How to Style NavLink Elements in React When Activated

Описание: Learn how to effectively style your `NavLink` components in React by manipulating the background of ` li ` elements when they are activated. Improve your navigation design effortlessly!
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/64741677/ asked by the user 'Melly' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13027012/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/64741777/ provided by the user 'Aleksey Polonka' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/8472338/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Styling NavLink Elements in React When Activated

Creating a visually appealing and interactive navigation bar is an essential aspect of web development. Using React Router to manage navigation can give us powerful tools, but sometimes we encounter challenges, especially when trying to style elements based on their activated state. For instance, how do we effectively style the <li> elements inside <NavLink> components when they are activated? Let's dig into the details to find the best solution!

The Problem

When you use the <NavLink> component from React Router, it allows you to easily create navigational links with an "active" state. This active state typically applies styles to the <a> tag, not to the parent <li> elements. As a result, if you attempt to apply styles via the activeStyle property, they may not behave as expected.

For example, if you want the background color of the <li> to change when the link is active, using activeStyle may not yield the desired effect because it styles the anchor tag instead. This leaves you wondering how to effectively apply styles to the <li> elements themselves.

The Solution: Using activeClassName

Fortunately, React Router provides a straightforward workaround. You can leverage the activeClassName property to assign a specific class to the <NavLink> when it is active. You can then use CSS to apply the desired styles to the <li> element based on that class. Here’s how you can achieve this in a few simple steps:

Step-by-Step Instructions

Update Your NavLink Components: Instead of using activeStyle, add the activeClassName prop to your <NavLink> component. This prop will allow you to specify a class name that will be applied when the link is active.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Define CSS for the .selected Class: With the activeClassName set to "selected", you can now style your <li> elements using CSS. Here’s an example of how you might style it:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Style Customization: Feel free to customize the styles as needed! This could include adding padding, margins, text color changes, hover effects, and more to enhance user experience.

Final Thoughts

Using the activeClassName property provides a neat and effective way to control the styling of your navigation links in React Router. Instead of being limited to styling the <a> tags, you can now easily customize the parent <li> elements, resulting in a more coherent and visually appealing navigation design.

Now that you know how to style NavLink elements effectively, you can enhance your application’s navigation and improve user experience. Happy coding!