How to Validate Forms With Next.js
Have you ever tried to submit a form, only for the web page to give you an error message telling you that one or more of the fields is invalid? If so, then you’ve experienced form validation.
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What Is Form Validation?
Form validation is the process of ensuring that the data entered into a form by a user is correct and complete. You can do this on the client side, using built-in HTML features like the required attribute. You can alsovalidate on the client using JavaScript, and there are external Next.js libraries to help ease the process.
There are several reasons why form validation is essential. First, it helps to ensure that the data entered into a form is complete and correct. This is important because it helps to prevent errors when your app submits data to a server or database.
Second, form validation can help to improve the usability of a form by providing feedback when a user enters invalid data. This can help to avoid frustration and confusion on the part of the user.
Finally, form validation can help to improve the security of a form by ensuring it submits only valid data.
How to Validate Forms in Next.js
There are two ways to validate forms in Next.js: using the built-in methods or using external libraries.
Using the Built-In Methods
HTML provides several methods to validate forms, the most common of which is therequiredattribute. This ensures that a field cannot be blank. you may use this method from your Next.js app, simply by including the attribute in input tags that you generate. HTML also provides apatternattribute. You can use this together with aregular expression for more complex validation.
This example includes a form with two fields: name and email. The name field is required, and the email field must match a regular expression.
This code imports the React library, then creates a class called MyForm and renders a form element. Inside the form element, there are two label elements.
The first label element contains a required text input field. The second label element contains an email input field with a regular expression in its pattern attribute.
Finally, you have a submit button. When a user submits the form, the required attribute ensures that they filled out the name field. The email field’s pattern attribute ensures the email is in the specified format. If either of these conditions fails, the form will not submit.
There are a few disadvantages to using the built-in methods. First, it can be difficult to keep track of all the different validation rules that you have set up. Second, if you have a lot of fields, it can be tedious to add the required attribute to each one. Lastly, the built-in methods only provide basic validation. If you want to do more complex validation, you will need to use an external library.
Using an External Library
In addition to the built-in methods, there are also many external libraries that you can use to validate forms. Some popular libraries include Formik, react-hook-form, and Yup.
To use an external library, you will first need to install it. For example, to install Formik, run the following command:
Once you’ve installed the library, you can import it into your component and use it to validate your form:
Here, you first import theFormik,Form, andFieldcomponents from the Formik library. Next, create a component called MyForm. This component renders a form that has two fields: name and email.
The initialValues prop sets the initial values of the form fields. In this case, the name and email fields are both empty strings.
The validate prop sets the validation rules for the form fields. In this case, the name field is required, and the email field should match a regular expression.
The onSubmit prop sets the function that React will call when the user submits the form. In this case, the function is an alert that will display the values of the form fields.
The isSubmitting prop determines whether the form is currently being submitted. In this case, you set it to false.
Finally, render the form using the Form component from Formik.
Benefits of Using External Libraries in Next.js
There are several benefits to using an external library like Formik to validate forms in Next.js. One benefit is that it is much easier to display error messages to the user. For example, if a required field is not filled out, Formik will automatically display an error message including a suggested fix.
Another benefit is that Formik can handle more complex validation rules. For example, you’re able to use Formik to validate that two fields are the same (such as a password and password confirmation field).
Finally, Formik makes it easy to submit the form data to a server. For example, you may use Formik to submit the form data to an API.
Increase User Engagement Using Forms
You can use forms to increase user engagement. By providing feedback when a user enters invalid data, you can help to avoid frustration and confusion.
Using external libraries, you can add features such as auto-completion and conditional fields. These can help make your forms even more user-friendly. When used correctly, forms can be a powerful tool to help you increase user engagement and collect the data that you need.
Besides validation, Next.js has many features which you can use to increase user engagement.
Next.js gives you fast, flexible apps that you could get set up in no time. Find out just why it’s fast becoming one of the most popular web frameworks.
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