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What is Remix? The JavaScript Library

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Remix is a newer JavaScript full stack web framework that was released on November 20th, 2021. It was developed by the guys that created react-router as a competitor to Next.js. With their self-claimed cheat code: nested routing, Remix "is a seamless server and browser runtime that provides snappy page loads and instant transitions by leveraging distributed systems and native browser features instead of clunky static builds."[1] The framework is built on the Web Fetch API which allows web apps built on Remix to run anywhere. It supports serverless and traditional Node.js environments for any type of developer.

Page speed has been proven time and time again to be one of the most important parts of web development. "Page speed is important to users because, well, faster pages are more efficient and provide a much better on-page user experience.

"Per a recent Kissmetrics infographic, if a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load, over a quarter of users will click away and choose a different search result. Increasing bounce rate is not what SEOs are looking to do!

"Mobile users expect fast load speed, too. In the same survey, 73% of users reported visiting a website with a slow loading speed. Page speed also affects conversion rate. For example, Walmart.com noted that with every second of increased page speed, they saw a two percent increase in conversion."[2]

So, to combat slower load times Remix loads data in parallel on the server and sends a fully formed HTML document allowing for web pages to load quicker and more efficiently. This allows for Remix's goal to "fine [tune] the details of the user experience."[3]

On October 31st, 2022 it was announced that Remix was acquired by Shopify. Now, for a Full Stack Engineer that also manages the Shopify eCommerce store for Leisure Time Inc this came as a very welcome surprise. With the next update for Shopify’s framework, Hydrogen, slated for February 2023 we will be taking full advantage of the Remix support and rebuild the site for improved load times and SEO. Here I explained more about why Shopify with Next.js may not be the best way to go when it comes to using Shopify for your storefront.

For more information and Documentation, visit the Remix website.

Sources:

[1] Remix.run

[2] seoClarity

[3] Remix v1 Blog Post