Link tag inside BrowserRouter changes only the URL, but doesn't render the component

Question

I am building a Netflix clone application, and I am using react-router-dom v5 to switch between different pages. However, when I click the Link tag in Navbar.jsx, the URL changes, but the corresponding component doesn't render. I have consulted numerous StackOverflow posts on this topic, however, I can't get it to work. Below is the code. Please help me, as I'm stuck on this for 3 days 😥.

What it should show, when navigating to /series from /:

What it is actually showing:

1. index.js

import React from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
import App from "./App";

const container = document.getElementById("root");
const root = createRoot(container);

root.render(
  <React.StrictMode>
    <App />
  </React.StrictMode>
);

2. App.jsx

import React from "react";

import { BrowserRouter as Router, Switch, Route } from "react-router-dom";
import "./app.scss";
import Home from "./pages/home/Home";
import Watch from "./pages/watch/Watch";

const App = () => {
  return (
    <Router>
      <Switch>
        <Route exact path="/">
          <Home />
        </Route>
        <Route path="/movies">
          <Home type="movies" />
        </Route>
        <Route path="/series">
          <Home type="series" />
        </Route>
        <Route path="/watch">
          <Watch />
        </Route>
      </Switch>
    </Router>
  );
};

export default App;

3. Home.jsx

import React from "react";
import Featured from "../../components/featured/Featured";
import Navbar from "../../components/navbar/Navbar";

import "./home.scss";

const Home = ({ type }) => {
  return (
    <div className="home">
      <Navbar />
      <Featured type={type} />
    </div>
  );
};

export default Home;

4. Navbar.jsx

import React, { useState } from "react";

import "./navbar.scss";
import { Link } from "react-router-dom";

const Navbar = () => {
  const [isScrolled, setIsScrolled] = useState(false);

  window.onscroll = () => {
    setIsScrolled(window.scrollY === 0 ? false : true);
    return () => window.onscroll == null;
  };

  return (
    <div className={`navbar ${isScrolled ? "scrolled" : ""}`}>
      <div className="container">
          <img src="./netflix_logo.jpg"
            alt="netflix logo"
          />
          <Link to="/" className="link">
            <span>Home</span>
          </Link>
          <Link to="/series" className="link">
            <span>Series</span>
          </Link>
          <Link to="/movies" className="link">
            <span>Movies</span>
          </Link>
          <Link to="" className="link">
            <span>New and Popular</span>
          </Link>
          <Link to="" className="link">
            <span>My List</span>
          </Link>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Navbar;

5. Featured.jsx

import "./featured.scss";
import { IoMdPlay } from "react-icons/io";
import { FiInfo } from "react-icons/fi";

const Featured = ({ type }) => {
  return (
    <div className="featured">
      {type && (
        <div className="category">
          <span style={{ color: "white" }}>
            {type === "movies" ? "Movies" : "TV Series"}
          </span>
          <select name="genre" id="genre">
            <option>Genre</option>
            <option value="adventure">Adventure</option>
            <option value="comedy">Comedy</option>
            <option value="crime">Crime</option>
            <option value="fantasy">Fantasy</option>
            <option value="historical">Historical</option>
            <option value="horror">Horror</option>
            <option value="romance">Romance</option>
            <option value="sci-fi">Sci-fi</option>
            <option value="thriller">Thriller</option>
            <option value="western">Western</option>
            <option value="animation">Animation</option>
            <option value="drama">Drama</option>
            <option value="documentary">Documentary</option>
          </select>
        </div>
      )}
      <img
        src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzM4OTkzMjcxOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTkxMjI1MTI@._V1_.jpg"
        alt="featured"
      />
      <div className="info">
        <img
          src="https://occ-0-1432-1433.1.nflxso.net/dnm/api/v6/LmEnxtiAuzezXBjYXPuDgfZ4zZQ/AAAABUZdeG1DrMstq-YKHZ-dA-cx2uQN_YbCYx7RABDk0y7F8ZK6nzgCz4bp5qJVgMizPbVpIvXrd4xMBQAuNe0xmuW2WjoeGMDn1cFO.webp?r=df1"
          alt=""
        />
        <span className="desc">
          When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding
          underworld, he discovers the shocking truth - the life he knows is the
          elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
        </span>
        <div className="buttons">
          <button className="play">
            <IoMdPlay className="button-logo" />
            <span>Play</span>
          </button>
          <button className="more">
            <FiInfo className="button-logo" />
            <span>More Info</span>
          </button>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Featured;

