Amazing Dropdown Boxes Drives Visitors..

Studies show that top navigations tend to get the most visual attention when a user first visits a site. Having organized and intuitive navigation is key — and while most drop down menus may look aesthetically pleasing, developing them to degrade gracefully is also essential. In this tutorial I would like to go over how to create a sexy drop down menu that can also degrade gracefully.

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View Demo of Sexy Drop Down Menu

Step1. HTML

First create an unordered list for your base top navigation. Then simply nest another unordered list for your sub navigation.

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1. <ul class="topnav">  
2.     <li><a href="#">Home</a></li>  
3.     <li>  
4.         <a href="#">Tutorials</a>  
5.         <ul class="subnav">  
6.             <li><a href="#">Sub Nav Link</a></li>  
7.             <li><a href="#">Sub Nav Link</a></li>  
8.         </ul>  
9.     </li>  
10.     <li>  
11.         <a href="#">Resources</a>  
12.         <ul class="subnav">  
13.             <li><a href="#">Sub Nav Link</a></li>  
14.             <li><a href="#">Sub Nav Link</a></li>  
15.         </ul>  
16.     </li>  
17.     <li><a href="#">About Us</a></li>  
18.     <li><a href="#">Advertise</a></li>  
19.     <li><a href="#">Submit</a></li>  
20.     <li><a href="#">Contact Us</a></li>  
21. </ul>  

<ul class="topnav">
    <li><a href="#">Home</a></li>
    <li>
        <a href="#">Tutorials</a>
        <ul class="subnav">
            <li><a href="#">Sub Nav Link</a></li>
            <li><a href="#">Sub Nav Link</a></li>
        </ul>
    </li>
    <li>
        <a href="#">Resources</a>
        <ul class="subnav">
            <li><a href="#">Sub Nav Link</a></li>
            <li><a href="#">Sub Nav Link</a></li>
        </ul>
    </li>
    <li><a href="#">About Us</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">Advertise</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">Submit</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">Contact Us</a></li>
</ul>

Step2. CSS

Next, it’s time to style the navigation wireframe with CSS.

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1. ul.topnav {  
2.     list-style: none;  
3.     padding: 0 20px;  
4.     margin: 0;  
5.     float: left;  
6.     width: 920px;  
7.     background: #222;  
8.     font-size: 1.2em;  
9.     background: url(topnav_bg.gif) repeat-x;  
10. }  
11. ul.topnav li {  
12.     float: left;  
13.     margin: 0;  
14.     padding: 0 15px 0 0;  
15.     position: relative; /*--Declare X and Y axis base for sub navigation--*/  
16. }  
17. ul.topnav li a{  
18.     padding: 10px 5px;  
19.     color: #fff;  
20.     display: block;  
21.     text-decoration: none;  
22.     float: left;  
23. }  
24. ul.topnav li a:hover{  
25.     background: url(topnav_hover.gif) no-repeat center top;  
26. }  
27. ul.topnav li span { /*--Drop down trigger styles--*/  
28.     width: 17px;  
29.     height: 35px;  
30.     float: left;  
31.     background: url(subnav_btn.gif) no-repeat center top;  
32. }  
33. ul.topnav li span.subhover {background-position: center bottombottom; cursor: pointer;} /*--Hover effect for trigger--*/  
34. ul.topnav li ul.subnav {  
35.     list-style: none;  
36.     position: absolute; /*--Important - Keeps subnav from affecting main navigation flow--*/  
37.     left: 0; top: 35px;  
38.     background: #333;  
39.     margin: 0; padding: 0;  
40.     display: none;  
41.     float: left;  
42.     width: 170px;  
43.     border: 1px solid #111;  
44. }  
45. ul.topnav li ul.subnav li{  
46.     margin: 0; padding: 0;  
47.     border-top: 1px solid #252525; /*--Create bevel effect--*/  
48.     border-bottom: 1px solid #444; /*--Create bevel effect--*/  
49.     clear: both;  
50.     width: 170px;  
51. }  
52. html ul.topnav li ul.subnav li a {  
53.     float: left;  
54.     width: 145px;  
55.     background: #333 url(dropdown_linkbg.gif) no-repeat 10px center;  
56.     padding-left: 20px;  
57. }  
58. html ul.topnav li ul.subnav li a:hover { /*--Hover effect for subnav links--*/  
59.     background: #222 url(dropdown_linkbg.gif) no-repeat 10px center;  
60. }  

