CSS Dropdowns

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Basic Dropdown

Creates a dropdown box that displays, when the user moves the mouse over an element.

HTML

				
					<div class="dropdown">
  <span></span>over me!
  <div class="dropdown-content">
  <p>Hello!</p>
  </div>
</div>

CSS

				
					.dropdown {
  position: relative;
  display: inline-block;
}

.dropdown-content {
  display: none;
  position: absolute;
  background-color: #f9f9f9;
  min-width: 160px;
  box-shadow: 0px 8px 16px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);
  padding: 12px 16px;
  z-index: 1;
}

.dropdown:hover .dropdown-content {
  display: block;
}

Output

Example explained:

Using a container element (like <div>) to create the dropdown content and add anything desired inside of it.

Wrapping an <div> element around the elements so that the dropdown is positioned correctly with CSS.

The .dropdown class uses position: relative, which places the dropdown content right below the dropdown button (using position: absolute).

The .dropdown-content class consists of the actual dropdown content. By default, it is hidden and is displayed on hover. The min-width is set to 160px.

Instead of using a border, the CSS box-shadow property is used makes the dropdown menu look like a “card”.

The : hover selector shows the dropdown menu, when the user moves the mouse over the dropdown button.

Dropdown Menu

Create a dropdown menu that enables the user to select an option from a list:

HTML

				
					<h2>Dropdown Menu</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>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> We use href="#" for test links. In a real web site this would be URLs.</p>

CSS

				
					.dropbtn {
  background-color: #03989E;
  color: white;
  padding: 16px;
  font-size: 16px;
  border: none;
  cursor: pointer;
}

.dropdown {
  position: relative;
  display: inline-block;
}

.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 {
  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: #000;
}

Output