliance i predvidiv trošak. Ovo je vodič što treba znati o Next.js hostingu u 2026.

Next.js ukratko

• React framework, vlasnik Vercel.
• Verzije: Next 14 (stable), Next 15 (current, App Router + React 19).
• Rendering modes: SSG (static), SSR (server-side), ISR (incremental static regeneration), RSC (React Server Components).
• API Routes built-in (lightweight Node API).
• Image optimization, font optimization, middleware native.

Vercel vs self-host

Kad self-host vrijedi

• EU compliance / data residency striktni.
• Predvidiv trošak (npr. enterprise app s konstantnim load-om).
• Backend logic teža (long-running queries, custom database connections).
• Postojeća infrastruktura (vlastiti VPS već koristiš za druge stvari).

Kad Vercel vrijedi

• Prototyping i MVP.
• Globalna marketing site s visok variability traffic-om.
• Tim koji ne želi sysadmin overhead.
• Edge functions native potrebne (geolocation, A/B testing, personalization).

Self-host Next.js production setup

# Install Node 20
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Build i pokreni Next app
git clone repo
cd app
npm ci
npm run build
npm start    # production server na portu 3000

Production: PM2 ili systemd za auto-restart, nginx kao reverse proxy s SSL, opcionalno Cloudflare ispred za CDN.

Static export vs Node server

• Static export (output: 'export' u next.config.js) — generira pure HTML/CSS/JS, host bilo gdje (nginx, Cloudflare Pages). Brz, jeftin, ali bez API routes i SSR.
• Standalone Node server — full Next features (SSR, ISR, API routes), treba long-running Node process.

Image optimization na self-host

next/image traži image processor. Opcije:

• Vercel ili Cloudflare Images (managed, optimizira on-the-fly).
• Sharp (self-host, built-in u Next ako instaliran sharp paket).
• External CDN (Bunny Optimizer, Imgix) + custom loader.

ISR (Incremental Static Regeneration)

ISR cache-ira static pages s revalidate interval. Self-host treba writable directory za cache (.next/cache). Provjeri da deploy script ne briše cache između deploy-a (ili koristi shared cache backend kao Redis kroz custom adapter).

Sizing

WMD i Next.js hosting

WMD postavlja self-hosted Next.js (14/15) na dedicated VPS — Node 20/22 LTS, PM2 cluster, nginx reverse proxy s SSL i WebSocket support, Cloudflare CDN ispred za static assets. Sharp instaliran za image optimization, Redis za session/cache. CI/CD kroz GitHub/Gitea Actions. Deploy bez downtime-a kroz atomic switch pattern. JetBackup za database (ako vanjski, npr. Postgres). Migracija s Vercel-a u 1-2 dana.

Paketi:

• Next Start (marketing/blog): 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM — od ~20 EUR/mj.
• Next Pro (SaaS): 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM — od ~60 EUR/mj.
• Next Business (high-traffic): 8+ vCPU, 16+ GB RAM — od ~130 EUR/mj.

FAQ

Next.js sa headless CMS? Standardni pattern. Frontend Next, backend WordPress (WPGraphQL), Craft CMS, Strapi, Sanity. Hosting i frontend i backend zasebno.

Mogu li export-at Next na static i hostat na cPanel-u? Da ako koristiš output: 'export'. Upload static fajlove u public_html, gotovo.

Edge runtime self-host? Edge je Vercel-specific. Self-host = Node runtime za sve API routes. Manje granular control.

Vercel postaje preskup, koliko se uštedi self-hostom? Tipično 60-80% za mid SaaS koji troši >200 USD/mj na Vercelu.

Trebaš self-host Next.js ili migraciju s Vercel-a? WMD postavlja Next stack + migracija. Javi se preko kontakt forme.