3 Steps Simple Responsive Hamburger Menu In Pure CSS

Welcome to a tutorial on how to create a simple responsive pure CSS Hamburger Menu. Yep, there are plenty of other hamburger menus on the Internet, but some of them still require the use of Javascript. So here it is, a menu that is purely CSS-driven, not a single line of Javascript. Read on to find out how to build one!

ⓘ I have included a zip file with all the source code at the start of this tutorial, so you don’t have to copy-paste everything… Or if you just want to dive straight in.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Download & Demo	How to Build	Useful Bits
Tutorial Video	The End

 

 

 

QUICK NOTES

If you spot a bug, feel free to comment below. I try to answer short questions too, but it is one person versus the entire world… If you need answers urgently, please check out my list of websites to get help with programming.

 

EXAMPLE CODE DOWNLOAD

Click here to download the source code, I have released it under the MIT license, so feel free to build on top of it or use it in your own project.

 

HAMBURGER MENU DEMO

Go ahead. Resize the window and see the hamburger menu in action.

 

 

 

STEP 1) THE HTML

<!-- (A) MENU WRAPPER -->
<nav id="hamnav">
  <!-- (B) THE HAMBURGER -->
  <label for="hamburger">&#9776;</label>
  <input type="checkbox" id="hamburger"/>
 
  <!-- (C) MENU ITEMS -->
  <div id="hamitems">
    <a href="a.html">First</a>
    <a href="b.html">Second</a>
    <a href="c.html">Third</a>
    <a href="d.html">Forth</a>
  </div>
</nav>

The HTML part should be pretty straightforward:

1. First, we create the wrapper for the navigation menu <nav id="hamnav">.
2. Followed by using a <label for="hamburger"> and <input type="checkbox" id="hamburger"/> as the hamburger button. For people who are new, that ☰ is the HTML symbol for the “3 lines hamburger icon”.
3. Finally, we sandwich the menu items <a> inside the  <div id="hamitems"> wrapper.

That’s all, zero Javascript involved.

 

 

STEP 2) CSS FOR BIG SCREENS

/* [ON BIG SCREEN] */
/* (A) WRAPPER */
#hamnav {
  width: 100%;
  background: #000;
}

/* (B) HORIZONTAL MENU ITEMS */
#hamitems { display: flex; }
#hamitems a {
  flex-grow: 1;
  flex-basis: 0;
  padding: 10px;
  color: white;
  text-decoration: none;
  text-align: center;
}
#hamitems a:hover { background: #af0d0d; }

/* (C) HIDE HAMBURGER */
#hamnav label, #hamburger { display: none; }

The CSS is where all the magic happens. This may seem to be a little complicated, but let’s take it step-by-step. Starting with how to display a “normal menu bar” on the big screens:

1. Self-explanatory, a full-width navigation menu.
2. Next, we set #hamitems to display: flex. Adding flex-grow: 1 and flex-basis: 0 to the menu items will automatically space them out equally.
3. Since we do not need the hamburger icon on the big screen, we hide it by attaching display: none to #hamnav label and #hamburger.

This is actually all the important mechanics on the big screen, and we now have a working horizontal navigation bar.

 

 

STEP 3) RESPONSIVE CSS FOR SMALL SCREENS

/* [ON SMALL SCREENS] */
@media screen and (max-width: 768px){
  /* (A) BREAK INTO VERTICAL MENU */
  #hamitems a {
    box-sizing: border-box;
    display: block;
    width: 100%;
    border-top: 1px solid #333;
  }
 
  /* (B) SHOW HAMBURGER ICON */
  #hamnav label { 
    display: inline-block; 
    color: white;
    background: #a02620;
    font-style: normal;
    font-size: 1.2em;
    padding: 10px;
  }

  /* (C) TOGGLE SHOW/HIDE MENU */
  #hamitems { display: none; }
  #hamnav input:checked ~ #hamitems { display: block; }
}

Lastly, we add some style changes on the small screen to do the responsive magic:

1. Transform the horizontal menu into a vertical one by adding #hamitems a { width: 100% }
2. Show the hamburger icon with #hamnav label { display: inline-block }.
   • Take extra note – We are showing the hamburger label only, the checkbox remains hidden.
   • The checkbox will still work when the user clicks on the label.
3. A little confusing, but this is where the magic happens.
   • By default, #hamitems { display: none; } will hide the menu items.
   • #hamnav input:checked ~ #hamitems { display: block; } in simple English – Show the menu items when the hidden checkbox is checked.

 

 

 

STICKY MENU BAR

Want the menu bar to be permanently fixed on top of the screen as the user scrolls down on your website? Simply add a position: sticky to the navigation bar, and that should do the magic.

#hamnav {
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
}

But this will probably cause more problems on a small screen, so use it wisely.

 

BIGGER HAMBURGER?

The hamburger icon is an HTML symbol. Yes, changing the size is as easy as setting label[for="hamburger"] { font-size: XX em }.

 

I WANT DROPDOWN ITEMS!

That won’t be “simple” anymore, but feel free to challenge yourself…

• Dropdown Menu With Pure CSS – Code Boxx
• Multi-Level Dropdown? That’s more like a Tree Menu – Code Boxx

 

COMPATIBILITY CHECKS

• CSS Flexbox – CanIUse
• CSS Sibling Selector – CanIUse

This hamburger menu works nice across all modern browsers.

 

TUTORIAL VIDEO

 

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