Product Upgrade Announcement

Migration from Tapestry to React JS with Next.js

Introduction

We’re excited to introduce an optional upgrade for onCourse customers: the chance to move from our current Tapestry-based interface to a future-ready, React JS-powered experience, enhanced with server-side rendering through Next.js.

This upgrade applies exclusively to your customer-facing website, leaving your admin interface and internal tools unchanged. It lays the foundation for our long-term vision—delivering more features, faster performance, and a more intuitive, user-friendly experience. React JS is one of the world’s most trusted and widely adopted front-end libraries. By combining it with Next.js, we’re delivering server-side rendering (SSR), performance optimisation, and a modern development workflow—ensuring your platform is faster, more scalable, and ready for what’s next.

What User Experience with the React + Next.js Upgrade:

Market-leading speed with ultra-fast load times—even during peak traffic—keeping your customers engaged, and conversions high.
Unmatched reliability and enterprise-grade scalability to support your growth today and tomorrow.
Agile, rapid deployment of new features and enhancements so you can respond faster to customer needs and market changes.
Future-ready compatibility for updates, integrations, and security standards—protecting your investment and ensuring smooth evolution as your business grows.

This optional upgrade is available to current customers for an additional fee. It’s ideal for organisations looking to invest in a more advanced, future-proof onCourse experience. Below you’ll find a detailed benefits overview, FAQs, a comparison table, and a glossary of key terms.

If you’re interested in exploring the upgrade and want help deciding if it’s right for your organisation, our team is here to answer questions and guide you through next steps. Please contact us at email ish onCourse or log a support ticket at Support.

Benefits to Ish onCourse Customers of Migrating from Tapestry to React JS with Next.js

Migrating the onCourse platform from Apache Tapestry to React JS with Next.js provides several key advantages focused on user experience, performance, scalability, and long-term sustainability.

Enhanced Performance and Speed

React’s virtual DOM allows fast, efficient UI updates. When paired with Next.js, we deliver server-side rendered pages which improves initial page load speed and overall responsiveness.
Customers will experience smoother interactions, quicker page transitions, and reduced latency, specially during peak usage or when accessing complex features.

Greater Reliability and Scalability

React’s modular architecture is ideal for scalable systems, and Next.js enhances that with built-in performance tools, routing, and static optimizations.
As your user base grows or your application becomes more complex, this new setup ensures reliability without a decline in performance.

Faster Feature Delivery and Updates

Reusable React components, managed through Next.js pages and layouts, enable faster development cycles. This reduces time-to-market for new features and bug fixes.
The clear structure of server-rendered React via Next.js also simplifies maintenance, meaning fewer disruptions to your users.

Cross-Platform Consistency

React and Next.js' flexibility supports the development of cross-platform applications, ensuring that customers have a uniform experience whether they’re using onCourse on the web or mobile device

Future-Proofing and Security

Next.js provides a robust environment for server-side React with built-in security features such as:
- Server-side rendering for protected content
- Automatic static optimization
- Enhanced caching and route handling
Secure API endpoints through serverless functions or external services
By adopting Next.js, onCourse is well-positioned to keep up with modern web standards, security practices, and scalability needs, ensuring that our platform remains a robust and secure solution for the long term.

Community and Ecosystem Advantages

React’s global developer ecosystem, enhanced with the Next.js toolkit, means faster innovation, broader third-party integrations, and faster troubleshooting. Your investment is backed by some of the most active communities in software development.

SEO and Accessibility Improvements

Server-side rendering enabled by Next.js makes content easier to index by search engines, improving search engine optimization (SEO).
This also benefits accessibility: server-rendered HTML is more compatible with assistive technologies, ensuring content is more usable by all customer segments.

In summary, migrating Oncourse from Tapestry to React JS with Next.js ensures a future-proof platform that delivers improved performance, reliability, and security. While the user interface will remain consistent, these upgrades will provide long-term benefits in terms of speed, scalability, and the ability to quickly adapt to new features, integrations, and security standards.

Technical Overview - Tapestry vs React with Next.js

Category	Apache Tapestry	React with Next JS	End-user Benefit
User Experience	Traditional page-based UI	Interactive, component-based UI	More intuitive and dynamic interfaces
Scalability & Maintainability	Monolithic architecture, harder to scale	Modular, component-based architecture	Easier updates, better reliability
Development Speed	Slower development cycles, fewer reusable components	Fast development with reusable components	Quicker feature delivery and bug fixes
Cross-Platform Support	Web-only, no mobile support	Web and supports Next.js for improved web and SSR capabilities	Consistent experience across web and mobile
Modern Standards Compatibility	Outdated, less community support	Actively maintained, aligns with latest web standards	Future-proofed and secure
Community & Ecosystem	Small, niche community	Massive global community, rich ecosystem	Faster innovation, more integrations
Testing & QA	Limited testing tools	Robust testing with Jest, RTL, Cypress	Fewer bugs, more reliable experience
SEO & Accessibility	Limited SEO options	SSR support with frameworks like Next.js	Better discoverability and accessibility
Architecture Flexibility	Tight coupling of frontend/backend	Decoupled frontend with API integration	Faster iterations, more flexible feature delivery
PWA Capabilities	Not supported	Can build Progressive Web Apps	Mobile-friendly offline experience
Talent Availability	Limited Tapestry developers	Abundant React developers worldwide	Faster hiring, lower training overhead
Third-Party Integration	Manual and harder to integrate	Easy integration with analytics, SDKs, chat, etc.	Enhanced, personalized user experience
Performance & Speed	Server-side rendering with slower UI updates	Virtual DOM and optimized rendering	Faster load times, smoother interactions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is this upgrade about?

