This article is about fixing Page scroll position not reset to top on navigation (regression) in sveltejs kit
  • 13-Feb-2023
Lightrun Team
Author Lightrun Team
Share
This article is about fixing Page scroll position not reset to top on navigation (regression) in sveltejs kit

Page scroll position not reset to top on navigation (regression) in sveltejs kit

Lightrun Team
Lightrun Team
13-Feb-2023

Explanation of the problem

A bug was observed while navigating to a new page using the SvelteKit demo project. The current scroll position is maintained and the page does not automatically scroll back to the top when a new page is loaded, if the user is already scrolled partway down the page. This behavior is not present in version next-192, as navigation to a new page in this version always scrolls to the top.

Reproduction Steps:

  1. Initialize the SvelteKit demo project.
  2. Add the following code in the about.svelte file after the last paragraph:
<p>Go <a href="/">home</a></p>
  1. Resize the browser window to a smaller size so that the page scrolls and scroll to the bottom of the page.
  2. Click the Home link.
  3. Observe that the Home page loads, but does not scroll to the top.

System Information:

  • OS: Linux 4.19 Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS (Focal Fossa)
  • CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6600U CPU @ 2.60GHz (64-bit)
  • Memory: 7.79 GB / 12.40 GB
  • Container: Yes
  • Shell: 5.0.17 – /bin/bash
  • Node: 14.17.0
  • Yarn: 1.22.5
  • npm: 8.1.1
  • Browsers tested: Chrome (89.0.4389.90) and Firefox on Windows 10
  • npm packages:
    • @sveltejs/kit: 1.0.0-next.193
    • svelte: 3.44.1

Severity: Serious but can be worked around.

Logs and additional information: No response.

Troubleshooting with the Lightrun Developer Observability Platform

Getting a sense of what’s actually happening inside a live application is a frustrating experience, one that relies mostly on querying and observing whatever logs were written during development.
Lightrun is a Developer Observability Platform, allowing developers to add telemetry to live applications in real-time, on-demand, and right from the IDE.

  • Instantly add logs to, set metrics in, and take snapshots of live applications
  • Insights delivered straight to your IDE or CLI
  • Works where you do: dev, QA, staging, CI/CD, and production

Start for free today

Problem solution for Page scroll position not reset to top on navigation (regression) in sveltejs kit

The problem at hand is related to the scroll position of the content in a web page. When a user navigates to a new page, it is expected that the content will be displayed from the top, but in some cases, the content remains scrolled down the page, which can create a confusing user experience. This issue is caused by the fact that the scroll position of the content is not being reset when navigating to a new page.

The solution to this issue is to reset the scroll position of the content through code. One approach is to use the afterNavigate hook, which is a hook provided by the navigation system of the web application. The hook can be added to the layout file, which is responsible for defining the structure and appearance of the web page. The hook will execute whenever a user navigates to a new page and will reset the scroll position of the content by setting its scrollTop property to 0.

Here is an example of how the solution could be implemented using Svelte:

<script>
  import { afterNavigate } from "$app/navigation";
  import Sidebar from "./_sidebar.svelte";

  afterNavigate(() => {
    document.getElementById("main").scrollTop = 0;
  });
</script>

In this example, the afterNavigate hook is imported from the navigation system of the web application and is then used to reset the scroll position of the content element. The content element is identified by its id “main” and its scrollTop property is set to 0, which will reset its scroll position to the top. This solution ensures that the user experience remains consistent and that the content is always displayed from the top whenever a user navigates to a new page.

Other popular problems with sveltejs kit

Problem: State Management:

One of the most common problems faced by developers when working with SvelteJS is managing the state of their application. As the framework does not provide a centralized store for state management, developers need to find other ways to manage the state of their application. This can lead to a scattered state, making it difficult to keep track of the state of the application, leading to confusion and bugs.

Solution:

To solve this issue, developers can use third-party libraries such as Svelte Store or Rollup to manage the state of their application in a centralized manner. These libraries provide an easy-to-use API to manage the state of an application, making it easier to keep track of the state of the application and reducing the chance of bugs.

Problem: Server-Side Rendering (SSR):

Another common problem faced by developers when working with SvelteJS is the lack of support for server-side rendering. SvelteJS was designed to be a client-side framework, and as such, it does not support server-side rendering out of the box. This can make it difficult for developers to create applications that are SEO friendly and can be rendered on the server.

Solution:

To solve this issue, developers can use a third-party library such as Sapper, which provides support for server-side rendering. Sapper provides a simple and easy-to-use API for server-side rendering, making it easier for developers to create SEO friendly applications.

Problem: Routing

Another common problem faced by developers when working with SvelteJS is routing. Unlike other popular JavaScript frameworks, SvelteJS does not provide built-in support for routing. This can make it difficult for developers to create applications with multiple pages, leading to a confusing and cluttered codebase.

Solution:

To solve this issue, developers can use a third-party library such as Svelte Router, which provides support for routing in SvelteJS. Svelte Router provides a simple and easy-to-use API for creating applications with multiple pages, making it easier for developers to create a clean and organized codebase.

A brief introduction to sveltejs kit

Svelte is a front-end JavaScript framework that is focused on providing a fast and efficient user experience for web applications. Unlike other frameworks, Svelte operates at compile-time, rather than runtime, which results in faster load times and improved performance for the user. By moving the bulk of the processing to the build stage, Svelte avoids the need for virtual DOM manipulation and other performance-intensive operations, resulting in faster and more efficient code.

In addition to its performance benefits, Svelte offers a simple and intuitive syntax for developers. Components in Svelte are written as self-contained units, making it easy to manage the state of the application and maintain modularity. Svelte also provides a rich set of tools for working with reactive data, allowing developers to easily build dynamic and responsive user interfaces. With its focus on simplicity and performance, Svelte is an ideal choice for building fast, lightweight web applications.

Most popular use cases for sveltejs kit

  1. Building User Interfaces (UI) for Web Applications: Svelte is a JavaScript framework that can be used to build UIs for web applications. It provides a way to define UI components using a declarative syntax and offers built-in reactivity, which allows for seamless updating of the UI whenever the underlying data changes. This makes it easier to build complex and dynamic UIs, compared to using vanilla JavaScript or other frameworks that require explicit management of the UI state.
<script>
  let name = "John";

  function handleClick() {
    name = "Jane";
  }
</script>

<h1>Hello, {name}!</h1>

<button on:click={handleClick}>
  Change Name
</button>
  1. Creating Single-Page Applications (SPAs): Svelte can also be used to create SPAs, which are web applications that do not require a full page reload when navigating between different routes or pages. This provides a more seamless user experience, similar to native mobile apps. Svelte provides a way to define routes and manage the navigation state, allowing developers to easily create SPAs.
  2. Building Reusable UI Components: Svelte provides a way to define reusable UI components, making it easy to share common UI elements across multiple pages in an application. This allows for a more modular and maintainable codebase, as well as the ability to easily reuse UI components across multiple projects. Additionally, Svelte has a growing library of third-party components that developers can leverage, reducing the amount of custom code that needs to be written.
Share

It’s Really not that Complicated.

You can actually understand what’s going on inside your live applications.

Try Lightrun’s Playground

Lets Talk!

Looking for more information about Lightrun and debugging?
We’d love to hear from you!
Drop us a line and we’ll get back to you shortly.

By submitting this form, I agree to Lightrun’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.