Menu
×
   ❮     
HTML CSS JAVASCRIPT SQL PYTHON JAVA PHP HOW TO W3.CSS C C++ C# BOOTSTRAP REACT MYSQL JQUERY EXCEL XML DJANGO NUMPY PANDAS NODEJS R TYPESCRIPT ANGULAR GIT POSTGRESQL MONGODB ASP AI GO KOTLIN SASS VUE DSA GEN AI SCIPY AWS CYBERSECURITY DATA SCIENCE
     ❯   

CSS Tutorial

CSS HOME CSS Introduction CSS Syntax CSS Selectors CSS How To CSS Comments CSS Colors CSS Backgrounds CSS Borders CSS Margins CSS Padding CSS Height/Width CSS Box Model CSS Outline CSS Text CSS Fonts CSS Icons CSS Links CSS Lists CSS Tables CSS Display CSS Max-width CSS Position CSS Z-index CSS Overflow CSS Float CSS Inline-block CSS Align CSS Combinators CSS Pseudo-class CSS Pseudo-element CSS Opacity CSS Navigation Bar CSS Dropdowns CSS Image Gallery CSS Image Sprites CSS Attr Selectors CSS Forms CSS Counters CSS Website Layout CSS Units CSS Specificity CSS !important CSS Math Functions

CSS Advanced

CSS Rounded Corners CSS Border Images CSS Backgrounds CSS Colors CSS Color Keywords CSS Gradients CSS Shadows CSS Text Effects CSS Web Fonts CSS 2D Transforms CSS 3D Transforms CSS Transitions CSS Animations CSS Tooltips CSS Style Images CSS Image Reflection CSS object-fit CSS object-position CSS Masking CSS Buttons CSS Pagination CSS Multiple Columns CSS User Interface CSS Variables CSS Box Sizing CSS Media Queries CSS MQ Examples CSS Flexbox

CSS Responsive

RWD Intro RWD Viewport RWD Grid View RWD Media Queries RWD Images RWD Videos RWD Frameworks RWD Templates

CSS Grid

Grid Intro Grid Container Grid Item

CSS SASS

SASS Tutorial

CSS Examples

CSS Templates CSS Examples CSS Editor CSS Snippets CSS Quiz CSS Exercises CSS Website CSS Interview Prep CSS Bootcamp CSS Certificate

CSS References

CSS Reference CSS Selectors CSS Functions CSS Reference Aural CSS Web Safe Fonts CSS Animatable CSS Units CSS PX-EM Converter CSS Colors CSS Color Values CSS Default Values CSS Browser Support

CSS Horizontal Navigation Bar


Horizontal Navigation Bar

There are two ways to create a horizontal navigation bar. Using inline or floating list items.

Inline List Items

One way to build a horizontal navigation bar is to specify the <li> elements as inline, in addition to the "standard" code from the previous page:

Example

li {
  display: inline;
}
Try it Yourself »

Example explained:

  • display: inline; - By default, <li> elements are block elements. Here, we remove the line breaks before and after each list item, to display them on one line

Floating List Items

Another way of creating a horizontal navigation bar is to float the <li> elements, and specify a layout for the navigation links:

Example

li {
  float: left;
}

a {
  display: block;
  padding: 8px;
  background-color: #dddddd;
}
Try it Yourself »

Example explained:

  • float: left; - Use float to get block elements to float next to each other
  • display: block; - Allows us to specify padding (and height, width, margins, etc. if you want)
  • padding: 8px; - Specify some padding between each <a> element, to make them look good
  • background-color: #dddddd; - Add a gray background-color to each <a> element

Tip: Add the background-color to <ul> instead of each <a> element if you want a full-width background color:

Example

ul {
  background-color: #dddddd;
}
Try it Yourself »

Horizontal Navigation Bar Examples

Create a basic horizontal navigation bar with a dark background color and change the background color of the links when the user moves the mouse over them:

Example

ul {
  list-style-type: none;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  overflow: hidden;
  background-color: #333;
}

li {
  float: left;
}

li a {
  display: block;
  color: white;
  text-align: center;
  padding: 14px 16px;
  text-decoration: none;
}

/* Change the link color to #111 (black) on hover */
li a:hover {
  background-color: #111;
}
Try it Yourself »

Active/Current Navigation Link

Add an "active" class to the current link to let the user know which page he/she is on:

Example

.active {
  background-color: #04AA6D;
}
Try it Yourself »

Right-Align Links

Right-align links by floating the list items to the right (float:right;):

Example

<ul>
  <li><a href="#home">Home</a></li>
  <li><a href="#news">News</a></li>
  <li><a href="#contact">Contact</a></li>
  <li style="float:right"><a class="active" href="#about">About</a></li>
</ul>
Try it Yourself »

Border Dividers

Add the border-right property to <li> to create link dividers:

Example

/* Add a gray right border to all list items, except the last item (last-child) */
li {
  border-right: 1px solid #bbb;
}

li:last-child {
  border-right: none;
}
Try it Yourself »

Fixed Navigation Bar

Make the navigation bar stay at the top or the bottom of the page, even when the user scrolls the page:

Fixed Top

ul {
  position: fixed;
  top: 0;
  width: 100%;
}
Try it Yourself »

Fixed Bottom

ul {
  position: fixed;
  bottom: 0;
  width: 100%;
}
Try it Yourself »

Note: Fixed position might not work properly on mobile devices.

Gray Horizontal Navbar

An example of a gray horizontal navigation bar with a thin gray border:

Example

ul {
  border: 1px solid #e7e7e7;
  background-color: #f3f3f3;
}

li a {
  color: #666;
}
Try it Yourself »

Sticky Navbar

Add position: sticky; to <ul> to create a sticky navbar.

A sticky element toggles between relative and fixed, depending on the scroll position. It is positioned relative until a given offset position is met in the viewport - then it "sticks" in place (like position:fixed).

Example

ul {
  position: -webkit-sticky; /* Safari */
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
}
Try it Yourself »

Note: Internet Explorer do not support sticky positioning. Safari requires a -webkit- prefix (see example above). You must also specify at least one of top, right, bottom or left for sticky positioning to work.



More Examples

Responsive Topnav

How to use CSS media queries to create a responsive top navigation.

Try it Yourself »

Responsive Sidenav

How to use CSS media queries to create a responsive side navigation.

Try it Yourself »

Dropdown Navbar

How to add a dropdown menu inside a navigation bar.

Try it Yourself »

Ever heard about W3Schools Spaces? Here you can create your website from scratch or use a template, and host it for free.

Get started for free ❯

* no credit card required


×

Contact Sales

If you want to use W3Schools services as an educational institution, team or enterprise, send us an e-mail:
sales@w3schools.com

Report Error

If you want to report an error, or if you want to make a suggestion, send us an e-mail:
help@w3schools.com

W3Schools is optimized for learning and training. Examples might be simplified to improve reading and learning. Tutorials, references, and examples are constantly reviewed to avoid errors, but we cannot warrant full correctness of all content. While using W3Schools, you agree to have read and accepted our terms of use, cookie and privacy policy.

Copyright 1999-2024 by Refsnes Data. All Rights Reserved. W3Schools is Powered by W3.CSS.