Mastering Internationalization in Next.js 14: A Step-by-Step Guide

As the world becomes more interconnected, it’s essential to ensure that your Next.js application can cater to a global audience. Internationalization, or i18n, is the process of making your application adaptable to different languages and cultural settings. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to achieve internationalization in Next.js 14 using the i18next, react-i18next, i18next-http-backend, and i18next-browser-languagedetector packages.

What is Internationalization?

Internationalization is the process of designing and developing an application to be adapted for multiple languages and regions. This involves handling various aspects, such as language translations, number formats, date formats, and cultural norms. By incorporating internationalization, you can expand your application’s reach, improve user experience, and increase revenue.

Why Choose Next.js for Internationalization?

Next.js, a popular React-based framework, provides an excellent foundation for building scalable and maintainable applications. With Next.js, you can leverage its built-in support for server-side rendering, static site generation, and internationalization. Next.js 14, in particular, offers improved performance and features that make it an ideal choice for building internationalized applications.

Required Packages for Internationalization in Next.js 14

To achieve internationalization in Next.js 14, you’ll need the following packages:

• i18next: A popular JavaScript internationalization framework that provides a robust and flexible solution for translating and formatting content.
• react-i18next: An official React binding for i18next, which simplifies the integration process and provides additional features.
• i18next-http-backend: A backend plugin that enables server-side rendering and caching of translations.
• i18next-browser-languagedetector: A browser-side plugin that detects the user’s language and provides automatic language switching.

Setting Up Internationalization in Next.js 14

To get started, create a new Next.js 14 project using the following command:

npx create-next-app my-internationalized-app --template nextjs-14

Install the required packages using the following command:

npm install i18next react-i18next i18next-http-backend i18next-browser-languagedetector

Configuring i18next

Create a new file called i18n.js in the root of your project:

import i18n from 'i18next';
import Backend from 'i18next-http-backend';
import LanguageDetector from 'i18next-browser-languagedetector';

i18n
  .use(Backend)
  .use(LanguageDetector)
  .init({
    fallbackLng: 'en',
    ns: ['common'],
    defaultNS: 'common',
    react: {
      wait: true,
    },
  });

export default i18n;

In the above code, we’re configuring i18next to use the HTTP backend and browser language detector. We’re also specifying the fallback language as English (en) and defining a namespace (ns) for our translations.

Creating Translation Files

Create a new folder called public/locales and add the following translation files:

public/locales/en/common.json
public/locales/fr/common.json
public/locales/es/common.json

In each file, add the corresponding translations for your application. For example, in en/common.json, add:

{
  "hello": "Hello",
  "welcome": "Welcome to our application"
}

Using Translations in Your Next.js App

In your Next.js pages, use the useTranslation hook from react-i18next to access your translations:

import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';

function HomePage() {
  const { t } = useTranslation();

  return (
    

      
      
{t('welcome')}
    
  );
}

export default HomePage;

In the above code, we’re using the useTranslation hook to access the t function, which allows us to retrieve translations dynamically.

Server-Side Rendering and Caching

import { getStaticProps } from 'next';
import i18n from '../i18n';

export const getStaticProps = async ({ locale }) => {
  await i18n.get(locale);
  return {
    props: {},
  };
};

import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
import { LanguageDetector } from 'i18next-browser-languagedetector';

function App({ Component, pageProps }) {
  const { i18n } = useTranslation();
  const languageDetector = new LanguageDetector(i18n);

  languageDetector.cacheUserLanguage();

  return ;
}

export default App;