Next.js 16: the params warning on a dynamic route

Context

While building this portfolio with Next.js 16, I added a dynamic route for project pages, /projects/[slug]. The page read params at the top of the component with await params, which is the documented way to do it in recent versions.

The problem

The page rendered fine and returned 200, but the dev server showed an error saying that the route accessed URL data during prerendering or navigation, and that params or searchParams should be accessed inside <Suspense>.

The first version of my question was incomplete: I had only copied the code excerpt, not the message at the top of the error. The full message is what made the cause clear.

What it means

Next.js now checks whether a route can have an instant shell, a part of the page that does not depend on the URL and can be shared across navigations. When the whole page waits for params at the top level, everything is tied to one specific URL, so there is nothing to share.

The two options

The error message offers two ways out:

• Wrap the part that reads URL data in <Suspense> with a fallback.
• Export instant = false from the page to allow a blocking route.

What I chose

For a small portfolio with a few static project pages, I went with the second option for now:

export const instant = false;

Wrapping the entire page content in <Suspense> would silence the warning, but it would not give the page a meaningful instant shell, so it felt like changing the code only to satisfy the check. If a page has real static parts, such as a header or a back link, it makes sense to keep those outside the Suspense boundary and put only the URL-dependent content inside.

Takeaways

• Always copy the full error message, not only the code frame.
• await params is still correct, the warning is about page structure, not about the call itself.
• Pick the fix that matches the page: block when the content is tiny and static, split with Suspense when there is a real shell to protect.