Ium

Which specific routes are you having difficulty navigating to? By your inclusion of the Home and Navbar components am I correct in assuming you are having trouble navigating between the "/", "/movies" and "/series" paths? The Navbar doesn't link to anything else. Can you share the Featured component as well? – Teller

Hi @Drew, yes I'm having trouble switching from/to the "/", "/movies" and "/series" paths. I'll edit my question to include the Featured Component as well, however it doesn't use any react-router-dom functionality. – Ium

Answer 1

There's a compatibility issue between pre-5.3.3 versions of react-router-dom@5 and react@18.

• Github Issue #7870
• PR #8831 merged to address issue - Fix was merged on May 18th, 2022, react-router-dom v5.3.3.

Solutions

1. Bugfix was merged into v5.3.3. Update to [email protected] or higher.

   From the project's root directory run:

   • npm uninstall -S react-router-dom
   • npm install -S [email protected] (or @latest)

2. Revert back to React 17 (or React 17 syntax) and fix up the index.js file.

   import { StrictMode } from "react";
   import ReactDOM from "react-dom";
   
   import App from "./App";
   
   ReactDOM.render(
     <StrictMode>
       <App />
     </StrictMode>,
     document.getElementById("root")
   );
   

3. Make the React.StrictMode component a child/descendent of the router component. Comment.

   Replace:

   <React.StrictMode>
     ...
     <BrowserRouter>
       ...
     </BrowserRouter>
   </React.StrictMode>
   

   with:

   <BrowserRouter>
     <React.StrictMode>
       ...
     </React.StrictMode>
   </BrowserRouter>
   

4. Upgrade to react-router-dom@6 and fix up the routes.

   const App = () => {
     return (
       <Router>
         <Routes>
           <Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
           <Route path="/movies" element={<Home type="movies" />} />
           <Route path="/series" element={<Home type="series" />} />
           <Route path="/watch" element={<Watch />} />
         </Routes>
       </Router>
     );
   }
   

Teller

Hi Drew, thank you so so much! I followed your 2nd solution (Upgrade to react-router-dom@6), refactored the code accordingly, and voila, it worked! None of my previous internet searches mentioned this incompatibility between react-router-dom@5 and react@18. Thanks to your reply, I am no longer stuck and will be able to proceed with the rest of the application. – Ium

This sorted my similar problem: #72123088 – Eada

Answer 2

First Solution and Best Solution:

1. If you use are using React Router 5.3.x, check whether it is 5.3.3 in your package.json file.

2. If it is not 5.3.3 uninstall the last version then install the bug-free version which has been resolved by John and updated in version 5.3.3.

• npm uninstall -S react-router-dom
• npm install -S [email protected]

Second Solution:

React has launched its StrictMode in its latest update. you can see it in an index.js file

index.js

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root'));
root.render(
  <React.StrictMode>
    <App />
  </React.StrictMode>
);

So here your React Router is in the child component. And we have to make it a parent component.

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root'));
root.render(
<BrowserRouter>
  <React.StrictMode>
    <App />
  </React.StrictMode>
</BrowserRouter>
);

Third Solution:

Remove the Strict mode from the index.js file

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('root'));
root.render(
<BrowserRouter>
    <App />
</BrowserRouter>
);

Stereoisomerism