How TO – Subnav

Learn how to create a subnavigation menu with CSS.

Subnav

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Create A Subnav

Step 1) Add HTML:

Example

<!– Load font awesome icons –>
<link rel=”stylesheet” href=”https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/4.7.0/css/font-awesome.min.css”>

<!– The navigation menu –>
<div class=”navbar”>
  <a href=”#home”>Home</a>
  <div class=”subnav”>
   
<button class=”subnavbtn”>About <i class=”fa fa-caret-down”></i></button>
    <div class=”subnav-content”>
     
<a href=”#company”>Company</a>
      <a href=”#team”>Team</a>
     
<a href=”#careers”>Careers</a>
    </div>
  </div>

  <div class=”subnav”>
    <button class=”subnavbtn”>Services
<i class=”fa fa-caret-down”></i></button>
   
<div class=”subnav-content”>
      <a href=”#bring”>Bring</a>
     
<a href=”#deliver”>Deliver</a>
      <a href=”#package”>Package</a>
     
<a href=”#express”>Express</a>
    </div>
  </div>

  <div class=”subnav”>
    <button class=”subnavbtn”>Partners
<i class=”fa fa-caret-down”></i></button>
   
<div class=”subnav-content”>
      <a href=”#link1″>Link
1</a>
      <a href=”#link2″>Link 2</a>
     
<a href=”#link3″>Link 3</a>
      <a href=”#link4″>Link
4</a>
    </div>
  </div>
  <a href=”#contact”>Contact</a>
</div>

Example Explained

Use any element to open the subnav/dropdown menu, e.g. a <button>, <a>
or <p> element.

Use a container element (like <div>) to create the subnav menu and add the
subnav links inside
it.

Wrap a <div> element around the button and the <div> to position the
subnav menu correctly with CSS.

Step 2) Add CSS:

Example

/* The navigation menu */
.navbar
{
  overflow: hidden;
  background-color: #333;
}

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

/* The
subnavigation menu */
.subnav {
  float: left;
 
overflow: hidden;
}

/* Subnav button */
.subnav .subnavbtn {
  font-size: 16px;

  border: none;
  outline: none;
  color: white;
 
padding: 14px 16px;
  background-color: inherit;
 
font-family: inherit;
  margin: 0;
}

/* Add a red background
color to navigation links on hover */
.navbar a:hover, .subnav:hover .subnavbtn {
  background-color: red;
}

/* Style the subnav content – positioned absolute */
.subnav-content {
  display: none;
  position: absolute;
 
left: 0;
  background-color: red;
  width: 100%;
 
z-index: 1;
}

/* Style the subnav links */
.subnav-content
a {
  float: left;
  color: white;
  text-decoration:
none;
}

/* Add a grey background color on hover */
.subnav-content
a:hover {
  background-color: #eee;
  color: black;
}

/* When you move the mouse over the subnav container, open the subnav
content */
.subnav:hover
.subnav-content {
  display: block;
}

Try it Yourself »