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I haven't done a lot of work with multi-level, pure CSS drop-down menus before, but I'm now looking for the cleanest possible method that is out there. When I've searched for this online I've found a lot of solutions that were 4-5 years old and I'm not sure whether there are better ways to achieve this than to do something like this.

Michael Irigoyen
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DH-Designs
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5 Answers5

79

.third-level-menu
{
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;
    right: -150px;
    width: 150px;
    list-style: none;
    padding: 0;
    margin: 0;
    display: none;
}

.third-level-menu > li
{
    height: 30px;
    background: #999999;
}
.third-level-menu > li:hover { background: #CCCCCC; }

.second-level-menu
{
    position: absolute;
    top: 30px;
    left: 0;
    width: 150px;
    list-style: none;
    padding: 0;
    margin: 0;
    display: none;
}

.second-level-menu > li
{
    position: relative;
    height: 30px;
    background: #999999;
}
.second-level-menu > li:hover { background: #CCCCCC; }

.top-level-menu
{
    list-style: none;
    padding: 0;
    margin: 0;
}

.top-level-menu > li
{
    position: relative;
    float: left;
    height: 30px;
    width: 150px;
    background: #999999;
}
.top-level-menu > li:hover { background: #CCCCCC; }

.top-level-menu li:hover > ul
{
    /* On hover, display the next level's menu */
    display: inline;
}


/* Menu Link Styles */

.top-level-menu a /* Apply to all links inside the multi-level menu */
{
    font: bold 14px Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
    color: #FFFFFF;
    text-decoration: none;
    padding: 0 0 0 10px;

    /* Make the link cover the entire list item-container */
    display: block;
    line-height: 30px;
}
.top-level-menu a:hover { color: #000000; }
<ul class="top-level-menu">
    <li><a href="#">About</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">Services</a></li>
    <li>
        <a href="#">Offices</a>
        <ul class="second-level-menu">
            <li><a href="#">Chicago</a></li>
            <li><a href="#">Los Angeles</a></li>
            <li>
                <a href="#">New York</a>
                <ul class="third-level-menu">
                    <li><a href="#">Information</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#">Book a Meeting</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#">Testimonials</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#">Jobs</a></li>
                </ul>
            </li>
            <li><a href="#">Seattle</a></li>
        </ul>
    </li>
    <li><a href="#">Contact</a></li>
</ul>


