Introduction to React Hooks: How to use Hooks to improve your code in Next.js (2024)

Alison Silva

Introduction

Brief explanation of what React Hooks are and their importance in building applications with React.

II. Why use React Hooks in Next.js?

Explanation of the advantages of using React Hooks in Next.js, including better code organization, ease of maintenance, among others.

III. How to use React Hooks in Next.js

Step-by-step guide on how to use Hooks in Next.js, with practical examples of how to use each one (useState, useEffect, useContext, useMemo, among others).

IV. Practical examples

Examples of how Hooks can be used in real projects in Next.js, with code and screenshots of practical implementations.

V. Conclusion

Recap of the benefits of using React Hooks in Next.js and how they can improve code quality and user experience.

React Hooks is one of the best and most popular additions to React in recent years. With it, you can create functional components that have state, lifecycle, and other features that were previously only possible with class components. In addition, using Hooks can improve the quality of your code, making it more organized, readable, and easier to maintain. In this article, we will explore how to use React Hooks to improve your code in Next.js.

Next.js is a popular framework for creating React applications, allowing you to create pages, routing, and other features quickly and easily. With the use of React Hooks, it is possible to further improve the quality of your code in Next.js. Some of the advantages of using React Hooks in Next.js include:

Better code organization: With Hooks, you can separate state and lifecycle logic from your components, making the code more organized and easier to read.
Ease of maintenance: With more organized code, maintaining your project becomes easier. In addition, with the use of Hooks, it is possible to reuse logic in various different components, reducing code duplication.
Better performance: Hooks allow you to optimize the performance of your components, as it is possible to use useEffect to control when and how a component should be updated.

Now that we understand the advantages of using Hooks in Next.js, let’s see how to use them in our projects. Below, we present some of the main available Hooks and how to use them:

useState is a Hook that allows you to add state to a functional component. You can use useState to control state variables, such as strings, numbers, and objects. See an example below:

import { useState } from "react";function Counter() {
 const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
 function handleIncrement() {
 setCount(count + 1);
 }
 return (
 <div>
 <p>Count: {count}</p>
 <button onClick={handleIncrement}>Increment</button>
 </div>
 );
}

useEffect is a Hook that allows you to execute side effects, such as fetching data from an API or updating the page title. It is executed after each component render. See an example below:

import { useState, useEffect } from "react";function Post() {
 const [post, setPost] = useState(null);
 useEffect(() => {
 async function fetchData() {
 const response = await fetch("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1");
 const data = await response.json();
 setPost(data);
 }
 fetchData();
 }, []);
 if (!post) {
 return <p>Loading...</p>;
 }
 return (
 <div>
 <h1>{post.title}</h1>
 <p>{post.body}</p>
 </div>
 );
}

useContext is a Hook that allows you to access and update contexts in a component. It’s very useful for sharing information between components without manually passing props. See an example below:

import { useContext } from "react";
import { UserContext } from "../contexts/UserContext";function UserInfo() {
 const { user } = useContext(UserContext);
 return (
 <div>
 <h1>User Info</h1>
 <p>Name: {user.name}</p>
 <p>Email: {user.email}</p>
 </div>
 );
}

useMemo is a Hook that allows you to store calculated values in cache and reuse them across multiple renders of a component. This can be useful when you have an expensive calculation and need it to be executed only when the data changes. See an example below:

import { useMemo } from "react";function ExpensiveComponent({ data }) {
 const result = useMemo(() => {
 let total = 0;
 for (let i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
 total += data[i];
 }
 return total;
 }, [data]);
 return <p>Result: {result}</p>;
}

Now that you know the main React Hooks and how to use them in Next.js, let’s see some practical examples of how they can be used in real projects.

In this example, you’ll learn how to use useState to create a shopping cart in your Next.js application. See an example below:

import { useState } from "react";function Product({ name, price, addToCart }) {
 function handleAddToCart() {
 addToCart({ name, price });
 }
 return (
 <div>
 <h2>{name}</h2>
 <p>Price: {price}</p>
 <button onClick={handleAddToCart}>Add to cart</button>
 </div>
 );
}
function Cart() {
 const [cart, setCart] = useState([]);
 function addToCart(product) {
 setCart([...cart, product]);
 }
 return (
 <div>
 <h1>Cart</h1>
 {cart.map((item, index) => (
 <p key={index}>
 {item.name} - {item.price}
 </p>
 ))}
 </div>
 );
}

In this example, you’ll learn how to use useEffect to fetch data from an API in your Next.js application. See an example below:

import { useState, useEffect } from "react";function Post({ id }) {
 const [post, setPost] = useState(null);
 useEffect(() => {
 async function fetchData() {
 const response = await fetch(`https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/${id}`);
 const data = await response.json();
 setPost(data);
 }
 fetchData();
 }, [id]);
 if (!post) {
 return <p>Loading...</p>;
 }
 return (
 <div>
 <h1>{post.title}</h1>
 <p>{post.body}</p>
 </div>
 );
}

In this example, we’re fetching a specific post from the JSONPlaceholder API using the ID provided as a prop. When the component mounts, we use useEffect to call the fetchData function, which fetches the data from the API and updates the post state using setPost. If the post hasn’t been fetched yet, we render a “Loading…” message. Otherwise, we render the post title and body.

In this article, you’ve learned about React Hooks and how they can be used in your Next.js application. Hooks are a powerful way to improve your application’s code, making it more readable, maintainable, and scalable.

The most common Hooks are useState, useEffect, useContext, and useMemo, but there are many other useful Hooks available. We hope you feel more confident using Hooks in your Next.js application after reading this article.

If you want to learn more about React Hooks, check out the official React Hooks documentation at https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-intro.html. And if you want to experiment and practice with React Hooks, we recommend CodeSandbox, a free online tool for developing and sharing web apps in real time.