# NextSimpleStarter: an accessibility-first Next.js PWA boilerplate

> NextSimpleStarter is a Next.js 15 and MUI boilerplate for progressive web apps that ships accessibility tooling in the dev dependencies, a static export path, and deployment presets for Vercel, Netlify and Gitpod.

**ooade/NextSimpleStarter** — :whale: Simple and Accessible PWA boilerplate with Nextjs 15 and MUI

- Repository: https://github.com/ooade/NextSimpleStarter
- Website: https://nextss.vercel.app
- Stars: 949 · Forks: 205
- Language: JavaScript
- License: MIT
- Published: 2026-10-20 · Updated: 2026-10-20 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/ooade-nextsimplestarter

## The boilerplate treats accessibility as a build-time concern

NextSimpleStarter is described as a simple and accessible PWA boilerplate with Next.js 15 and MUI, and the repository topics spell out the emphasis: a11y, accessibility, material-ui, nextjs, pwa-boilerplate, react-hooks.

Accessibility here is not a design guideline in the readme, it is tooling in the dependency list. `react-axe` is a runtime dependency rather than a development one, which means the axe accessibility engine can be attached to the running application. Alongside it, the development dependencies include `eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y` and `eslint-plugin-react-hooks`, and the eslint configuration in the package manifest extends `react-app`.

That combination is the actual value proposition of the template. Anyone can add accessibility checks later, and most people do not. Here a lint rule catches a missing label or a bad ARIA attribute at commit time, and a runtime engine can check the rendered page. For a team that has been told to make the product accessible and has no idea where to start, having the checks already configured removes the first blocker.

The intended user is a React or Next.js developer starting a new web app that should be installable as a progressive web app and should not ship with obvious accessibility defects. It is a starting point, not a framework.

## Two generations of Material UI are in the dependency tree

The dependency list is where the template's real shape becomes visible, and it contains one item worth noticing immediately: both `@mui/material` at `^5.14.9` and the older `@material-ui/core` at `^4.11.2` are present, along with `@mui/styles` and the `@emotion/react` and `@emotion/styled` packages.

Carrying the v4 and v5 lines of Material UI at the same time is not a stylistic choice, it is a compatibility bridge. Code written against the v4 package names keeps working while new code uses the v5 `@mui/material` imports, and the two libraries can coexist in one application. The cost is bundle weight and a confusing import path for anyone new to the codebase.

The rest of the stack is current. `next` is at `^15.5.27`, `react` and `react-dom` are at `^19.0.0`, and `next-pwa` is at `^5.6.0` for the progressive web app layer, which is what generates the service worker and the web app manifest.

The package manifest names the project `next-simple-starter`, marks it `private` and `true`, and gives it version 3.0.0. The `engines` field asks for Node `>=10.0.0`, which is a very old floor given the Next.js version in the same file, so treat that as a leftover rather than a real constraint, and rely on the `.nvmrc` file at the repository root instead. The repository ships a `yarn.lock`, so yarn is the expected package manager.

## Two build paths: a server target and a static export

The scripts section defines two distinct build routes, which is the part of this template that is more thoughtful than a bare create-next-app output.

```json
		"build:server": "NEXT_TARGET=server next build",
		"export:server": "NEXT_TARGET=server next export",
		"export": "npm run build:server && npm run export:server",
		"start:static": "serve",
```

The `export` script builds with `NEXT_TARGET=server` and then exports, producing a static site, and `start:static` serves that output locally with `serve`. The plain `build` script runs `next build` without the target flag, which is the ordinary server build. The `NEXT_TARGET` environment variable is therefore a switch the application code can read, letting the same source produce a server-rendered deployment or a static export.

Deployment presets are wired to the same idea. The Vercel button in the readme points at a new project created from the repository, and `vercel.json` sits at the root. For Netlify, the readme tells you to add the build command `next build && next export` and the publish directory `out`, and `netlify.toml` is present in the tree. There is also a `serve.json` for the static server configuration and a Gitpod deployment link.

The Netlify build command in the readme and the `export` script in the manifest are not the same command, and the readme version does not carry the `NEXT_TARGET=server` prefix. If you deploy to Netlify, check which of the two your Next.js version actually supports before trusting either, since the static export route is the part of this template most likely to need adjusting.

## The setup steps still point at a pages directory the repository does not have

The readme's getting started section is three bullets: run the development server with `npm run dev`, open http://localhost:3000 in your browser, and start editing the page by modifying `pages/index.js`, with the page auto-updating as you edit the file.

