Force-dynamic and force-static in NextJS - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using force-dynamic and force-static in Next.js

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple Next.js page that shows a greeting message. You want to control whether the page is rendered dynamically on each request or statically at build time.

🎯 Goal: Create a Next.js page that uses export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic' to make the page render dynamically, then change it to export const dynamic = 'force-static' to make it render statically.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a Next.js page component named GreetingPage that returns a simple greeting message inside a <main> element.

Add an export named dynamic with the value 'force-dynamic' to make the page render dynamically.

Change the dynamic export value to 'force-static' to make the page render statically.

Ensure the page component and export are correctly structured for Next.js 14+ App Router.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Controlling whether a Next.js page renders dynamically or statically helps optimize performance and user experience depending on the content freshness needed.

💼 Career

Understanding force-dynamic and force-static exports is important for Next.js developers to build efficient, scalable web applications with proper rendering strategies.

1

Create the Next.js page component

Create a React functional component named GreetingPage that returns a <main> element with the text Hello, welcome to Next.js!.

NextJS

function GreetingPage() {
    // Your code here
}

Hint

Use a function named GreetingPage that returns JSX with a <main> tag and the greeting text.

2

Add force-dynamic export

Add an export named dynamic with the exact value 'force-dynamic' below the GreetingPage component to make the page render dynamically.

NextJS

function GreetingPage() {
    return Hello, welcome to Next.js!;
}

export default GreetingPage;

// Add export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic' below

Hint

Write export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'; exactly as shown.

3

Change to force-static export

Change the existing export named dynamic to have the exact value 'force-static' instead of 'force-dynamic'.

NextJS

function GreetingPage() {
    return Hello, welcome to Next.js!;
}

export const dynamic = 'force-static'; // Change value here

export default GreetingPage;

Hint

Replace 'force-dynamic' with 'force-static' in the export statement.

4

Complete the Next.js page with static rendering

Ensure the page component GreetingPage and the export dynamic = 'force-static' are correctly structured and exported for Next.js 14+ App Router.

NextJS

function GreetingPage() {
    return Hello, welcome to Next.js!;
}

export const dynamic = 'force-static';

export default GreetingPage;

// Finalize the page export

Hint

Make sure the component and export statements are present and correct.

Practice

1. What does the force-dynamic directive do in Next.js?

easy

A. It caches the page for offline use.

B. It makes the page build once and never update.

C. It disables server-side rendering.

D. It makes the page update on every request.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of force-dynamic

   This directive tells Next.js to always fetch fresh data and update the page on every request.

2. Step 2: Compare with other directives

   Unlike force-static, which builds once, force-dynamic ensures the page is never cached statically.

3. Final Answer:

   It makes the page update on every request. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   force-dynamic = update every request [OK]

Hint: force-dynamic means fresh page every time [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing force-dynamic with force-static
• Thinking force-dynamic disables server rendering
• Assuming force-dynamic caches pages

2. Which is the correct way to force a page to be static in Next.js using the new app router?

easy

A. export const dynamic = 'force-static';

B. export const static = true;

C. export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic';

D. export const revalidate = 0;

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall the syntax for forcing static rendering

   In Next.js app router, you use export const dynamic = 'force-static'; to make a page static.

2. Step 2: Check other options

   export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'; forces dynamic, export const static = true; is invalid syntax, and export const revalidate = 0; controls ISR but not force-static.

3. Final Answer:

   export const dynamic = 'force-static'; -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   force-static uses dynamic = 'force-static' [OK]

Hint: Use dynamic = 'force-static' to make static pages [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using force-dynamic instead of force-static
• Trying to use export const static = true
• Confusing revalidate with force-static

3. Given this Next.js page code snippet:

export const dynamic = 'force-static';

export default function Page() {
  return 
{new Date().toISOString()}
;
}

What will the page show when you refresh it multiple times?

medium

A. The date and time from when the page was first built, never changing.

B. The current date and time updated on every refresh.

C. An error because dynamic cannot be force-static.

D. A blank page because the date is not static.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand force-static behavior

   With dynamic = 'force-static', the page is built once at build time and reused.

2. Step 2: Analyze the date rendering

   The new Date().toISOString() runs only once during build, so the date shown is fixed.

3. Final Answer:

   The date and time from when the page was first built, never changing. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   force-static = fixed build time content [OK]

Hint: force-static shows build time data, not live updates [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting date to update on refresh
• Thinking force-static causes errors
• Confusing force-static with server-side rendering

4. You want a Next.js page to update on every request but accidentally wrote:

export const dynamic = 'force-static';

What problem will this cause?

medium

A. The page will reload infinitely causing a crash.

B. The page will throw a syntax error and not load.

C. The page will never update and show stale data.

D. The page will update but with a delay.

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the directive effect

   dynamic = 'force-static' makes the page static, so it does not update on each request.

2. Step 2: Understand the impact on data freshness

   The page will serve the cached static version, causing stale data to show.

3. Final Answer:

   The page will never update and show stale data. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   force-static = stale data if dynamic update needed [OK]

Hint: force-static stops updates, use force-dynamic for fresh data [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting syntax error from force-static
• Thinking page updates slowly instead of never
• Confusing infinite reload with static caching

5. You have a Next.js page that fetches user data and you want it statically rendered but revalidated every 10 seconds on demand to keep data fresh, also improving performance by caching for 10 seconds. Which setup correctly combines force-static and caching?

hard

A. export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'; export const revalidate = 10;

B. export const dynamic = 'force-static'; export const revalidate = 10;

C. export const dynamic = 'force-dynamic'; export const revalidate = 0;

D. export const dynamic = 'force-static'; export const revalidate = 0;

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand force-static with revalidate

   force-static forces static rendering, but revalidate = 10 enables Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) with 10-second caching and on-demand revalidation.

2. Step 2: Check other options

   Options with force-dynamic render dynamically without ISR caching. revalidate = 0 disables revalidation.

3. Final Answer:

   export const dynamic = 'force-static'; export const revalidate = 10; -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   force-static + revalidate = ISR caching [OK]

Hint: Use force-static with revalidate for ISR caching [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using force-dynamic when ISR needed
• Setting revalidate to 0 disables revalidation
• Using force-static without revalidate for permanent static