Table of Contents

1. Understanding Dark Mode
2. Setting Up Your Next.js Project
3. Configuring Next.js for Dark Mode
4. Designing Components Suitable for Dark Mode
5. Creating a Dark Mode Toggle Button
6. Styling with Tailwind CSS
7. Concluding Thoughts

What You Will Learn

By the conclusion of this article, you will be equipped with the skills to establish a dynamic dark mode feature in your Next.js applications, ensuring a superior user experience. We will delve into integrating Tailwind CSS and next-themes to craft responsive and visually striking components.

Understanding Dark Mode

Dark mode is an increasingly popular user interface option that shifts a website’s color scheme to darker hues, alleviating eye strain, particularly in dim environments. As users increasingly seek this functionality, it has become an essential element of contemporary web development. In Next.js, dark mode implementation can be achieved through a combination of CSS styling and state management.

Setting Up Your Next.js Project

Let’s create a sample Next.js project to experiment with. Begin by installing Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager). Open your terminal and execute the following commands:

npx create-next-app next-dark-mode

cd next-dark-mode

npm install next-themes tailwindcss

Now that we have set up the Next.js project and added next-themes and tailwindcss, if prompted to install Tailwind during the app creation, simply respond affirmatively, as no additional configuration for Tailwind will be necessary.

Configuring Next.js for Dark Mode

Next.js simplifies dark mode management through the next-themes package. To activate it, create a _app.jsx file within the pages directory. This file serves as the primary entry point for your application.

// pages/_app.jsx

import { ThemeProvider } from 'next-themes';

function MyApp({ Component, pageProps }) {

return (

<ThemeProvider>

<Component {...pageProps} />

</ThemeProvider>

);

}

export default MyApp;

Designing Components Suitable for Dark Mode

To facilitate a dark mode toggle button and style our components accordingly, we first need to design a reusable button component that allows users to switch between light and dark themes.

// components/DarkModeToggle.jsx

import { useTheme } from 'next-themes';

const DarkModeToggle = () => {

const { theme, setTheme } = useTheme();

const toggleDarkMode = () => {

setTheme(theme === 'light' ? 'dark' : 'light');

};

return (

<button onClick={toggleDarkMode}>

{theme === 'light' ? 'Dark Mode' : 'Light Mode'}

</button>

);

};

export default DarkModeToggle;

Next, let’s integrate this toggle button into a sample page.

// pages/index.js

import DarkModeToggle from '../components/DarkModeToggle';

const Home = () => {

return (

<div>

<h1>Welcome to the Dark Side!</h1>

<p>Explore the amazing world of dark mode!</p>

<DarkModeToggle />

</div>

);

};

export default Home;

This video demonstrates how to implement dark themes using React context in server components, enhancing your understanding of dark mode functionality.

Styling with Tailwind CSS

Next.js empowers developers to craft cutting-edge applications with ease. By embracing dark mode, you cater to the diverse preferences of your users, creating a delightful browsing experience.

Now, let your creativity flow and implement dark mode in your own Next.js projects!

Thank you for reading about Next.js and dark mode. I hope this article has been informative and helpful in your web development journey. If you’re considering starting a new venture, feel free to reach out to me at futuromy.com for assistance in validating and building your startup idea!

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Melih

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This video covers how to implement dark mode in Next.js without flicker, utilizing Tailwind CSS for an improved user experience.