Navigation

The navigation module seeks to remedy the problems of vertical and horizontal navigation design paradigms, by combining the two for a better presentational effect. HTML5 navigational elements are at the heart of the module, allowing you to quickly build your navigation without complicated structures and hacks.

All examples showcased refer to the mini-default flavor, some class names and styles might differ based on the flavor you're using.

Quick overview

Menus and navigation are some of the most important elements for any website or web app and their design and ease-of-use are key factors that can determine a page's bounce rates. The navigation module takes a step back from the complicated menu and navigation design paradigms of the modern web, using HTML5 elements (i.e. header, nav and footer) for basic navigation, while providing fully accessibility for screen readers. Apart from the simple horizontal navigation (headers) and vertical menus (sidebars), we opted to add a responsive slide-in drawer menu that works well with any page layout. Finally, footers are also part of the navigation module, as they can often provide the user with useful information and/or links that are very important to enhancing their experience.

Quick start

To use the navigation module, simply include the link to the flavor you are using and start writing your HTML page as usual. One suggestion we will make is to add the following line inside your HTML page's <head> to utilize the viewport meta tag:

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

Header

Logo News |

The <header> HTML element is used for a page's top horizontal navigation menu. It can contain a unique .logo element as its first child (this structure is not mandatory, but still recommended as a best practice), which can be either text (with or without a link) or an image. The rest of the elements inside the <header> must be button elements (i.e. <button>, <input type="button">, role="button" or .button) in order to be styled properly. Textual separators between those can be added using <span> elements.

Sample code

<header>
  <a href="#" class="logo">Logo</a>
  <button>Home</button>
  <a href="#" class="button">News</a>
  <span>|</span>
  <button>About</button>
  <a href="#" role="button">Contact</a>
</header>

Notes

The <header> element is partially responsive on smaller screen devices. More specifically, when the content inside it exceeds the width of the viewport (ie. overflows to the right), users will be able to scroll horizontally in order to see the rest of the menu.
The <header> element does not display as fixed by default. You can, however, alter this CSS property manually, if you so desire.

<header>
  <a href="#" class="logo">Logo</a>
  <button>Action 1</button>
  <a href="#" class="button">Action 2</a>
  <label class="button">Action 3</label>
</header>

Do: You can mix different elements styled like buttons inside a <header> element. In fact, we strongly recommend doing so, if you need to.

<header>
  <a href="#" class="button logo">Logo</a>
</header>
<!-- or -->
<header>
  <a href="#" class="logo">Logo</a>
  <a href="#">Link</a>
</header>

Don't: The .logo element should not be a <button> element, have the .button class or the role="button" attribute. On the other hand, links and labels in the <header> should not be without a .button class or a role="button" attribute. Ignoring this rule might cause unexpected behavior.

Navigation bar

To add vertical navigation to your websites, use the <nav> HTML element. Adding links is pretty simple, just use <a> elements, no lists or anything else required. In order to add subcategories to your vertical navigation, use any normal textual element as the title of the subcategory and follow it with its links as normal, adding the .sublink-1 class to them. Similarly, you can create a subcategory with a depth of 2, using a similar structure and the .sublink-2 class.

Sample code

<nav>
  <a href="#">Home</a>
  <span>News</span>
  <a href="#" class="sublink-1">New Courses</a>
  <a href="#" class="sublink-1">Certifications</a>
  <span class="sublink-1">Events</span>
  <a href="#" class="sublink-2">Course Showcase - 12th, Dec</a>
  <a href="#" class="sublink-2">Staff AMA - 16th, Dec</a>
  <a href="#" class="sublink-1">Policy Update</a>
  <a href="#">About</a>
  <a href="#">Contact</a>
</nav>

Notes

Subcategories and their links support a depth of 2 by default. If, however, you need more than that, we recommend you check the customization page for instructions on how to add more depth to the vertical navigation.
We strongly suggest you do not add irrelevant things inside your <nav> element, like images or text that are not part of the navigation menu.

<div class="col-sm-12 col-sm-last col-md-3 col-md-first">
  <nav>
    <!-- navigation content -->
  </nav>
</div>

Do: We strongly recommend using the <nav> element in combination with the grid module to make your layouts more responsive. For example, you could make your sidebar appear on the left side of your content in medium-sized and larger screens, but move to the very bottom of your content on smaller screens.

Drawer

The drawer component is used to create responsive and collapsible navigation menus. To create the drawer system, follow the steps presented below:

Inside your <header> element, add a <label> element with the .drawer-toggle class (remember to add the .button class to apply the necessary styles).
Create an <input type="checkbox"> element. Give it an id to be able to link it to the necessary interactive elements.
Immediately after the previous <input type="checkbox">, create a <div> element with the .drawer class. This is where you will put your menu's contents.
Add an empty <label> element inside your .drawer, adding the .close class to it.
Finally, link the .drawer-toggle and .close elements to the id of your <input type="checkbox">.

Drawers are responsive and will expand into normal containers on larger screens. If you want to avoid this, add the .persistent class to both your .drawer-toggle and .drawer elements. You can also change the position of the drawer from the left side of the screen to the right by applying the .right class to your .drawer element.

Sample code

<header>
  <label for="drawer-checkbox" class="button drawer-toggle"></label>
</header>

<input type="checkbox" id="drawer-checkbox">
<div class="drawer">
  <label for="drawer-checkbox" class="close"></label>
  <a href="#">Home</a>
</div>

Notes

The .drawer component can be easily and effectively combined with the grid module's system and classes to create fully responsive navigation menus.
It's best to use the .drawer component in combination with a <header> element that has the .sticky class (check the last section of this page).

<nav class="drawer">
  <label for="drawer-checkbox" class="close"></label>
  <a href="#">Home</a>
</nav>

Do: You can apply the .drawer class to a <nav> element, effectively making your page's navigation menu collapse on smaller screen sizes.

<input type="checkbox" id="drawer-checkbox">
<!-- Other stuff here -->
<div class="drawer">
  <h3>Bad drawer</h3>
</div>

Don't: The syntax and structure of the drawer container is very strict. Try to follow it exactly as described in this section.

Footer

The <footer> element is used to create your page's footer. As normal, add the <footer> at or near the end of your <body> element and add content to it like you would otherwise.

Sample code

<footer>
  <p>&copy; 2001-2016 Web Corporation | <a href="#">About</a> | <a href="#">Terms of use</a></p>
</footer>

Sticky headers and footers

You can create sticky headers and footers, using the .sticky class on either of these elements.

Sample code

<header class="sticky">
  <a href="#" class="logo">Logo</a> <button>Home</button> <button>About</button>
</header>

<footer class="sticky">
  <p>&copy; 2001-2016 Web Corporation | <a href="#">About</a> | <a href="#">Terms of use</a></p>
</footer>

Notes

Sticky headers and footers are compatible with modern browsers, but might not display properly in older browsers. Support is being added over time, so be sure to check out if your target platforms support position:sticky.

If you want to learn more about mini.css's modules, go back to the modules page and choose another module to see its documentation.