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How TO – Hoverable Dropdown
Learn how to create a hoverable dropdown menu with CSS.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″>
<style>
.dropbtn {
background-color: #04AA6D;
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 style=”background-color:white;”>
<h2>Hoverable Dropdown</h2>
<p>Move the mouse over the button to open the dropdown menu.</p>
<div>
<button>Dropdown</button>
<div>
<a href=”#”>Link 1</a>
<a href=”#”>Link 2</a>
<a href=”#”>Link 3</a>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Create A Hoverable Dropdown
Create a dropdown menu that appears when the user moves the mouse over an element.
Step 1) Add HTML:
Example
<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>
Example Explained
Use any element to open the dropdown menu, e.g. a <button>, <a> or <p> element.
Use a container element (like <div>) to create the dropdown menu and add the dropdown links inside it.
Wrap a <div> element around the button and the <div> to position the dropdown menu correctly with CSS.
Step 2) Add CSS:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″>
<style>
.dropbtn {
background-color: #04AA6D;
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 style=”background-color:white;”>
<h2>Hoverable Dropdown</h2>
<p>Move the mouse over the button to open the dropdown menu.</p>
<div>
<button>Dropdown</button>
<div>
<a href=”#”>Link 1</a>
<a href=”#”>Link 2</a>
<a href=”#”>Link 3</a>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
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.
Right-aligned dropdown
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″>
<style>
.dropbtn {
background-color: #04AA6D;
color: white;
padding: 16px;
font-size: 16px;
border: none;
cursor: pointer;
}
.dropdown {
position: relative;
display: inline-block;
}
.dropdown-content {
display: none;
position: absolute;
right: 0;
background-color: #f9f9f9;
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: #f1f1f1;}
.dropdown:hover .dropdown-content {display: block;}
.dropdown:hover .dropbtn {background-color: #3e8e41;}
</style>
</head>
<body style=”background-color:white;”>
<h2>Aligned Dropdown Content</h2>
<p>Determine whether the dropdown content should go from left to right or right to left with the left and right properties.</p>
<div style=”float:left;”>
<button>Left</button>
<div style=”left:0;”>
<a href=”#”>Link 1</a>
<a href=”#”>Link 2</a>
<a href=”#”>Link 3</a>
</div>
</div>
<div style=”float:right;”>
<button>Right</button>
<div>
<a href=”#”>Link 1</a>
<a href=”#”>Link 2</a>
<a href=”#”>Link 3</a>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Dropdown Menu in Navbar
Example
<!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 style=”background-color:white;”>
<div>
<a href=”#home”>Home</a>
<a href=”#news”>News</a>
<div>
<button>Dropdown
<i></i>
</button>
<div>
<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>
</html>