I have also put together a live demo that's available to play with HERE

Nitin Bisht
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Tom
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    Please add your code also to your Stackoverflow answer, for future reference. Imagine the jsfiddle is unreachable for any reason, at least your answer is still available. – Bazzz Feb 01 '12 at 18:30
  • what if I wanted a third-level menu? – Jürgen Paul Feb 11 '13 at 22:20
  • @Hermione - As in third-level items, or a third-level menu which in turn will display fourth-level items on hover? – Tom Feb 11 '13 at 22:32
  • @Tom yep. Or maybe it won't.Can it be with or without children? – Jürgen Paul Feb 11 '13 at 23:21
  • +1 but 1 question.. Can I somehow set some delay before drop down menu pops out (hides)..? Like I can do this in `dynamic drive css3 menu` but its a JavaScript solution which I do not want – shashwat Oct 15 '13 at 04:28
  • @harsh Not sure you can do that without JS... The CSS transitions doesn't seem to affect hidden elements, and unless you hide the sub-menus you'll get unwanted behaviour (like, if you'd use transitions along with opacity to hide/show the sub-menus you'll be able to hover over the sub-menus without having to go through the upper-level menus) – Tom Oct 18 '13 at 23:28
  • I'm faced with a situation where menus are 4 levels deep, with 9 top level categories. How do you handle that? – Sherwood Botsford Mar 19 '16 at 14:11
  • @SherwoodBotsford Well, I would probably display them just like the third-level, i.e. to the right of the last active menu item. You could do this by copying the CSS rules for the third-level menu and doing minor adjustments. The entire hierarchy could be written in prettier code, without the need to duplicate the code for each level, but I don't have time to fix this right now. Will update the answer as soon as I have time too! – Tom May 12 '16 at 20:56
  • @Tom is it possible to right arrow in pure css if `li` has children of `ul.children`? If yes please, please answer. – dipak dutta Dec 29 '17 at 16:18
  • @dipakdutta Unfortunately not. There is a `:has` pseudo-class that could be used, but it's sadly not supported by any browsers at this time. – Tom Dec 29 '17 at 17:18
  • @Tom Now Plz advise how will I add right arrow for where li has ul. Plz check my question I have posted now https://stackoverflow.com/questions/48026017/css-ckeck-and-add-right-arrow-where-li-has-ul – dipak dutta Dec 29 '17 at 17:23
4
<div class="example" align="center">
    <div class="menuholder">
        <ul class="menu slide">
            <li><a href="index.php?id=1" class="blue">Home</a></li>
        <li><a href="index.php?id=14" class="blue">About Us</a></li>
            <li><a href="index.php?id=4" class="blue">Mens</a>
                <div class="subs">
                    <dl>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=15">Coats & Jackets</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=22">Chinos</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=23">Jeans</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=24">Jumpers & Cardigans</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=25">Linen</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=26">Polo Shirts</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=16">Shirts Casual</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=27">Shirts Formal</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=28">Shorts</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=18">Sportswear</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=19">Tops & T-Shirts</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=20">Trousers Casual</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=29">Trousers Formal</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=30">Nightwear</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=17">Socks</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=21">Underwear</a></dd>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=31">Swimwear</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                </div>
            </li>
            <!--menu-->
                        <li><a href="index.php?id=5" class="blue">Ladie's</a>
                <div class="subs">
                    <dl>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=32">Coats & Jackets</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=33">Dresses</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=34">Jeans</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=35">Jumpers & Cardigans</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=36">Jumpsuits</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=37">Leggings & Jeggings</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=38">Linen</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=39">Lingerie & Underwear</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=40">Maternity Wear</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=41">Nightwear</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                     <dd><a href="index.php?id=42">Shorts</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=43">Skirts</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=44">Sportswear</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=45">Suits & Tailoring</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=46">Swimwear & Beachwear</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=47">Thermals</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=48">Tops & T-Shirts</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=49">Trousers & Chinos</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=50">Socks</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                </div>
            </li><!--menu end-->
                        <!--menu-->
                        <li><a href="index.php?id=7" class="blue">Girls</a>
                <div class="subs">
                    <dl>
                            <dd><a href="index.php?id=51">Coats & Jackets</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=52">Dresses</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=53">Jeans</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=54">Joggers & Sweatshirts</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=55">Jumpers & Cardigans</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                                <dd><a href="index.php?id=56">Jumpsuits & Playsuits</a></dd>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=57">Leggings</a></dd>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=58">Nightwear</a></dd>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=59">Shorts</a></dd>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=60">Skirts</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=61">Swimwear</a></dd>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=62">Tops & T-Shirts</a></dd>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=63">Trousers & Jeans</a></dd>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=64">Socks</a></dd>
                              <dd><a href="index.php?id=65">Underwear</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>

                    </dl>
                </div>
            </li><!--menu end-->
                            <!--menu-->
                        <li><a href="index.php?id=8" class="blue">Boys</a>
                <div class="subs">
                    <dl>
                        <dd><a href="index.php?id=66">Coats & Jackets</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=67">Jeans</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=68">Joggers & Sweatshirts</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=69">Jumpers & Cardigans</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=70">Nightwear</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                            <dd><a href="index.php?id=71">Shirts</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=72">Shorts</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=73">Sportswear</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=74">Swimwear</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=75">T-Shirts & Polo Shirts</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=76">Trousers & Jeans</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=77">Socks</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=78">Underwear</a></dd>
                    </dl>
                    <dl>

                    </dl>
                </div>
            </li><!--menu end-->
            <!--menu-->
             <li><a href="index.php?id=9" class="blue">Toddlers</a>
                <div class="subs">
                    <dl>
                      <dd><a href="index.php?id=79">Newborn</a></dd>
                      <dd><a href="index.php?id=80">0-2 Years</a></dd>
                    </dl>                 
                </div>
            </li><!--menu end-->
            <!--menu-->
             <li><a href="index.php?id=10" class="blue">Accessories</a>
                <div class="subs">
                    <dl>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=81">Shoes</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=82">Ties</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=83">Caps</a></dd>
                          <dd><a href="index.php?id=84">Belts</a></dd>
                    </dl>                 
                </div>
            </li><!--menu end-->
            <li><a href="index.php?id=13" class="blue">Contact Us</a></li>
        </ul>
        <div class="back"></div>
        <div class="shadow"></div>
    </div>
    <div style="clear:both"></div>
</div>

