How TO – Responsive Top Navigation

Learn how to create a responsive top navigation menu with CSS and JavaScript.

Responsive Navigation Bar

Resize the browser window to see how the responsive navigation menu works:

Responsive Topnav Example

Resize the browser window to see how it works.

Try it Yourself

<!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 {
margin: 0;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
}

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

.topnav a {
float: left;
display: block;
color: #f2f2f2;
text-align: center;
padding: 14px 16px;
text-decoration: none;
font-size: 17px;
}

.topnav a:hover {
background-color: #ddd;
color: black;
}

.topnav a.active {
background-color: #04AA6D;
color: white;
}

.topnav .icon {
display: none;
}

@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.topnav a:not(:first-child) {display: none;}
.topnav a.icon {
float: right;
display: block;
}
}

@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.topnav.responsive {position: relative;}
.topnav.responsive .icon {
position: absolute;
right: 0;
top: 0;
}
.topnav.responsive a {
float: none;
display: block;
text-align: left;
}
}
</style>
</head>
<body>

<div id=”myTopnav”>
<a href=”#home”>Home</a>
<a href=”#news”>News</a>
<a href=”#contact”>Contact</a>
<a href=”#about”>About</a>
<a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”myFunction()”>
<i></i>
</a>
</div>

<div style=”padding-left:16px”>
<h2>Responsive Topnav Example</h2>
<p>Resize the browser window to see how it works.</p>
</div>

</body>
</html>

Create A Responsive Topnav

Step 1) Add HTML:

Example

<!– Load an icon library to show a hamburger menu (bars) on small screens –>
<link rel=”stylesheet” href=”https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/4.7.0/css/font-awesome.min.css”>

<div class=”topnav” id=”myTopnav”>
  <a href=”#home” class=”active”>Home</a>
  <a href=”#news”>News</a>
  <a href=”#contact”>Contact</a>
  <a href=”#about”>About</a>
  <a href=”javascript:void(0);” class=”icon” onclick=”myFunction()”>
    <i class=”fa fa-bars”></i>
  </a>
</div>

The link with is used to open and close the topnav on small screens.

Step 2) Add CSS:

Example

/* Add a black background color to the top navigation */
.topnav {
background-color: #333;
overflow: hidden;
}

/* Style the links inside the navigation bar */
.topnav a {
float: left;
display: block;
color: #f2f2f2;
text-align: center;
padding: 14px 16px;
text-decoration: none;
font-size: 17px;
}

/* Change the color of links on hover */
.topnav a:hover {
background-color: #ddd;
color: black;
}

/* Add an active class to highlight the current page */
.topnav a.active {
background-color: #04AA6D;
color: white;
}

/* Hide the link that should open and close the topnav on small screens */
.topnav .icon {
display: none;
}

Example

/* When the screen is less than 600 pixels wide, hide all links, except for the first one (“Home”). Show the link that contains should open and close the topnav (.icon) */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.topnav a:not(:first-child) {display: none;}
.topnav a.icon {
    float: right;
    display: block;
  }
}

/* The “responsive” class is added to the topnav with JavaScript when the user clicks on the icon. This class makes the topnav look good on small screens (display the links vertically instead of horizontally) */
@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.topnav.responsive {position: relative;}
.topnav.responsive a.icon {
    position: absolute;
    right: 0;
    top: 0;
  }
.topnav.responsive a {
    float: none;
    display: block;
    text-align: left;
  }
}

Step 3) Add JavaScript:

Example

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

.topnav a {
float: left;
display: block;
color: #f2f2f2;
text-align: center;
padding: 14px 16px;
text-decoration: none;
font-size: 17px;
}

.topnav a:hover {
background-color: #ddd;
color: black;
}

.topnav a.active {
background-color: #04AA6D;
color: white;
}

.topnav .icon {
display: none;
}

@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.topnav a:not(:first-child) {display: none;}
.topnav a.icon {
float: right;
display: block;
}
}

<div style=”padding-left:16px”>
<h2>Responsive Topnav Example</h2>
<p>Resize the browser window to see how it works.</p>
</div>

</body>
</html>

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