Implementing scroll restoration in ecommerce React apps

Scroll restoration is an often-overlooked feature crucial for enhancing user experience, particularly in ecommerce websites, where users frequently navigate between product listing pages (PLPs) and product description pages (PDPs). Traditional server-rendered websites naturally handle scroll restoration, but client-side rendered applications often lose this ability, leading to user frustration. The article explores methods to manually implement scroll restoration using JavaScript, particularly in React applications, by storing the ID of the selected product and restoring the scroll position when the user navigates back to the PLP. It discusses handling scroll restoration for hybrid pages and fully client-side apps and suggests using sessionStorage and React Router for this purpose. The article also addresses challenges like infinite loading patterns and proposes solutions such as updating the URL with the current page number to ensure accurate restoration. Further recommendations include using skeleton loaders to prevent scroll jank and considering accessibility features to enhance the user experience. Overall, the article emphasizes the importance of maintaining a seamless navigation experience to build trust and satisfaction among ecommerce users.