We’re offering an optional upgrade for onCourse customers to move their customer-facing website from our existing Apache Tapestry interface to a modern React JS and Next.js-powered experience. This will deliver faster, more reliable, and future-ready performance without changing your admin or internal tools.

2. Why are you moving to React JS with Next.js?

React JS is one of the world’s most widely adopted front-end frameworks. By combining it with Next.js, we can offer:

Server-side rendering (SSR) for faster load times and SEO
Improved performance and responsiveness
Modern, flexible architecture to support your growth

3. What are the main benefits for my organisation?

Market-leading speed with ultra-fast load times—even during high-traffic periods—to keep customers engaged and conversions high.
Unmatched reliability with enterprise-grade scalability, so your platform grows with you.
Agile, rapid deployment of new features and enhancements, letting you respond quickly to market and customer needs.
Future-ready compatibility with updates, integrations, and security standards—protecting your investment over the long term.
Improved SEO and accessibility thanks to server-side rendering.
Consistent, modern user experience across web and mobile devices.

4. How will this impact my customers?

There will be no unexpected visual changes but your customers will see faster load times, and smoother interactions. Even during peak usage, your website will remain responsive, reliable, and scalable.

5. Will this affect my admin interface or internal tools?

No. This upgrade applies only to the customer-facing website. Your admin panel and internal workflows remain unchanged.

6. Is the upgrade mandatory?

No, this upgrade is entirely optional. It’s designed for organisations that want to invest in a more advanced, future-ready user experience.

7. What does the upgrade cost?

The upgrade is available for an additional fee. Pricing depends on your specific requirements. Contact us to discuss your needs and get a tailored quote.

8.How does it improve performance?

React’s virtual DOM enables highly efficient UI updates. Combined with Next.js’ server-side rendering, your website will:

Load faster, even for complex pages
Perform better during high-traffic events
Deliver a consistently smooth experience

9. How does it improve scalability and reliability?

The upgrade uses a modular, component-based architecture, making it easier to:

Scale with your growing user base
Maintain high performance without downtime
Integrate new features or changes with minimal disruption

10. How does it help deliver features faster?

Reusable components and a modern development workflow mean:

Faster development cycles
Faster bug fixes
Quicker rollout of new features and enhancements

11. Is it secure?

Yes. Next.js comes with built-in security best practices, including:

Secure server-side rendering for sensitive content• Automatic static optimization
Enhanced caching and route handling
Secure API endpoints

12. How does it improve SEO and accessibility?

Server-side rendering makes your content easier to index by search engines, improving discoverability.
Server-rendered HTML is more compatible with assistive technologies, making your site more accessible to all users.

13. What’s the long-term benefit?

By adopting React and Next.js, you’re investing in a future-proof platform that:

Stays compatible with modern web standards
Makes integrations and security updates easier
Supports growth without rework

14. How can I get started?

Our team is ready to help you decide if the upgrade is right for you and guide you through next steps. Contact us today to learn more or to begin planning your migration. Contact us by email at ish onCourse or log a support ticket at Support.

Glossary of Terms

Terms	Definition
Server-side rendering (SSR)	The website is built on the server before it shows up in your browser. This often results in slower updates when you interact with the page, but is used for better SEO.
Virtual DOM	A smarter way to update web pages quickly by only changing what’s needed behind the scenes.
Component-based UI	The website is built from small, reusable building blocks instead of one big structure.
Monolithic architecture	Everything is tightly connected, which makes it harder to update or scale the system.
Modular architecture	The app is built in separate parts, which makes it easier to update and scale over time.
Reusable components	Pieces of code that can be used multiple times, speeding up development.
Web standards	Rules that ensure websites work well, look good, and stay secure across all browsers and devices.
Community & ecosystem	The group of developers using a technology and all the tools, libraries, and support available around it.
Testing tools	Software that helps developers catch bugs and errors before users see them. (Examples: Jest, Cypress)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)	Techniques that help a website rank higher on search engines like Google.
Accessibility	Making websites usable for everyone, including people with disabilities.
API (Application Programming Interface)	A way for different apps or systems to talk to each other, like a digital translator or waiter.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)	Websites that act like mobile apps, where they can work offline, send notifications, and load fast.

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