I've been a Next.js advocate for years. Server-side rendering, file-based routing, API routes — it's a powerful framework. But after shipping 20+ client projects, I noticed a pattern: most of my clients don't need SSR.
Portfolio sites, dashboards, admin panels, SaaS apps behind auth — these are all SPAs. And for SPAs, Next.js adds complexity without proportional benefit.
Build speed. Vite's dev server starts in under 300ms. Next.js takes 3-8 seconds. When you're iterating fast with clients, that difference compounds.
Simplicity. No \`getServerSideProps\