Page Restoration Techniques

Handling the restoration of scroll position after navigating to a different page is a common challenge in web development. There are several approaches to address this issue, each with its benefits and limitations:

1. Using history.scrollRestoration (Page Restoration)

// To restore scroll position on history navigation
if ('scrollRestoration' in history) {
  history.scrollRestoration = 'manual';
}

Benefits:

• Built-in browser feature.
• Automatically restores the scroll position when navigating back and forward.

Limitations:

• May not work consistently across all browsers.
• Restoring scroll position relies on the browser's behavior and might not be precise, especially on complex pages.

2. Storing Scroll Position in sessionStorage (Manual Restoration)

// Save scroll position when navigating away
window.addEventListener('beforeunload', () => {
  sessionStorage.setItem('scrollPosition', JSON.stringify([window.scrollX, window.scrollY]));
});

// Restore scroll position on page load
window.addEventListener('load', () => {
  const scrollPosition = JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem('scrollPosition'));
  if (scrollPosition) {
    window.scrollTo(scrollPosition[0], scrollPosition[1]);
    sessionStorage.removeItem('scrollPosition');
  }
});

Benefits:

• Provides manual control over the scroll position.
• Allows precise restoration of the scroll position.

Limitations:

• Requires handling scroll position manually for each page.
• Extra code to manage the sessionStorage.

3. Using window.scroll on Route Change (Custom Restoration)

import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { useLocation } from 'react-router-dom';

const ScrollToTop = () => {
  const { pathname } = useLocation();

  useEffect(() => {
    window.scrollTo(0, 0);
  }, [pathname]);

  return null;
};

export default ScrollToTop;

Benefits:

• Explicitly scrolls to the top on route changes.
• Custom control over scroll behavior.

Limitations:

• Scrolls to the top, not necessarily to the previous position.
• May not precisely replicate the previous scroll position.

Recommendations:

• History API (history.scrollRestoration): Use it as a simple, built-in solution. It might not offer precision, but it's easy to implement.
• sessionStorage: For more control, store and restore scroll positions manually. It allows precise restoration but involves more code.
• Custom Scroll Solution: Use a custom component (like the ScrollToTop example) for specific scroll behavior.

Choose the method based on your specific needs. history.scrollRestoration is a good starting point, but for precise control, consider sessionStorage or a custom solution. Always test thoroughly across different browsers to ensure consistent behavior.