Next.js was first released as an open-source project on GitHub on October 25, 2016; 5 years ago (2016-10-25).[3] It was originally developed based on six principles: out-of-the-box functionality requiring no setup, JavaScript everywhere, all functions are written in JavaScript, automatic code-splitting and server-rendering, configurable data-fetching, anticipating requests, and simplifying deployment.[14] Next.js 2.0 was announced in March 2017 including several improvements that made it easier to work with small websites.