React Router overview - Mini Project: Build & Apply

React Router overview

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple React app that has multiple pages: Home, About, and Contact. You want users to navigate between these pages without the page reloading.

🎯 Goal: Create a React app using React Router to set up navigation between three pages: Home, About, and Contact. The app should display the correct page content when the user clicks the navigation links.

📋 What You'll Learn

Use React Router's BrowserRouter to wrap the app

Create three components: Home, About, and Contact

Set up routes using Routes and Route components

Add navigation links using Link components to switch pages

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

React Router is used in real websites and apps to create smooth navigation between pages without full page reloads, improving user experience.

💼 Career

Understanding React Router is essential for React developers to build multi-page apps and handle client-side routing efficiently.

1

Set up the page components

Create three React functional components called Home, About, and Contact. Each should return a simple <h2> element with text: "Home Page", "About Page", and "Contact Page" respectively.

React

# Create Home, About, and Contact components

function Home() {
  // Your code here
}

function About() {
  // Your code here
}

function Contact() {
  // Your code here
}

Hint

Each component is a function that returns JSX with an <h2> tag and the page name.

2

Add React Router setup

Import BrowserRouter, Routes, and Route from react-router-dom. Wrap your app's main content inside <BrowserRouter>. Create a component called App that returns <BrowserRouter> with an empty <Routes> inside.

React

import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from 'react-router-dom';

function Home() {
  return Home Page;
}

function About() {
  return About Page;
}

function Contact() {
  return Contact Page;
}

function App() {
  // Your code here
}

Hint

Wrap your app in <BrowserRouter> and add an empty <Routes> inside.

3

Add routes for each page

Inside the <Routes> component in App, add three <Route> components. Use path="/" for Home, path="/about" for About, and path="/contact" for Contact. Set the element prop to the corresponding component JSX: <Home />, <About />, and <Contact />.

React

import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from 'react-router-dom';

function Home() {
  return Home Page;
}

function About() {
  return About Page;
}

function Contact() {
  return Contact Page;
}

function App() {
  return (
    
      
        {/* Your code here */}
      
    
  );
}

Hint

Use <Route> with path and element props inside <Routes>.

4

Add navigation links

Import Link from react-router-dom. Inside App, above <Routes>, add a navigation bar with three <Link> components. Set their to props to "/", "/about", and "/contact". The link texts should be "Home", "About", and "Contact". Wrap the links in a <nav> element.

React

import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route, Link } from 'react-router-dom';

function Home() {
  return Home Page;
}

function About() {
  return About Page;
}

function Contact() {
  return Contact Page;
}

function App() {
  return (
    
      {/* Your code here */}
      
        } />
        } />
        } />
      
    
  );
}

Hint

Use <Link> inside a <nav> to create clickable navigation links.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of React Router in a React application?

easy

A. To style React components with CSS

B. To create multiple pages without reloading the browser

C. To manage state across components

D. To fetch data from APIs

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand React Router's role

   React Router helps build apps with multiple pages by changing views without full page reloads.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   Styling, state management, and data fetching are handled by other tools, not React Router.

3. Final Answer:

   To create multiple pages without reloading the browser -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   React Router = multi-page navigation without reload [OK]

Hint: React Router = multi-page navigation without full reload [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing React Router with CSS or styling tools
• Thinking React Router manages data fetching
• Assuming React Router handles state management

2. Which of the following is the correct way to wrap your app with React Router for browser-based routing?

easy

A. <BrowserRouter>...</BrowserRouter>

B. <Link>...</Link>

C. <Route>...</Route>

D. <Router>...</Router>

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the main router component

   For browser history routing, React Router uses BrowserRouter to wrap the app.

2. Step 2: Understand other components

   Route defines pages, Link creates navigation links, and Router alone is not a valid component.

3. Final Answer:

   <BrowserRouter>...</BrowserRouter> -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   BrowserRouter wraps app for browser routing [OK]

Hint: Wrap app with <BrowserRouter> for browser routing [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using <Router> instead of <BrowserRouter>
• Confusing <Route> with the router wrapper
• Wrapping app with <Link> which is for navigation

3. Given this React Router setup, what will be rendered when the URL path is /about?

import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from 'react-router-dom';

function App() {
  return (
    <BrowserRouter>
      <Routes>
        <Route path='/' element=<Home /> />
        <Route path='/about' element=<About /> />
      </Routes>
    </BrowserRouter>
  );
}

medium

A. The component

B. Nothing renders because of missing default route

C. Both and components

D. The component

Solution

1. Step 1: Match URL path with Route path

   The URL /about matches the route with path='/about', so <About /> renders.

2. Step 2: Understand route exclusivity

   Only the matching route's element renders; <Home /> renders only at /.

3. Final Answer:

   The <About /> component -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   URL '/about' renders About component [OK]

Hint: URL path matches Route path exactly to render component [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking both components render simultaneously
• Assuming missing default route breaks rendering
• Confusing '/' path with '/about'

4. Identify the error in this React Router code snippet:

import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from 'react-router-dom';

function App() {
  return (
    <BrowserRouter>
      <Route path='/' element=<Home /> />
      <Routes>
        <Route path='/about' element=<About /> />
      </Routes>
    </BrowserRouter>
  );
}

medium

A. <Route> must be inside <Routes>

B. Missing closing tag for <BrowserRouter>

C. The <Route> for '/' should not have an element prop

D. Cannot use <Route> and <Routes> together

Solution

1. Step 1: Check component nesting rules

   In React Router, all <Route> components must be children of <Routes>.

2. Step 2: Identify incorrect placement

   The <Route path='/' ... /> is outside <Routes>, which is invalid.

3. Final Answer:

   <Route> must be inside <Routes> -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Routes wrap Route components [OK]

Hint: Always put <Route> inside <Routes> component [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Placing <Route> outside <Routes>
• Thinking <Route> can be used alone
• Confusing element prop usage

5. You want to create a navigation menu that changes the URL without reloading the page. Which React Router component should you use, and why? Choose the best option.

hard

A. Use <Route> because it defines the navigation links

B. Use <a> tags because they are standard HTML links

C. Use <Link> because it updates the URL and renders the new page without reload

D. Use <BrowserRouter> because it creates the navigation menu

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify component for navigation links

   <Link> is designed to change the URL and render new pages without reloading.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   <a> causes full page reload, <Route> defines pages, and <BrowserRouter> wraps the app but does not create links.

3. Final Answer:

   Use <Link> because it updates the URL and renders the new page without reload -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use Link for smooth navigation without reload [OK]

Hint: Use <Link> for navigation to avoid full page reload [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using <a> tags causing full reload
• Confusing <Route> with navigation links
• Thinking <BrowserRouter> creates menus