In Next.js, organizing project files effectively is crucial for maintainability and scalability. Route Grouping is a feature that enhances the organization of routes without affecting the public URL structure.

By using folder-based grouping, developers can structure their routes logically while keeping clean, predictable URLs. This approach helps separate concerns and makes the codebase more readable and manageable.

What Is Route Grouping?

Route grouping allows developers to create folders within the app/ directory that do not impact the route path in the final application. These folders serve purely for organizational purposes and do not appear in the URL.

How Does It Work?

To define a route group in Next.js, you create a folder inside the app/ directory and wrap its name in parentheses (). This tells Next.js that the folder is purely for organizational purposes and should not be included in the public URL structure.

Example File Structure

Imagine you are organizing your project into marketing and product-related sections:

app
 ├── (marketing)
 │    ├── branding-campaign
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 │    ├── promotions
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 ├── (product)
 │    ├── features
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 │    ├── pricing
 │    │    ├── page.tsx

Even though the folders (marketing) and (product) exist in the project structure, they will not be part of the actual URL.

For example:

• The file app/(marketing)/branding-campaign/page.tsx will be accessible at /branding-campaign, not /marketing/branding-campaign.
• The file app/(marketing)/promotions/page.tsx will be available at /promotions.
• Similarly, app/(product)/features/page.tsx will be accessible at /features.
• app/(product)/pricing/page.tsx will load at /pricing.

This means that while route groups help in structuring the project, they do not affect the public-facing URLs. Instead, they simply make the codebase more organized, scalable, and easier to maintain. 🚀

Why Use Route Grouping?

1. Improved Project Organization

Route grouping helps developers categorize related routes without affecting the public-facing structure.

Example Use Case:

• (marketing): Contains pages related to campaigns, promotions, and branding.
• (product): Includes feature pages, pricing, and testimonials.

This separation makes it easier for teams to manage and maintain specific sections of the application.

2. Scalability and Readability

As your application grows, keeping related components together improves readability and maintainability. Instead of having all routes mixed together, they are grouped logically.

Before Route Grouping (Unorganized structure):

app
 ├── branding-campaign
 │    ├── page.tsx
 ├── promotions
 │    ├── page.tsx
 ├── features
 │    ├── page.tsx
 ├── pricing
 │    ├── page.tsx

After Route Grouping (Structured project):

app
 ├── (marketing)
 │    ├── branding-campaign
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 │    ├── promotions
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 ├── (product)
 │    ├── features
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 │    ├── pricing
 │    │    ├── page.tsx

This structure makes it easier to navigate and understand.

3. Better Team Collaboration

When working in a team, route grouping allows different teams (e.g., Marketing, Product, Engineering) to work within their respective sections without interfering with other parts of the application.

4. Maintainable and Future-Proof

If you ever need to restructure your app, route grouping makes it easier to move files without affecting public URLs.

How to Implement Route Grouping in Next.js

Step 1: Create a Route Group

In the app/ directory, create a folder wrapped in parentheses (()).

For example, if you want to group marketing-related pages:

📂 Directory structure:

app
 ├── (marketing)
 │    ├── branding-campaign
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 │    ├── promotions
 │    │    ├── page.tsx

Step 2: Define the Pages

Inside the grouped folders, create the respective page.tsx files.

📂 app/(marketing)/branding-campaign/page.tsx

export default function BrandingCampaign() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Branding Campaign</h1>
      <p>This is the branding campaign page under the marketing section.</p>
    </div>
  );
}

📂 app/(marketing)/promotions/page.tsx

export default function Promotions() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Promotions</h1>
      <p>All current promotions available here.</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Step 3: Access the Routes

Even though the files are inside the (marketing) folder, the URLs remain clean and simple:

• /branding-campaign
• /promotions

Common Use Cases for Route Grouping

1. Grouping by Feature

For a dashboard, you can separate routes based on different modules:

app
 ├── (dashboard)
 │    ├── analytics
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 │    ├── settings
 │    │    ├── page.tsx

➡️ The URLs remain /analytics and /settings.

2. Grouping by Role-Based Access

If your app has admin and user areas, you can group routes based on authentication roles:

app
 ├── (admin)
 │    ├── users
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 │    ├── settings
 │    │    ├── page.tsx

➡️ These would be accessible at /users and /settings without exposing the admin folder in the URL.

3. Separating Marketing and Product Pages

You can separate landing pages and core application features:

app
 ├── (marketing)
 │    ├── landing
 │    │    ├── page.tsx
 ├── (app)
 │    ├── dashboard
 │    │    ├── page.tsx

➡️ The URLs remain /landing and /dashboard.

Best Practices for Route Grouping

✔ Use meaningful names for route groups. Avoid generic names like (folder1).

✔ Keep route grouping minimal—don’t overcomplicate it.

✔ Organize logically based on sections, teams, or functionality.

✔ Ensure consistency across your app—don't mix unrelated routes in the same group.

Conclusion

Route Grouping in Next.js is a powerful organizational tool that enhances project scalability, improves maintainability, and keeps URLs clean. Whether grouping by features, authentication roles, or functionality, this method makes your Next.js project more structured and readable.

💡 This is just an introduction—future posts will dive deeper into advanced routing strategies and best practices!

Additional Resources

1. Next.js Official Documentation - Route Groups
2. Next.js Routing Overview
3. Best Practices for Scalable Next.js Apps