The first two are straightforward. The third does not match the repository. The top level entries list an `app/` directory and no `pages/` directory, which means the project is laid out around the App Router, while the instructions still tell you to edit a file under `pages/`. The `dev` script confirms the shape, since it is simply `next`:

```bash
npm run dev
```

So the documentation is stale on this point, and it is a good illustration of what a boilerplate carries with it. The rest of the tree is consistent with a modern setup: `components/`, `hooks/`, `public/`, `next.config.js`, `.eslintrc.json`, `.prettierrc`, `.editorconfig` and `.nvmrc`.

For anyone picking this up, the practical instruction is to look inside `app/` for the actual entry point rather than following the `pages/index.js` line, and to treat the rest of the readme as a starting point rather than a reference. The `hooks/` directory and the `react-hooks` lint plugin suggest that custom hooks are part of the intended structure, which is a convention worth keeping if you extend the project.

## Continuous integration runs one workflow and there are no releases

The repository carries a `.github/` directory with a `build-main.yml` workflow, and the readme embeds the build badge for that workflow. The badge block also advertises that pull requests are welcome and that the project is friendly to first time contributors only, which is a small cultural signal about who maintains it.

Release discipline is the other side of the picture. The repository has no GitHub releases, and the package manifest version field reads 3.0.0. There is no changelog file in the top level entries, so the version number in `package.json` is the only version marker you get.

For a template, that matters less than it would for a library. Nobody imports a boilerplate, they copy it or fork it, and the version stops mattering the moment you own the copy. The maintenance signal that does matter is the push record, and the last push was on 2026-10-18.

There is a second thing to notice about the dependency set. `eslint` is at `^7.26.0` with `eslint-config-react-app` at `^6.0.0`, and `babel-eslint` at `^10.1.0`. Those are the older generation of lint tooling, and they are pinned below the versions a fresh React 19 and Next 15 setup would normally use. The linting still works, since the template is built around it, but expect to touch those pins when you add tooling of your own.

## Choosing between a boilerplate and starting from the framework

The alternative to a boilerplate is to scaffold the app yourself with the framework's own generator and add the pieces you need. The difference in approach is what you inherit.

Starting from scratch gives you a dependency tree that matches the current ecosystem exactly, and no legacy packages to unpick. You would add Material UI, next-pwa and the accessibility plugins yourself, which is a few lines of configuration, and the result is a project that you understand end to end because you chose every piece.

Starting from NextSimpleStarter gives you those pieces already decided, already wired together, and already configured for a11y linting and axe checks. It also gives you the compromises that come with any template: two Material UI major versions in one tree, a Node engines floor that predates the framework version, lint tooling from an earlier era, and a readme that has drifted from the code.

The third option, and the one most teams end up at, is to use the template as a reference rather than a base. Copy the accessibility and PWA configuration, the deployment presets and the folder conventions, and generate the application itself with the framework's own tooling. You keep the decisions that were worth making and drop the ones that were not.

## Conclusion

NextSimpleStarter is a reasonable starting point for a small React team that wants a Next.js app with a Material UI theme, progressive web app support and accessibility checks wired in from the first commit, and the MIT licence leaves you free to modify it. It is a poor fit if you need TypeScript, and its setup steps still point at a pages directory the repository no longer has. Before building on it, confirm that the `next export` route in the Netlify instructions still works with the Next.js version you install, replace the `pages/index.js` path in the setup notes with the actual entry point in the `app/` directory, and pin the Node version from `.nvmrc` before your first install. The last push was on 2026-10-18 and there are no GitHub releases, so the version field of 3.0.0 is the only version marker.

## FAQ

### How do I start the development server in NextSimpleStarter?

Run npm run dev, which executes next, and then open http://localhost:3000 in your browser. The package is set up for yarn, since the repository ships a yarn.lock.

### Does NextSimpleStarter support static site export?

Yes. The export script runs a server targeted build with NEXT_TARGET=server and then next export, and start:static serves the result with serve. For Netlify, the readme asks for the build command next build && next export and the publish directory out.

### How does the template handle accessibility?

react-axe is a runtime dependency and eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y is a development dependency, and the repository topics list a11y and accessibility. The eslint configuration in package.json extends react-app.

### Which versions of Next.js, React and Material UI does it use?

The manifest lists next at ^15.5.27, react and react-dom at ^19.0.0, @mui/material at ^5.14.9 alongside the older @material-ui/core at ^4.11.2, and next-pwa at ^5.6.0.

### What license is NextSimpleStarter released under?

MIT. The package manifest sets the license field to MIT, the readme states MIT, and the repository root contains a license file.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/ooade/NextSimpleStarter/issues)
- [License: MIT](https://github.com/ooade/NextSimpleStarter/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [ooade/NextSimpleStarter on GitHub](https://github.com/ooade/NextSimpleStarter)
- [Project website](https://nextss.vercel.app)
- [README](https://github.com/ooade/NextSimpleStarter/blob/main/README.md)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/ooade-nextsimplestarter