How to create a Dropdown Menu?

In my previous post, you learned how to create a navigation bar with CSS. Today I would like to show you how you can create a dropdown menu using CSS.

A dropdown menu is a toggleable menu that allows the user to choose one value from a preferred list.

Step 1: Add HTML

<div class="dropdown">
  <button class="dropbtn">Dropdown</button>
  <div class="dropdown-content">
    <a href="#">Link 1</a>
    <a href="#">Link 2</a>
    <a href="#">Link 3</a>
  </div>
</div>

Step 2: Add CSS

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<style>
.dropbtn {
  background-color: #4CAF50;
  color: white;
  padding: 16px;
  font-size: 16px;
  border: none;
}

.dropdown {
  position: relative;
  display: inline-block;
}

.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;
}

.dropdown-content a {
  color: black;
  padding: 12px 16px;
  text-decoration: none;
  display: block;
}

.dropdown-content a:hover {background-color: #ddd;}

.dropdown:hover .dropdown-content {display: block;}

.dropdown:hover .dropbtn {background-color: #3e8e41;}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<h2>Hoverable Dropdown</h2>
<p>Move the mouse over the button to open the dropdown menu.</p>

<div class="dropdown">
  <button class="dropbtn">Dropdown</button>
  <div class="dropdown-content">
    <a href="#">Link 1</a>
    <a href="#">Link 2</a>
    <a href="#">Link 3</a>
  </div>
</div>

</body>

Output:

You can create a dropdown menu that appears when the user moves the mouse over an element inside a navigation bar.

Step 1: Add HTML

<div class="navbar">
  <a href="#home">Home</a>
  <a href="#news">News</a>
  <div class="dropdown">
    <button class="dropbtn">Dropdown 
      <i class="fa fa-caret-down"></i>
    </button>
    <div class="dropdown-content">
      <a href="#">Link 1</a>
      <a href="#">Link 2</a>
      <a href="#">Link 3</a>
    </div>
  </div> 
</div>

Step 2: Add CSS

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/4.7.0/css/font-awesome.min.css">
<style>
body {
  font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
}

.navbar {
  overflow: hidden;
  background-color: #333;
}

.navbar a {
  float: left;
  font-size: 16px;
  color: white;
  text-align: center;
  padding: 14px 16px;
  text-decoration: none;
}

.dropdown {
  float: left;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.dropdown .dropbtn {
  font-size: 16px; 
  border: none;
  outline: none;
  color: white;
  padding: 14px 16px;
  background-color: inherit;
  font-family: inherit;
  margin: 0;
}

.navbar a:hover, .dropdown:hover .dropbtn {
  background-color: red;
}

.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;
}

.dropdown-content a {
  float: none;
  color: black;
  padding: 12px 16px;
  text-decoration: none;
  display: block;
  text-align: left;
}

.dropdown-content a:hover {
  background-color: #ddd;
}

.dropdown:hover .dropdown-content {
  display: block;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<div class="navbar">
  <a href="#home">Home</a>
  <a href="#news">News</a>
  <div class="dropdown">
    <button class="dropbtn">Dropdown
      <i class="fa fa-caret-down"></i>
    </button>
    <div class="dropdown-content">
      <a href="#">Link 1</a>
      <a href="#">Link 2</a>
      <a href="#">Link 3</a>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

<h3>Dropdown Menu inside a Navigation Bar</h3>
<p>Hover over the "Dropdown" link to see the dropdown menu.</p>

</body>

Output:

Enjoy coding!

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