Building and Deploying with Vercel

Vercel makes deploying Next.js applications straightforward. Here is what we learned deploying blog.ipptt.com and other projects.

Why Vercel

For Next.js projects, Vercel is the path of least resistance:

• Zero config — push to git, get a deployment
• Edge network — static assets served from the nearest edge node
• Preview deployments — every PR gets its own URL
• Analytics — built-in performance monitoring

Project Setup

Setting up a new project is simple:

# Create the project
npx create-next-app@latest my-blog --typescript --tailwind
 
# Connect to Vercel
vercel link
 
# Deploy
vercel --prod

Custom Domains

Adding a custom domain requires two steps:

1. Add the domain in the Vercel dashboard
2. Update DNS records at your registrar

# DNS records for blog.ipptt.com
Type: CNAME
Name: blog
Value: cname.vercel-dns.com

Vercel handles SSL certificates automatically.

Environment Variables

For secrets and configuration, use environment variables:

# Set via CLI
vercel env add DATABASE_URL production
 
# Or in vercel.json

Important: never commit .env files to git. Use .env.local for development and Vercel's dashboard for production.

Build Optimization

A few tips for faster builds:

• Use output: 'standalone' for smaller Docker images (if self-hosting)
• Enable ISR for pages that change infrequently
• Analyze bundles with @next/bundle-analyzer to find bloat
• Use next/image for automatic image optimization

Monitoring and Logs

Vercel provides:

• Function logs — real-time server-side logs
• Analytics — Core Web Vitals tracking
• Speed Insights — real user performance data

Lessons from Production

After deploying several projects, here are our key takeaways:

1. Start simple — deploy early, iterate often
2. Preview deployments are invaluable — review changes before they go live
3. Monitor Core Web Vitals — performance affects user experience and SEO
4. Automate everything — CI/CD should be the default, not an afterthought

Vercel removes the friction between writing code and shipping it. For Next.js projects, it is hard to beat.