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!