Static Generation in Next.js: A Comprehensive Guide to generateStaticParams()

The generateStaticParams() is an essential function in Next.js, particularly for static site generation (SSG). It’s used to pre-render paths at build time, allowing the creation of static pages for dynamic routes. This improves the performance and SEO of your site by providing pre-built HTML files rather than generating them on the fly with server-side rendering. This approach is ideal for pages that have data available during the build process and need to be pre-rendered.

Objective: Understand why generateStaticParams() is used in Next.js and how to implement it to statically generate pages with dynamic paths.

Introduction to Static Generation using generateStaticParams() ?

Next.js supports Static Generation for pages that can be pre-rendered at build time. This is beneficial for performance and SEO. generateStaticParams() is a function used to predefine dynamic routes at build time. This function creates static HTML files during the build process. These files contain pre-rendered content based on the parameters you specify.

Let addressing the analogy with WordPress blogs with static generation using generateStaticParams() funciton.

We can think of generateStaticParams() for generating static page from dynamic routes like blog in wordpress. The generateStaticParams() is a Next.js function for creating SEO-friendly, high-performance static pages for less frequently updated content, and requires minimal server resources at runtime, as pages are already rendered.. While WordPress blogs can be considered “static” (content doesn’t change constantly), they require server processing for every request, potentially impacting performance and server resources.

Why Use generateStaticParams()?

This function provide following advangtes.

1. Performance: Pre-rendering pages during build time enhances loading speed and user experience. Static content is readily available without server-side rendering,
2. SEO: Static pages are favored by search engines, improving the chances of your site ranking higher in search results.
3. Scalability: By generating static pages ahead of time, you reduce the need for server-side computations, making your site more scalable.
4. Cost-Effectiveness: With static pages, server resources are less burdened, potentially reducing your hosting costs

When to Use generateStaticParams() ?

The generateStaticParams() is best for stable content, accessible build-time data, and improving SEO and internationalization efforts, leading to a faster, more reliable, and user-friendly web experience.

generateStaticParams() is ideal for:

1. Content with infrequent updates, like blogs or documentation, enabling faster load times and reduced server load through pre-rendering.
2. Sites with data available at build time, such as CMS or databases, allowing for efficient page generation.
3. SEO and internationalization, as pre-rendered pages improve search engine visibility and ensure quick delivery of localized content.

The generateStaticParams() is fantastic for static content with predictable data at build time, but it’s not ideal for dynamic pages like user profiles that require frequent updates or user-specific data. Here are some alternative approaches for handling mixed static and dynamic pages in Next.js

Here are alternative approaches for mixed static and dynamic pages in Next.js:

1. Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR):
   • Pre-generates pages at build time with a revalidation time.
   • Fetches fresh data on request if the page is outdated.
   • Ideal for content that updates occasionally, like blog posts.
2. Server-Side Rendering (SSR):
   • Renders pages on the server for each request.
   • Best for highly dynamic content needing personalization, like user profiles.
   • Can impact performance due to server-side processing.
3. GetStaticProps with Fallback:
   • Pre-generates static pages using getStaticProps.
   • Fetches data on request for non-existent paths.
   • Useful for content that might exist but is uncertain at build time, like new product pages.

Choosing the Right Approach:

• Static Content (Little Change): Use generateStaticParams() for optimal performance and SEO.
• Semi-Static Content (Occasional Updates): Use ISR for a balance of performance and freshness.
• Highly Dynamic Content (Frequent Updates): Use SSR for maximum flexibility.
• Potentially Existing Content (Uncertain at Build): Use getStaticProps with fallback for initial static generation and dynamic fetching.

By selecting the appropriate approach based on content update frequency and user interaction needs, you can effectively combine static and dynamic functionalities in your Next.js application.

Step-by-Step Tutorial on Implementing generateStaticParams()

When you run npm build, Next.js uses a function called generateStaticParams() to create static HTML files for all your defined routes before your website deploys. This is useful if you have content that doesn’t change often, like product pages.

In your case, you have product pages with unique IDs. generateStaticParams() can pre-build these pages during the build process, including the product ID in the URL (e.g., somedomain.com/products/123). This works by fetching data from Supabase beforehand, similar to how WordPress pre-generates blog posts.

This approach is ideal for static content with predictable data at build time. However, if you need a mix of static and dynamic pages (e.g., user profiles), generateStaticParams() might not be the best solution.

Step 1 to 2: Create Project and a Dynamic Route

To begin, you’ll first need a Next.js project. Once you have that, create a directory for your dynamic route, such as app/posts/[slug]/, and within it, add a file named page.tsx. Similarly, you could create app/products/[slug]/ for all products with an ID, which would generate pages for each product based on its unique ID.

For instance, let’s create a dynamic route for blog posts

Step 3: Implement generateStaticParams()

Inside page.tsx, you will define the generateStaticParams() function. This function fetches the list of parameters (e.g., IDs) that need to be pre-rendered. Here’s an example for a blog post:

import { createClient } from "@/supabase/client";
//import { notFound } return <div>Error: Post not found</div>;
...

export const revalidate = 0;

type Props = {
  params: { slug: string };
  searchParams: { [key: string]: string | string[] | undefined };
};

// For dynamic meta data for SEO
export async function generateMetadata(
  { params, searchParams }: Props,
  parent: ResolvingMetadata
): Promise<Metadata> {
  const slug = params.slug;

  const supabase = createClient();
  const { data: post } = await supabase.from("edupala-posts").select().    .eq("id", slug).single();

    ...
}
//Step 4: Next, use the generateStaticParams function to fetch the data needed for each path. This ensures that each dynamic page has the necessary data at build time:
export async function generateStaticParams() {
  const supabase = createClient();
// Ensure consistent naming
  const { data: posts } = await supabase.from("edupala-posts").select("id"); 
  if (!posts) {
    return [];
  }

  return posts?.map(({ id }) => ({
    slug: id,
  }));
}

export default async function Page({ params }: Props) {
Step 5: Create the Page Component
  const supabase = createClient();
  const { data } = await supabase
    .from("edupala-posts").select().eq("id", params.slug).single();

  if (!data) {
    notFound();
  }

  return (
    <div className="...">
    </div>
  );
}

Nextjs will generate all these routes with this specific ID and it should be given all the page. with all the content in any data or example ten posts it will pregenerate ten posts as we decide to use “generateStaticParams” to add full tutorial to do the correction on these records.

Note: Replaced .match() with .eq() in generateMetadata, generateStaticParams, and Page functions for filtering by id. The .eq which is more efficient and clear.

Step 6: Build and Test: Run the build command to generate the static pages and then start the development server to test your implementation:

npm run build
npm start

Conclusion:
By following these steps, you can efficiently use generateStaticParams() to pre-render dynamic routes in your Next.js application. This not only boosts performance and SEO but also ensures a smooth user experience by delivering static pages quickly.