CSS 3 Coding- Copy and Paste

<style>

body{margin:0px;}
.example {
    width:980px;
    height:40px;
    margin:0px auto;
 position:absolute;
 margin-bottom:60px;
 top:95px;
}

.menuholder {
    float:left;
    font:normal bold 11px/35px verdana, sans-serif;
    overflow:hidden;
    position:relative;
}
.menuholder .shadow {
    -moz-box-shadow:0 0 20px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);
    -o-box-shadow:0 0 20px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);
    -webkit-box-shadow:0 0 20px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);
    background:#888;
    box-shadow:0 0 20px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);
    height:10px;
    left:5%;
    position:absolute;
    top:-9px;
    width:100%;
    z-index:100;
}
.menuholder .back {
    -moz-transition-duration:.4s;
    -o-transition-duration:.4s;
    -webkit-transition-duration:.4s;
    background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.88);
    height:0;
    width:980px; /*100%*/
}
.menuholder:hover div.back {
    height:280px;
}
ul.menu {
    display:block;
    float:left;
    list-style:none;
    margin:0;
    padding:0 125px;
    position:relative;
}
ul.menu li {
    float:left;
    margin:0 10px 0 0;
}
ul.menu li > a {
    -moz-border-radius:0 0 10px 10px;
    -moz-box-shadow:2px 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);
    -moz-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;
    -o-border-radius:0 0 10px 10px;
    -o-box-shadow:2px 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);
    -o-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;
    -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius:10px;
    -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius:10px;
    -webkit-box-shadow:2px 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);
    -webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;
    border-radius:0 0 10px 10px;
    box-shadow:2px 2px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);
    color:#eee;
    display:block;
    padding:0 10px;
    text-decoration:none;
    transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;
}
ul.menu li a.red {
    background:#a00;
}
ul.menu li a.orange {
    background:#da0;
}
ul.menu li a.yellow {
    background:#aa0;
}
ul.menu li a.green {
    background:#060;
}
ul.menu li a.blue {
    background:#073263;
}
ul.menu li a.violet {
    background:#682bc2;
}
.menu li div.subs {
    left:0;
    overflow:hidden;
    position:absolute;
    top:35px;
    width:0;
}
.menu li div.subs dl {
    -moz-transition-duration:.2s;
    -o-transition-duration:.2s;
    -webkit-transition-duration:.2s;
    float:left;
    margin:0 130px 0 0;
    overflow:hidden;
    padding:40px 0 5% 2%;
    width:0;
}
.menu dt {
    color:#fc0;
    font-family:arial, sans-serif;
    font-size:12px;
    font-weight:700;
    height:20px;
    line-height:20px;
    margin:0;
    padding:0 0 0 10px;
    white-space:nowrap;
}
.menu dd {
    margin:0;
    padding:0;
    text-align:left;
}
.menu dd a {
    background:transparent;
    color:#fff;
    font-size:12px;
    height:20px;
    line-height:20px;
    padding:0 0 0 10px;
    text-align:left;
    white-space:nowrap;
    width:80px;
}
.menu dd a:hover {
    color:#fc0;
}
.menu li:hover div.subs dl {
    -moz-transition-delay:0.2s;
    -o-transition-delay:0.2s;
    -webkit-transition-delay:0.2s;
    margin-right:2%;
    width:21%;
}
ul.menu li:hover > a,ul.menu li > a:hover {
    background:#aaa;
    color:#fff;
    padding:10px 10px 0;
}
ul.menu li a.red:hover,ul.menu li:hover a.red {
    background:#c00;
}
ul.menu li a.orange:hover,ul.menu li:hover a.orange {
    background:#fc0;
}
ul.menu li a.yellow:hover,ul.menu li:hover a.yellow {
    background:#cc0;
}
ul.menu li a.green:hover,ul.menu li:hover a.green {
    background:#080;
}
ul.menu li a.blue:hover,ul.menu li:hover a.blue {
    background:#00c;
}
ul.menu li a.violet:hover,ul.menu li:hover a.violet {
background:#8a2be2;
}
.menu li:hover div.subs,.menu li a:hover div.subs {
    width:100%;
}

akjoshi
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Thilanka De Silva
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    Welcome to So, it will be better if you can add some details about the code, how it solves the problem, from where you got it etc. – akjoshi Dec 14 '12 at 06:25
2

For a menu which responds to click events as opposed to just hover, and acts in a similar way to a select control...

