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Deployment

Running next build compiles your application into an optimized production build: prerendered HTML for static routes, a serverless-friendly output for dynamic routes, and separate manifests describing which pages can be cached, revalidated, or must run on every request. What happens to that build afterward is entirely up to you -- Next.js does not require any particular host.

That said, some deployment targets support the full feature set (Incremental Static Regeneration, Server Actions, Middleware, on-demand Image Optimization) with zero configuration, while others require you to run your own Node.js server, wrap the app in a container, or give up server-side rendering entirely in exchange for a purely static bundle. Choosing where to deploy is really a choice about which of those trade-offs you're willing to make.

Vercel

The platform built by the creators of Next.js. Push to git and it deploys automatically, with a unique preview URL for every pull request and every Next.js feature -- ISR, Server Actions, Middleware, Image Optimization -- mapped directly onto managed infrastructure with no extra setup.

Self-Hosting

Running the compiled app as a plain Node.js process with next start, on your own VM or server. Gives you full control, including the output: 'standalone' build mode for a minimal, dependency-trimmed bundle and a reverse proxy such as nginx in front of it.

Docker

Packaging a self-hosted Next.js app into a container image using a multi-stage Dockerfile, so it can be deployed identically to any container platform -- Kubernetes, ECS, Cloud Run, or a single docker run on a VPS.

Static Export

Using output: 'export' to produce a folder of plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with no Node.js server involved at all -- deployable to GitHub Pages, S3, or any static file host, at the cost of every feature that depends on a live server.

Other Platforms

An overview of deploying to Netlify, AWS Amplify/App Runner, Cloudflare Pages/Workers, and Railway/Render -- most of which need a platform-specific adapter or build plugin to reproduce the parts of Vercel's zero-config experience that don't transfer automatically.