Mastering React Routing: Learn Navigation and Routing in React Apps

Last Updated : 21 Mar, 2025

React Routing is a technique used to handle navigation within a React application. It enables users to move between different views, pages, or components without refreshing the entire page, which is a key feature of Single Page Applications (SPAs).

In this article, we will explore the essential concepts of routing in React applications. React Router provides a powerful and flexible way to handle navigation between pages in Single Page Applications (SPAs).

What is Navigation in React?

Navigation refers to the process of moving between different views or sections within a React application. In React, most applications are developed as Single Page Applications (SPA), where the entire application is loaded initially, and subsequent navigation doesn't require reloading pages from the server. Instead, routing is handled on the client side, enabling smooth transitions between different components or views without full page reloads.

To implement routing in React we do not have in-built modules but instead, we use the react-router-dom module after installing and importing it.

Syntax

// Installing npm i react-router-dom // Importing import { BrowserRouter } from 'react-router-dom';

Installing: npm i react-router-dom installs React Router for routing in React.
Importing: import { BrowserRouter } from 'react-router-dom'; imports BrowserRouter to enable routing in your app.

Programmatic navigation allows you to navigate between different routes based on actions, such as button clicks or form submissions. This method provides more control over routing, enabling navigation in response to events triggered by the user.

Approach

Create 2 basic pages between which you want to redirect
Create buttons on each page to redirect the user
Import the useNavigate hook provided with react-router-dom
Use this hook on the onClick event button to redirect

JavaScript

// App.js  import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from "react-router-dom"; import "./App.css"; import AboutUs from "./components/AboutUs"; import ContactUs from "./components/CotactUs";  function App() {     return (         <div className="App">             <BrowserRouter>                 <Routes>                     <Route exact path="/" element={<AboutUs />} />                     <Route exact path="/contactus" element={<ContactUs />} />                 </Routes>             </BrowserRouter>         </div>     ); }  export default App;

JavaScript

// AboutUs.js  import React from "react"; import { useNavigate } from "react-router-dom";  function AboutUs() {     const nav = useNavigate();     return (         <div>             <h2>GeeksforGeeks is a computer science portal for geeks!</h2>             Read more about us at :             <a href="https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/about/">                 https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/about/             </a>             <br></br>             <br></br>             <button                 onClick={() => {                     nav("contactus");                 }}             >                 Click Here to check contact details             </button>         </div>     ); } export default AboutUs;

JavaScript

// ContactUs.js  import React from "react"; import { useNavigate } from "react-router-dom";  function ContactUs() {     const nav = useNavigate();     return (         <div>             <address>                 You can find us here:                 <br />                 GeeksforGeeks                 <br />                 5th & 6th Floor, Royal Kapsons, A- 118, <br />                 Sector- 136, Noida, Uttar Pradesh (201305)             </address>             <br></br>             <br></br>             <button                 onClick={() => {                     nav(-1);                 }}             >                 Click Here to Go Back             </button>         </div>     ); }  export default ContactUs;

Output

gfg

In this example

App.js: This file displays the AboutUs component.
AboutUs.js: This components creates the link to Contact Us page using Button.
ContactUs.js: This component has a button to send back to previous page.

Dynamic Routing with React router

Adding Link routes gets very lengthy when there are multiple pages, so we use the concept of Dynamic Routing to reduce the lines of code and make the code shorter. Dynamic routing allows you to define routes dynamically based on certain conditions.

Approach

Create a page which will create Link components using map
Create a page which will display data dynamically using useParams
Create a dynamic Route component which passes the id as a parameter

JavaScript

// App.js  import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route, Link } from "react-router-dom"; import CourseDetails from "./components/CourseDetails";  function App() {     const courses = ["JavaScript", "React", "HTML", "DSA"];     return (         <BrowserRouter>             <h1>Dynamic Routing with React</h1>             <ul>                 {courses.map((course) => {                     return (                         <li key={course}>                             <Link to={`courses/${course}`}>{course}</Link>                         </li>                     );                 })}             </ul>             <Routes>                 <Route path="courses/:courseId" element={<CourseDetails />} />             </Routes>         </BrowserRouter>     ); }  export default App;

JavaScript

// components/CourseDetails.js  import { useParams } from "react-router-dom";  function CourseDetails() {     const { courseId } = useParams();     return (         <div>             <h1>This is {courseId} course</h1>         </div>     ); }  export default CourseDetails;

Output

gfg

In this code

App.js: This file creates Link component dynamically and sends course name as a parameter
CourseDetails.js: This file accesses the course as a parameter and passes it.

