How TO - Clickable Dropdown

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Learn how to create a clickable dropdown menu with CSS and JavaScript.

Dropdown

A dropdown menu is a toggleable menu that allows the user to choose one value from a predefined list:

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Create a Clickable Dropdown

Create a dropdown menu that appears when the user clicks on a button.

Step 1) Add HTML:

Example

<div class="dropdown">
<button onclick="myFunction()" class="dropbtn">Dropdown</button>
<div id="myDropdown" 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

/* Dropdown Button */
.dropbtn {
background-color: #3498DB;
color: white;
padding: 16px;
font-size: 16px;
border: none;
cursor: pointer;
}

/* Dropdown button on hover & focus */
.dropbtn:hover, .dropbtn:focus {
background-color: #2980B9;
}

/* The container <div> - needed to position the dropdown content */
.dropdown {
position: relative;
display: inline-block;
}

/* Dropdown Content (Hidden by Default) */
.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;
}

/* Links inside the dropdown */
.dropdown-content a {
color: black;
padding: 12px 16px;
text-decoration: none;
display: block;
}

/* Change color of dropdown links on hover */
.dropdown-content a:hover {background-color: #ddd;}

/* Show the dropdown menu (use JS to add this class to the .dropdown-content container when the user clicks on the dropdown button) */
.show {display:block;}

Example Explained

We have styled the dropdown button with a background-color, padding, hover effect, 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.

Step 3) Add JavaScript:

Example

/* When the user clicks on the button,
toggle between hiding and showing the dropdown content */
function myFunction() {
  document.getElementById("myDropdown").classList.toggle("show");
}

// Close the dropdown menu if the user clicks outside of it
window.onclick = function(event) {
if (!event.target.matches('.dropbtn')) {
    var dropdowns = document.getElementsByClassName("dropdown-content");
    var i;
    for (i = 0; i < dropdowns.length; i++) {
      var openDropdown = dropdowns[i];
      if (openDropdown.classList.contains('show')) {
        openDropdown.classList.remove('show');
      }
    }
}
}

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