CSS Dropdowns | CSS for Beginners - Class 6 PDF Download

Basic Dropdown

<style>

.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;

}

</style>

<div class="dropdown">

  <span>Mouse over me</span>

  <div class="dropdown-content">

    <p>Hello World!</p>

  </div>

</div>

Example Explained
(HTML) Use any element to open the dropdown content, e.g. a <span>, or a <button> element.
Use a container element (like <div>) to create the dropdown content and add whatever you want inside of it.
Wrap a <div> element around the elements to position the dropdown content correctly with CSS.
(CSS) 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 content. 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 CSS box-shadow property to make the dropdown menu look like a "card".
The :hover selector is used to show the dropdown menu when the user moves the mouse over the dropdown button.

Dropdown Menu

<style>

/* Style The Dropdown Button */

.dropbtn {

  background-color: #4CAF50;

  color: white;

  padding: 16px;

  font-size: 16px;

  border: none;

  cursor: pointer;

}

/* 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: #f9f9f9;

  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: #f1f1f1}

/* Show the dropdown menu on hover */

.dropdown:hover .dropdown-content {

  display: block;

}

/* Change the background color of the dropdown button when the dropdown content is shown */

.dropdown:hover .dropbtn {

  background-color: #3e8e41;

}

</style>

<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>

Right-aligned Dropdown Content

If you want the dropdown menu to go from right to left, instead of left to right, add right: 0;
Example

.dropdown-content {

  right: 0;

}

More Examples

Dropdown Navbar

How to add a dropdown menu inside a navigation bar.

Dropdown Menu inside a Navigation Bar
Hover over the "Dropdown" link to see the dropdown menu.