How To Redirect To The Previous Page After Login

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by

Vector Linux
in

Hey there! Today, I want to talk about a common challenge that many web developers face – redirecting users back to the previous page after they log in. This is particularly useful when you want to enhance the user experience and allow them to seamlessly continue their journey on your website.

Before we dive into the technical details, let me share a personal story. A while ago, I was working on a project where I needed to implement a login feature. I realized that after users successfully logged in, they were being redirected to a default landing page. This resulted in a jarring user experience and made it difficult for users to pick up where they left off. So, I set out to find a solution that would redirect users back to the page they were on before logging in. Let’s explore how you can achieve this too.

The Basics of Redirecting to the Previous Page

Redirecting users to the previous page after they log in requires a few steps. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

  1. First, you need to store the URL of the page the user is currently on before they click the login button. This can be accomplished by using the document.referrer property in JavaScript.
  2. Next, you need to pass this URL as a parameter when redirecting the user to the login page. This can be done by appending the URL as a query parameter, such as login.html?redirect=previous-page-url.
  3. When the user successfully logs in, you need to extract the URL from the query parameter and redirect them to that page.

Now that we understand the basic process, let’s take a closer look at each step.

Step 1: Storing the URL of the Previous Page

In order to store the URL of the previous page, we can utilize the document.referrer property in JavaScript. This property returns the URL of the page that referred the user to the current page. It’s important to note that this property may not always be accurate or available, depending on the browser settings or security protocols in place.

Here’s an example of how you can store the previous page URL using JavaScript:


let previousPageUrl = document.referrer;

Step 2: Passing the URL as a Parameter

Once we have the URL of the previous page, we need to pass it as a parameter when redirecting the user to the login page. This can be achieved by appending the URL as a query parameter using the encodeURIComponent() function to encode any special characters.

Here’s an example of how you can pass the previous page URL as a parameter:


let loginUrl = 'login.html?redirect=' + encodeURIComponent(previousPageUrl);

Step 3: Extracting and Redirecting to the Previous Page

Finally, after the user logs in successfully, we need to retrieve the URL from the query parameter and redirect them to that page. This can be done by accessing the query parameter using JavaScript’s URLSearchParams API.

Here’s an example of how you can extract and redirect to the previous page:


let urlParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
let redirectUrl = urlParams.get('redirect');

if (redirectUrl) {
window.location.href = redirectUrl;
} else {
// Redirect to a default landing page
window.location.href = 'landing.html';
}

Conclusion

Redirecting users back to the previous page after they log in can greatly improve the user experience on your website. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can ensure that users seamlessly continue their journey without any hiccups.

I hope you found this article helpful in understanding how to implement this feature. Remember, the key is to store the URL of the previous page, pass it as a parameter, and then extract and redirect to that page after login. Happy coding!