Creating Dynamic Routes with Slugs in ReactJS and Next.js

Introduction

Next.js, a framework for React, is known for its ability to build scalable, high-performance web applications. One of Next.js’s most powerful features is dynamic routing, which enables URLs to be generated dynamically based on the application's data. In this article, we will explore how to implement dynamic routes using slugs, which is particularly useful in scenarios like blogs or e-commerce sites.

What are Slugs?

A slug is a part of the URL that identifies a specific resource in a readable and SEO-friendly way. For example, in a URL like www.example.com/articles/how-to-use-nextjs, the slug is how-to-use-nextjs. Using slugs makes your URLs more informative and easier to remember.

Project Structure

Let's start by creating a new Next.js application:

### Creating the Folder Structure

To support dynamic routes, you will need to create a folder called pages and, within it, a subfolder named after the resource you want to display (for example, articles). Inside this subfolder, create a file with the [slug].js syntax:

/pages
  /articles
    [slug].js        

Implementing the Page Component

In the [slug].js file, you can access the URL slug and render the appropriate content. Here’s a basic example:

Adding Dynamic Data

To generate dynamic pages based on data, you can use the getStaticPaths function to define which dynamic routes should be generated and getStaticProps to fetch data for each of these routes:

Conclusion

With these simple steps, you can create dynamic routes in a Next.js application using slugs. This improves both usability and SEO for your application. Dynamic routes are a powerful feature that allows you to create more personalized and scalable experiences.

Next Steps

Explore how you can integrate Next.js’s API with a headless CMS to manage your slugs and content dynamically. Try adding features like search and filtering to further enhance the user experience.