Next.js is a React framework designed for production that enhances developer experience by offering features like static site generation and server-side rendering. It improves SEO and performance by allowing the server to render the first page load instead of the client, and includes benefits such as easy page routing, API routes, and support for TypeScript and Sass. To effectively use Next.js, familiarity with JavaScript and React concepts like components, JSX, props, state, and hooks is essential.