How TO — Dropdown Navbar
Create a dropdown menu that appears when the user moves the mouse over an element inside a navigation bar.
Step 1) Add HTML:
Example
Example Explained
Use any element to open the dropdown menu, e.g. a , or
element.
Use a container element (like ) to create the dropdown menu and add the dropdown links inside it.
Wrap a element around the button and the to position the dropdown menu correctly with CSS.
Step 2) Add CSS:
Example
/* Navbar container */
.navbar overflow: hidden;
background-color: #333;
font-family: Arial;
>
/* Links inside the navbar */
.navbar a float: left;
font-size: 16px;
color: white;
text-align: center;
padding: 14px 16px;
text-decoration: none;
>
/* The dropdown container */
.dropdown float: left;
overflow: hidden;
>
/* Dropdown button */
.dropdown .dropbtn font-size: 16px;
border: none;
outline: none;
color: white;
padding: 14px 16px;
background-color: inherit;
font-family: inherit; /* Important for vertical align on mobile phones */
margin: 0; /* Important for vertical align on mobile phones */
>
/* Add a red background color to navbar links on hover */
.navbar a:hover, .dropdown:hover .dropbtn background-color: red;
>
/* Dropdown content (hidden by default) */
.dropdown-content display: none;
position: absolute;
background-color: #f9f9f9;
min-width: 160px;
box-shadow: 0px 8px 16px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);
z-index: 1;
>
/* Links inside the dropdown */
.dropdown-content a float: none;
color: black;
padding: 12px 16px;
text-decoration: none;
display: block;
text-align: left;
>
/* Add a grey background color to dropdown links on hover */
.dropdown-content a:hover background-color: #ddd;
>
/* Show the dropdown menu on hover */
.dropdown:hover .dropdown-content display: block;
>
Example Explained
We have styled the navigation bar and the navbar links with a background-color, padding, etc.
We have styled the dropdown button with a background-color, padding, etc.
The .dropdown class is the container for .dropdown-content . Since this is a element, and not an element, we have to float it to make sure that it stays next to the links.
The .dropdown-content class holds the actual dropdown menu. It is hidden by default, and will be displayed on hover (see below). Note the min-width is set to 160px. Feel free to change this.
Instead of using a border, we have used the box-shadow property to make the dropdown menu look like a «card». We also use z-index to place the dropdown in front of other elements.
The :hover selector is used to show the dropdown menu when the user moves the mouse over the dropdown button.
Clickable Dropdown in Navbar
Example
Tip: Go to our CSS Dropdowns Tutorial to learn more about dropdowns.
Tip: Go to our Clickable Dropdowns to learn more about clickable dropdowns
Tip: Go to our CSS Navbar Tutorial to learn more about navbars.
Tip: Go to our Responsive Top Navigation to learn about how to create a responsive navbar.
How TO — Hoverable Dropdown
Learn how to create a hoverable dropdown menu with CSS.
Dropdown
A dropdown menu is a toggleable menu that allows the user to choose one value from a predefined list:
Create A Hoverable Dropdown
Create a dropdown menu that appears when the user moves the mouse over an element.
Step 1) Add HTML:
Example
Example Explained
Use any element to open the dropdown menu, e.g. a , or
element.
Use a container element (like ) to create the dropdown menu and add the dropdown links inside it.
Wrap a element around the button and the to position the dropdown menu correctly with CSS.
Step 2) Add CSS:
Example
/* Dropdown Button */
.dropbtn background-color: #04AA6D;
color: white;
padding: 16px;
font-size: 16px;
border: none;
>
/* The container — needed to position the dropdown content */
.dropdown position: relative;
display: inline-block;
>
/* Dropdown Content (Hidden by Default) */
.dropdown-content display: none;
position: absolute;
background-color: #f1f1f1;
min-width: 160px;
box-shadow: 0px 8px 16px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);
z-index: 1;
>
/* Links inside the dropdown */
.dropdown-content a color: black;
padding: 12px 16px;
text-decoration: none;
display: block;
>
/* Change color of dropdown links on hover */
.dropdown-content a:hover
/* Show the dropdown menu on hover */
.dropdown:hover .dropdown-content
/* Change the background color of the dropdown button when the dropdown content is shown */
.dropdown:hover .dropbtn
Example Explained
We have styled the dropdown button with a background-color, padding, etc.
The .dropdown class uses position:relative , which is needed when we want the dropdown content to be placed right below the dropdown button (using position:absolute ).
The .dropdown-content class holds the actual dropdown menu. It is hidden by default, and will be displayed on hover (see below). Note the min-width is set to 160px. Feel free to change this. Tip: If you want the width of the dropdown content to be as wide as the dropdown button, set the width to 100% (and overflow:auto to enable scroll on small screens).
Instead of using a border, we have used the box-shadow property to make the dropdown menu look like a «card». We also use z-index to place the dropdown in front of other elements.
The :hover selector is used to show the dropdown menu when the user moves the mouse over the dropdown button.