Next.js Linking and Navigating

Introduction

Next.js is a popular React-based framework that provides a powerful and flexible way to build server-side-rendered (SSR) web applications. One of the key features of Next.js is its built-in routing system, which enables you to easily link and navigate between pages in your application.

Syntax

To create a link in Next.js, you can use the Link component, which is imported from the next/link module:

import Link from 'next/link';

<Link href="/about">
  <a>About</a>
</Link>

Example

Here's an example of how you can use the Link component to create a navigation menu with links to different pages in your Next.js application:

import Link from 'next/link';

export default function Menu() {
  return (
    <nav>
      <ul>
        <li>
          <Link href="/">
            <a>Home</a>
          </Link>
        </li>
        <li>
          <Link href="/about">
            <a>About</a>
          </Link>
        </li>
        <li>
          <Link href="/contact">
            <a>Contact</a>
          </Link>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </nav>
  );
}

Output

The above example will render a navigation menu with links to the home page, about page, and contact page in your Next.js application.

Explanation

The Link component in Next.js enables you to create client-side transitions between pages using the HTML5 pushState API. When a user clicks on a link created with the Link component, Next.js intercepts the click event and performs a client-side transition instead of a full page reload. This results in a much faster and smoother user experience, since only the content that needs to be updated is re-rendered.

Use

You can use the Link component to create navigational menus, breadcrumbs, pagination links, or any other type of link-based navigation in your Next.js application. The Link component supports both internal and external URLs, and you can also use it to pass query parameters or other data between pages.

Important Points

• Always use the Link component to create links between pages in your Next.js application.
• The Link component creates client-side transitions between pages, resulting in a faster and smoother user experience.
• You can use the as prop on the Link component to specify a custom URL path or query parameter for the current page.
• You can also use the replace prop on the Link component to perform a client-side transition without adding a new entry to the browser history.

Summary

In this tutorial, we learned how to use the Link component in Next.js to create client-side transitions between pages in your application. Using the Link component provides a faster and smoother user experience compared to traditional full-page reloads. As you continue building your Next.js application, remember to always use the Link component to create links between pages.