Enhanced mobile navbar for improved user experience

[anjankarmakar10]

I notice some issues with your mobile navbar. When a user tries to navigate by clicking a nav item, the navbar won't close automatically, which is not a good user experience.

Changes and Improvements:

1. Use of useCallback:
   In the new code, you've introduced the useCallback hook to create the handleToggle function. The useCallback hook memoizes the function, which means that the function reference remains the same across re-renders as long as its dependencies (in this case, an empty dependency array) remain unchanged. This can be beneficial in terms of performance because it prevents unnecessary re-renders of components that use this function. In the previous code, a new function was created on every render, which could lead to unnecessary re-renders of components that used this function.

2. Component Composition:
   You've also introduced a new NavItem component that encapsulates the behavior of a navigation item. This component wraps the Link component and attaches the handleToggle function to the onClick event. This ensures that clicking on a navigation item not only navigates to the desired route but also triggers the closing of the navigation menu. This encapsulation improves code readability and reusability, as the behavior is abstracted into a separate component.

3. Consistency and Maintainability:
   By centralizing the behavior of toggling the navigation menu (isOpen state) within the handleToggle function, you've eliminated code duplication. This not only makes your codebase more consistent but also easier to maintain. If you ever need to update the behavior of toggling the navigation menu, you can do so in a single place.

4. Enhanced User Experience:
   The primary improvement you've made is related to user experience. In the previous code, clicking on a navigation item did not automatically close the navigation menu, which could be confusing and cumbersome for users. In the new code, clicking on a navigation item triggers both navigation to the desired route and the closing of the navigation menu, providing a smoother and more intuitive user experience.

By utilizing useCallback to optimize function references, introducing component composition for encapsulating behavior, and improving the user experience by addressing the issue with navigation menu behavior, you've made significant enhancements to the mobile navigation functionality in your open-source project.

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[BekahHW]

Hey @anjankarmakar10 have you checked out this issue #823 and the accompanying PR? Does that impact the work you've done?

[anjankarmakar10]

Hey @BekahHW The only change was the navbar component. So, it should not impact the rest of the project. However, I would recommend testing or reviewing the changes before merging them into the master.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[danieltott]

Hey @anjankarmakar10 - thanks for the PR!

A couple notes:

• handleToggle is memoized, but NavItem is not, so we're getting re-renders every time regardless, so we're not getting any real benefits there.
• I think the NavItem component is an over-optimization. I like the idea of using useCallback for handleToggle but I don't think we need to introduce another new component.

How about something like this instead:

const navItemProps = useMemo(()=> ({
  onClick: ()=>setIsOpen((open) => !open),
  className: "nav-link"
}), []);

And then in the list items:

<Link
  to="/about"
  {...navItemProps}
>
  About
</Link>