Overview

Custom Cap BD has been upgraded to Next.js 16 (October 2025), bringing massive performance improvements and new caching capabilities that make the site faster and more responsive.

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Performance Improvements

Faster Development Experience

Turbopack is now the default bundler, providing:

• 5-10× faster Fast Refresh when you make code changes
• 2-5× faster production builds
• Instant Hot Module Replacement (HMR)

This means less waiting for changes to appear when developing the site.

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Faster Page Loads for Users

Cache Components + Partial Pre-Rendering (PPR) deliver:

• 60-80% faster initial page loads compared to fully dynamic pages
• Layout deduplication: Shared headers/footers load once instead of repeatedly
• Incremental prefetching: Only new content is preloaded, not entire pages

What this means for Custom Cap BD users:

• Product pages load nearly instantly
• Navigating between products is seamless
• The artwork customizer appears faster
• Overall browsing experience feels snappier

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New Caching System

Next.js 16 introduces Cache Components with the "use cache" directive, allowing developers to explicitly mark what should be cached.

What Gets Cached on Custom Cap BD

✅ Product listings - Static product catalogs load instantly ✅ Homepage content - Hero sections, feature blocks, testimonials ✅ Documentation pages - Technical guides and help content ✅ Blog posts - Article content with smart revalidation

❌ NOT cached - Your shopping cart, profile data, custom artwork designs (always fresh)

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React 19.2 Features

The upgrade includes React 19.2 with new capabilities:

View Transitions

Smooth animations when navigating between pages:

// Smooth fade transitions between product pages
<Link href="/product/next-cap" viewTransition>
  Next Product
</Link>

useEffectEvent Hook

Better event handling without complex dependency arrays:

const handleColorChange = useEffectEvent((color) => {
  // Always has latest state, no dependency issues
  updateArtwork(color);
});

See React 19 Best Practices for more details.

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Enhanced Routing

Next.js 16 completely overhauls the routing system:

Smart Prefetching

• Before: Entire pages prefetched on hover
• After: Only missing parts prefetched

Result: Much lower network usage, faster navigation

Layout Deduplication

When you navigate from /product/cap-1 to /product/cap-2:

• Before: Header, footer, and product layout re-downloaded
• After: Only product-specific data downloaded (shared layout cached)

Result: Instant navigation between similar pages

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Image Optimization

New default cache: Images now cache for 4 hours instead of 60 seconds.

Benefits:

• Reduced server load
• Faster image loading on repeat visits
• Lower bandwidth costs

No action needed - This happens automatically for all product images, logos, and artwork thumbnails.

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What This Means for Users

For Customers

• ⚡ Faster browsing: Product pages load 60-80% faster
• 🎨 Quicker customization: Artwork designer appears almost instantly
• 📱 Better mobile experience: Smaller payloads mean faster loading on cellular
• 🔄 Smoother navigation: No more full-page reloads when switching products

For Administrators

• 🚀 Faster admin dashboard: All dashboard pages benefit from improved routing
• 📊 Instant data updates: New updateTag() API shows changes immediately
• 🛠️ Better dev experience: 5-10× faster hot reload during customization
• 📈 Performance insights: Built-in DevTools for debugging

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Technical Details

Breaking Changes

Next.js 16 includes breaking changes that required code updates:

1. Async Request APIs: All params and searchParams must be awaited
2. Caching APIs: revalidateTag() requires a cacheLife profile parameter
3. Removed Features: AMP support, next lint command, runtime configuration

All breaking changes have been resolved in the codebase.

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Resources

Documentation

• Next.js 16 Technical Memory (this page)
• React 19 Best Practices
• Official Next.js 16 Announcement

For Developers

• Primary Source: docs/NEXTJS-16-FEATURES.md
• Project Instructions: CLAUDE.md (Next.js 16 section)
• Changelog: /changelog (Version 0.9.0)

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Questions?

If you experience any issues or have questions about the upgrade:

• Users: Contact Support
• Developers: See docs/NEXTJS-16-FEATURES.md or open an issue on GitHub