Bootstrap Navigation Bar
Navigation Bars
A navigation bar is a navigation header that is placed at the top of the page:
With Bootstrap, a navigation bar can extend or collapse, depending on the screen size.
A standard navigation bar is created with <nav class="navbar navbar-default">.
The following example shows how to add a navigation bar to the top of the page:
Example
<body>
<nav class="navbar navbar-default">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">WebSiteName</a>
</div>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav">
<li class="active"><a href="#">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 3</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
...
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All of the examples on this page will show a navigation bar that takes up too much space on small screens (however, the navigation bar will be on one single line on large screens - because Bootstrap is responsive). This problem (with the small screens) will be solved in the last example on this page! |
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Inverted Navigation Bar
If you don't like the style of the default navigation bar, Bootstrap provides an alternative, black navbar:
Just change the .navbar-default class into .navbar-inverse:
Example
<nav class="navbar navbar-inverse">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">WebSiteName</a>
</div>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav">
<li class="active"><a href="#">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 3</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
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Fixed Navigation Bar
The navigation bar can also be fixed at the top or at the bottom of the page.
A fixed navigation bar stays visible in a fixed position (top or bottom) independent of the page scroll.
The .navbar-fixed-top class makes the navigation bar fixed at
the top:
Example
<nav class="navbar navbar-inverse
navbar-fixed-top">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">WebSiteName</a>
</div>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav">
<li class="active"><a href="#">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 3</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
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The .navbar-fixed-bottom class makes the navigation bar stay at
the bottom:
Example
<nav class="navbar navbar-inverse
navbar-fixed-bottom">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">WebSiteName</a>
</div>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav">
<li class="active"><a href="#">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 3</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
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Navigation Bar With Dropdown
Navigation bars can also hold dropdown menus.
The following example adds a dropdown menu for the "Page 1" button:
Example
<nav class="navbar navbar-inverse">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">WebSiteName</a>
</div>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav">
<li class="active"><a href="#">Home</a></li>
<li
class="dropdown">
<a
class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" href="#">Page
1
<span class="caret"></span></a>
<ul
class="dropdown-menu">
<li><a href="#">Page
1-1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page
1-2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page
1-3</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 3</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
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Right-Aligned Navigation Bar
The .navbar-right class is used to right-align navigation bar buttons.
In the following example we insert a "Sign Up" button and a "Login" button to the right in the navigation bar. We also add a glyphicon on each of the two new buttons:
Example
<nav class="navbar navbar-inverse">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">WebSiteName</a>
</div>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav">
<li class="active"><a href="#">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 3</a></li>
</ul>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav
navbar-right">
<li><a href="#"><span
class="glyphicon glyphicon-user"></span> Sign Up</a></li>
<li><a href="#"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-log-in"></span>
Login</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
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Collapsing The Navigation Bar
The navigation bar takes up too much space on a small screen.
We should hide the navigation bar; and only show it when it is needed.
In the following example the navigation bar is replaced by a button in the top right corner. Only when the button is clicked, the navigation bar will be displayed:
Example
<nav class="navbar navbar-inverse">
<div class="container-fluid">
<div class="navbar-header">
<button type="button" class="navbar-toggle" data-toggle="collapse"
data-target="#myNavbar">
<span
class="icon-bar"></span>
<span
class="icon-bar"></span>
<span
class="icon-bar"></span>
</button>
<a class="navbar-brand" href="#">WebSiteName</a>
</div>
<div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="myNavbar">
<ul class="nav navbar-nav">
<li class="active"><a href="#">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 3</a></li>
</ul>
<ul class="nav navbar-nav
navbar-right">
<li><a href="#"><span
class="glyphicon glyphicon-user"></span> Sign Up</a></li>
<li><a href="#"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-log-in"></span>
Login</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</nav>
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Test Yourself with Exercises!
Exercise 1 » Exercise 2 » Exercise 3 » Exercise 4 »