Handling 404 Errors (Page Not Found)

Sometimes user types a URL which does not exist in the website and the router fails and shows an error. To solve this problem we create a universal Route component which redirects to Link not found page whenever incorrect URL is passed.

Approach

Create 3 basic pages where you want to add navigation
Create a Navbar to handle navigation between the pages
Create NoPageFound.js file to handle routing for all incorrect routing
Add a path for non-configured routes which will be redirected to NoPageFound file
the path with '*' handles all non-configured routes

JavaScript

// App.js  import logo from "./logo.svg"; import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from "react-router-dom"; import "./App.css"; import NavBar from "./components/Navbar"; import Home from "./components/Home"; import AboutUs from "./components/AboutUs"; import ContactUs from "./components/CotactUs"; import NoPageFound from "./components/NoPageFound";  function App() {     return (         <div className="App">             <BrowserRouter>                 <NavBar />                 <Routes>                     <Route exact path="/" element={<Home />} />                     <Route exact path="/about" element={<AboutUs />} />                     <Route exact path="/contact" element={<ContactUs />} />                     <Route path="*" element={<NoPageFound />} />                 </Routes>             </BrowserRouter>         </div>     ); }  export default App;

JavaScript

// AboutUs.js import React from "react";  function AboutUs() {     return (         <div>             <h2>GeeksforGeeks is a computer science portal for geeks!</h2>             Read more about us at :             <a href="https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/about/">                 https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/about/             </a>         </div>     ); } export default AboutUs;

JavaScript

// ContactUs.js import React from "react";  function ContactUs() {     return (         <address>             You can find us here:             <br />             GeeksforGeeks             <br />             5th & 6th Floor, Royal Kapsons, A- 118, <br />             Sector- 136, Noida, Uttar Pradesh (201305)         </address>     ); }  export default ContactUs;

JavaScript

// Home.js import React from "react";  function Home() {     return <h1>Welcome to the world of Geeks!</h1>; }  export default Home;

JavaScript

// Navbar.js  import { Link } from "react-router-dom";  export default function NavBar() {     return (         <div>             <ul className="r">                 <li>                     <Link to="/">Home</Link>                 </li>                 <li>                     <Link to="/about">About Us</Link>                 </li>                 <li>                     <Link to="/contact">Contact Us</Link>                 </li>             </ul>         </div>     ); }

JavaScript

// NoPageFound.js export default function NoPageFound() { return <h1>Error 404: Page Not Found</h1>; }

Output

In this code

App.js: This file imports all the components and applies routing to them
AboutUs.js: This file contains the About Us Page
ContactUs.js: This file displays the Contact Us Page
Home.js: This component acts as the home page
Navbar.js: This component has the Navbar to redirect to all linking pages
NoPageFound.js: This page is displayed when invalid links are added.

Conclusion

Learning navigation and routing in React is essential for building smooth, interactive web applications. React Router makes it easy to manage navigation between different pages or views without reloading the page, helping you create seamless single-page applications. By understanding how to set up basic routes, work with dynamic paths, navigate programmatically, and use nested routes, you can build more efficient and user-friendly React apps that offer a smooth browsing experience for users.

How does React Router handle navigation in a React application?

shobhit__sharma

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Article Tags :

Mastering React Routing: Learn Navigation and Routing in React Apps

What is Navigation in React?

Programmatically Navigate in React

Approach

Dynamic Routing with React router

Approach

Handling 404 Errors (Page Not Found)

Approach

Conclusion

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