An MVP—minimum viable product—is about validating an idea quickly without overbuilding. The right stack lets you ship fast, iterate based on real feedback, and scale when it matters. At Digidrop, we tend to build MVPs with Next.js on the front end and an API backend that can grow with you. Here's how we think about it.
Next.js + API Backend: The Default Approach
Next.js gives you a modern React front end with server-side rendering, API routes, and excellent developer experience. For most MVPs, we pair it with a dedicated backend that handles data, auth, and business logic. That backend can be a CMS, a framework, or a database with an API layer—depending on what you need.
Primary Backend Options: Drupal, WordPress, Laravel, Strapi
We typically reach for one of four backends when building MVPs:
- Drupal: Enterprise-grade CMS with a robust REST/JSON:API and GraphQL support (via modules like GraphQL). Ideal when content modelling, workflows, and multi-site needs are central. It scales from MVP to large-scale platforms.
- WordPress: The world's most popular CMS, with a mature REST API and headless options like WPGraphQL. Great for content-heavy MVPs where familiarity and plugin ecosystems matter. WordPress is open source, widely supported, and runs well as a headless backend.
- Laravel: A PHP framework that excels at custom APIs, queues, and complex business logic. Great when you need full control over your data layer and want to move fast without sacrificing structure.
- Strapi: Headless CMS built on Node.js. Perfect when you want a flexible content API without the weight of Drupal. Strapi is open source, self-hostable, and gives you a ready-made admin UI.
All four are open source, well-documented, and can run on your own infrastructure. They give you full control over your data and endpoints—no vendor lock-in.
Supabase and the Cost Question
Supabase is another common choice. It offers PostgreSQL, auth, real-time subscriptions, and storage out of the box. For quick prototypes, it's appealing. But as usage grows, costs can escalate. The free tier has limits, and production workloads often push you into paid plans. For an MVP that might need to scale or stay lean, that can become a constraint.
Why Open Source and Self-Hosted Databases Work
We favour open-source backends with PostgreSQL or MongoDB. Both are battle-tested, widely supported, and let you serve your own API endpoints. You're not tied to a specific vendor's pricing or feature set.
- PostgreSQL: Relational, ACID-compliant, and excellent for structured data. Works seamlessly with Drupal, WordPress, Laravel, and Strapi. You can run it on your own server, use managed offerings from providers like DigitalOcean or AWS, or host on platforms like Upsun.
- MongoDB: Document-based and flexible. Suits MVPs where the schema might evolve quickly. Also open source, with a strong ecosystem and the option to self-host or use MongoDB Atlas.
With PostgreSQL or MongoDB, you own your data and your endpoints. You can optimise queries, add indexes, and scale horizontally when needed—without surprise bills from a managed platform.
Deploying Next.js and Your API
A typical MVP splits the front end and backend across different hosts. Next.js runs on an edge platform; your API (Drupal, WordPress, Laravel, or Strapi) runs on a separate server or PaaS.
Next.js on Netlify or Vercel: Both platforms offer excellent support for Next.js—edge deployment, preview deployments from Git, and tight integration with the framework. Vercel is built by the Next.js team, so you get first-class support. Netlify provides similar DX with a generous free tier. Either way, your front end is fast, globally distributed, and easy to iterate on.
API on Upsun, DigitalOcean, or AWS: Your backend needs a home. Upsun (formerly Platform.sh) is a PaaS that excels at PHP and Node—ideal for Drupal, WordPress, and Laravel. You get staging environments, automatic scaling, and managed databases. DigitalOcean offers App Platform for simple deployments or Droplets for more control, plus managed PostgreSQL and MongoDB. AWS gives you Elastic Beanstalk, ECS, or EC2 for your app, with RDS or DocumentDB for the database. Choose based on your team’s comfort level and how much you want to manage.
Serving Your Endpoints
Whether you use Drupal's REST API or GraphQL, WordPress's REST API or WPGraphQL, Laravel's API resources, or Strapi's auto-generated endpoints, the pattern is the same: your backend exposes JSON APIs that Next.js consumes. You can add caching, rate limiting, and authentication at the API layer. The front end stays decoupled, so you can change or replace it later without rewriting your data model.
The Bottom Line
For MVPs, we lean on Next.js for the front end and open-source backends—Drupal, WordPress, Laravel, or Strapi—backed by PostgreSQL or MongoDB. It's a stack that ships fast, stays flexible, and avoids the cost traps of proprietary or usage-based platforms. When you're ready to validate an idea, get in touch and we'll help you choose the right foundation.