Pure CSS Select Menu

HTML

<ul tabindex='0'>
    <li>
        <input id='item1' type='radio' name='item' checked='true' />
        <label for='item1'>Item 1</label>
    </li>
    <li>
        <input id='item2' type='radio' name='item' />
        <label for='item2'>Item 2</label>
    </li>
    <li>
        <input id='item3' type='radio' name='item' />
        <label for='item3'>Item 3</label>
    </li>
</ul>

CSS

ul, li {
    list-style:none;
    margin:0;
    padding:0;
}
li input {
    display:none;
}
ul:not(:focus) input:not(:checked), ul:not(:focus) input:not(:checked) + label {
    display:none;
}
input:checked+label {
    color:red;
}
SW4
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1

I needed a multilevel dropdown menu in css. I couldn't find an error-free menu that I searched. Then I created a menu instance using the Css hover transition effect.I hope it will be useful for users.

enter image description here Css codes:

#AnaMenu {
width: 920px;            /* Menu width */
height: 30px;           /* Menu height */
position: relative;
background: #0080ff;
margin:0 0 0 -30px;
padding: 10px 0 0 15px;
border: 0;              
}
#nav { display:block;background:transparent;
margin:0;padding: 0;border: 0 }
#nav ul { float: none; display:block;
height:35px; 
margin:16px 0 0 0;border:0;
padding: 15px 0 3px 0; 
overflow: visible;
 }
#nav ul li{border:0;}
#nav li a, #nav li a:link, #nav li a:visited {height:23px;
-webkit-transition: background-color 1s ease-out;
-moz-transition: background-color 1s ease-out;
-o-transition: background-color 1s ease-out;
transition: background-color 1s ease-out;
color: #fff;                               /* Change colour of link */
display: block;border:0;border-right:1px solid #efefef;text-decoration:none;
margin: 0;letter-spacing:0.6px;
padding: 2px 10px 2px 10px;             
}
#nav li a:hover, #nav li a:active {
color: #fff;  
margin: 0;background:#6ab5ff;border:0;
padding: 2px 10px 2px 10px;      
}
#nav li li a, #nav li li a:link, #nav li li a:visited {
background: #fafafa;      
width: 200px;
color: #05429b;           /* Link text color */
float: none;
margin: 0;border-bottom:1px solid #9be6e9;
padding: 8px 15px;        
}
#nav li li a:hover, #nav li li a:active {
background: #2793ff;        /* Mouse hover color */
color: #fff;               
padding: 8px 15px;border:0 ;text-decoration:none}
#nav li {float: none; display: inline-block;margin: 0; padding: 0; border: 0 }
#nav li ul { z-index: 9999; position: absolute; left: -999em; height: auto; width: 200px; margin: 0; padding: 0;background:transparent}
#nav li ul a { width: 170px;border:0;text-decoration:none;font-size:14px } 
#nav li ul ul { margin: -40px 0 0 230px }
#nav li:hover ul ul, #nav li:hover ul ul ul, #nav li.sfhover ul ul, #nav li.sfhover ul ul ul {left: -999em; } 
#nav li:hover ul, #nav li li:hover ul, #nav li li li:hover ul, #nav li.sfhover ul, #nav li li.sfhover ul, #nav li li li.sfhover ul { left: auto; } 
#nav li:hover, #nav li.sfhover {position: static;}

Multilevel dropdown menu can be used in Blogger blogs. Details at : Css multilevel dropdown menu

kadrleyn
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1

Here are a couple good sites to check out for that,

http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2011/10/css-menu-and-navigation.html (Lots of examples)

http://webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/css3-dropdown-menu (1 example more tutorial like)

Hope this is helpful information!

Michael Stramel
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