@react-aria/breadcrumbs vs react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc
Breadcrumb Navigation in React Comparison
3 Years
@react-aria/breadcrumbsreact-router-breadcrumbs-hoc
What's Breadcrumb Navigation in React?

Breadcrumb navigation is a user interface (UI) pattern that helps users understand their current location within a hierarchical structure, such as a website or application. It displays a trail of links, typically at the top of a page, showing the path from the homepage to the current page. This navigation aid enhances usability by providing context, allowing users to easily backtrack to previous levels, and improving overall site navigation. Breadcrumbs are particularly useful in applications with deep hierarchies or multiple categories, as they help users orient themselves and navigate more efficiently. The @react-aria/breadcrumbs package is a React component that provides accessible breadcrumb navigation, following the WAI-ARIA guidelines to ensure that the breadcrumbs are usable by people with disabilities. It offers a simple API for creating breadcrumb trails, supports keyboard navigation, and allows for customization of the breadcrumb links. This package is designed to integrate seamlessly with React applications, providing a semantic and accessible way to implement breadcrumbs. On the other hand, react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc is a higher-order component (HOC) for React Router that automatically generates breadcrumbs based on the route configuration. It allows developers to define breadcrumb trails in their routing setup, making it easy to create dynamic breadcrumbs that update as users navigate through the application. This package is particularly useful for applications with complex routing structures, as it simplifies the process of creating breadcrumbs that reflect the current route hierarchy. Both packages serve the purpose of implementing breadcrumbs in React applications, but they do so in different ways and with different focuses on accessibility and routing integration.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
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Package
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@react-aria/breadcrumbs1,225,558
14,24495.3 kB625a month agoApache-2.0
react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc29,520
30129.6 kB2-MIT
Feature Comparison: @react-aria/breadcrumbs vs react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc

Accessibility

  • @react-aria/breadcrumbs:

    @react-aria/breadcrumbs is designed with accessibility in mind, following WAI-ARIA guidelines to ensure that the breadcrumbs are usable by people with disabilities. It provides semantic markup and supports keyboard navigation, making it a great choice for accessible applications.

  • react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc:

    react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc does not focus specifically on accessibility, but it allows developers to create accessible breadcrumbs by defining the breadcrumb links in the route configuration. The accessibility of the breadcrumbs will depend on how they are implemented by the developer.

Integration with React Router

  • @react-aria/breadcrumbs:

    @react-aria/breadcrumbs is a standalone breadcrumb component that can be used with or without React Router. It does not depend on the routing library, making it flexible for various applications.

  • react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc:

    react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc is specifically designed to work with React Router. It automatically generates breadcrumbs based on the route configuration, making it easy to integrate into applications that use React Router for navigation.

Customization

  • @react-aria/breadcrumbs:

    @react-aria/breadcrumbs offers more customization options for the breadcrumb links and their styling. Developers can easily modify the appearance and behavior of the breadcrumbs to fit their application's design.

  • react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc:

    react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc allows customization of the breadcrumb links, but it is more limited compared to @react-aria/breadcrumbs. Customization is done through the route configuration and by providing a custom breadcrumb component.

Dynamic vs Static Breadcrumbs

  • @react-aria/breadcrumbs:

    @react-aria/breadcrumbs can be used to create both static and dynamic breadcrumbs, but it requires manual setup for dynamic breadcrumbs based on the application's state or props.

  • react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc:

    react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc excels at creating dynamic breadcrumbs that automatically update based on the current route. This is particularly useful for applications with nested routes or changing hierarchies.

Ease of Use: Code Examples

  • @react-aria/breadcrumbs:

    @react-aria/breadcrumbs provides a simple API for creating breadcrumbs, but it requires more setup compared to react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc, especially for dynamic breadcrumbs. Example:

    import { Breadcrumbs } from '@react-aria/breadcrumbs';
    
    function MyBreadcrumbs() {
      return (
        <Breadcrumbs>
          <Breadcrumb link="/">Home</Breadcrumb>
          <Breadcrumb link="/category">Category</Breadcrumb>
          <Breadcrumb link="/category/item">Item</Breadcrumb>
        </Breadcrumbs>
      );
    }
    
  • react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc:

    react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc is easy to use for applications that already have a route configuration. It automatically generates breadcrumbs based on the routes, reducing the manual effort required. Example:

    import { Breadcrumbs } from 'react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc';
    
    const routes = [
      { path: '/', breadcrumb: 'Home' },
      { path: '/category', breadcrumb: 'Category' },
      { path: '/category/item', breadcrumb: 'Item' },
    ];
    
    function MyBreadcrumbs() {
      return <Breadcrumbs routes={routes} />;
    }
    
How to Choose: @react-aria/breadcrumbs vs react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc
  • @react-aria/breadcrumbs:

    Choose @react-aria/breadcrumbs if you prioritize accessibility and want a customizable breadcrumb component that adheres to WAI-ARIA standards. This package is ideal for applications where accessibility is a key concern, and you want to ensure that all users, including those using assistive technologies, can navigate the breadcrumbs easily.

  • react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc:

    Choose react-router-breadcrumbs-hoc if you are using React Router and want an easy way to generate breadcrumbs based on your route configuration. This package is best for applications with complex routing where you want breadcrumbs to automatically reflect the current route hierarchy without manually managing the breadcrumb links.

README for @react-aria/breadcrumbs

@react-aria/breadcrumbs

This package is part of react-spectrum. See the repo for more details.