Linking Between Pages — Navigating with next/link

Nextjs

If you’re building a web application with Next.js, you’ll often need to navigate between different pages. Instead of using traditional <a> tags, Next.js provides an optimized way to handle navigation through the next/link component. In this beginner-friendly guide, we’ll explore how to use next/link to improve the user experience and performance of your Next.js applications.

Why Use next/link?

In a standard React application, navigation between pages often involves client-side routing solutions like React Router. However, Next.js comes with built-in routing and provides the next/link component, which offers several advantages:

• Preloading: next/link preloads linked pages in the background, making navigation faster.
• Client-side transitions: Instead of reloading the entire page, navigation feels seamless like a single-page application (SPA).
• SEO benefits: Next.js handles server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG), improving SEO and performance.

Getting Started with next/link

To begin, let’s see how we can navigate between pages using next/link.

1. Install Next.js (If Not Already Installed)