ul.topnav {
 list-style: none;
 padding: 0 20px;
 margin: 0;
 float: left;
 width: 920px;
 background: #222;
 font-size: 1.2em;
 background: url(topnav_bg.gif) repeat-x;
}
ul.topnav li {
 float: left;
 margin: 0;
 padding: 0 15px 0 0;
 position: relative; /*--Declare X and Y axis base for sub navigation--*/
}
ul.topnav li a{
 padding: 10px 5px;
 color: #fff;
 display: block;
 text-decoration: none;
 float: left;
}
ul.topnav li a:hover{
 background: url(topnav_hover.gif) no-repeat center top;
}
ul.topnav li span { /*--Drop down trigger styles--*/
 width: 17px;
 height: 35px;
 float: left;
 background: url(subnav_btn.gif) no-repeat center top;
}
ul.topnav li span.subhover {background-position: center bottom; cursor: pointer;} /*--Hover effect for trigger--*/
ul.topnav li ul.subnav {
 list-style: none;
 position: absolute; /*--Important - Keeps subnav from affecting main navigation flow--*/
 left: 0; top: 35px;
 background: #333;
 margin: 0; padding: 0;
 display: none;
 float: left;
 width: 170px;
 border: 1px solid #111;
}
ul.topnav li ul.subnav li{
 margin: 0; padding: 0;
 border-top: 1px solid #252525; /*--Create bevel effect--*/
 border-bottom: 1px solid #444; /*--Create bevel effect--*/
 clear: both;
 width: 170px;
}
html ul.topnav li ul.subnav li a {
 float: left;
 width: 145px;
 background: #333 url(dropdown_linkbg.gif) no-repeat 10px center;
 padding-left: 20px;
}
html ul.topnav li ul.subnav li a:hover { /*--Hover effect for subnav links--*/
 background: #222 url(dropdown_linkbg.gif) no-repeat 10px center;
}

Step3. jQuery

For those who are new to jQuery, you can learn about it here.
The following script contains comments explaining which jQuery actions are being performed.

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1. $(document).ready(function(){  
2.   
3.     $("ul.subnav").parent().append("<span></span>"); //Only shows drop down trigger when js is enabled (Adds empty span tag after ul.subnav*)  
4.   
5.     $("ul.topnav li span").click(function() { //When trigger is clicked...  
6.   
7.         //Following events are applied to the subnav itself (moving subnav up and down)  
8.         $(this).parent().find("ul.subnav").slideDown('fast').show(); //Drop down the subnav on click  
9.   
10.         $(this).parent().hover(function() {  
11.         }, function(){  
12.             $(this).parent().find("ul.subnav").slideUp('slow'); //When the mouse hovers out of the subnav, move it back up  
13.         });  
14.   
15.         //Following events are applied to the trigger (Hover events for the trigger)  
16.         }).hover(function() {  
17.             $(this).addClass("subhover"); //On hover over, add class "subhover"  
18.         }, function(){  //On Hover Out  
19.             $(this).removeClass("subhover"); //On hover out, remove class "subhover"  
20.     });  
21.   
22. });  

$(document).ready(function(){

 $("ul.subnav").parent().append("<span></span>"); //Only shows drop down trigger when js is enabled (Adds empty span tag after ul.subnav*)

 $("ul.topnav li span").click(function() { //When trigger is clicked...

  //Following events are applied to the subnav itself (moving subnav up and down)
  $(this).parent().find("ul.subnav").slideDown('fast').show(); //Drop down the subnav on click

  $(this).parent().hover(function() {
  }, function(){
   $(this).parent().find("ul.subnav").slideUp('slow'); //When the mouse hovers out of the subnav, move it back up
  });

  //Following events are applied to the trigger (Hover events for the trigger)
  }).hover(function() {
   $(this).addClass("subhover"); //On hover over, add class "subhover"
  }, function(){ //On Hover Out
   $(this).removeClass("subhover"); //On hover out, remove class "subhover"
 });

});

*To degrade gracefully, we only show the drop down menu trigger to those who have javascript enabled.

This is what it looks like when javascript is disabled:

View Demo of Sexy Drop Down Menu

Conclusion

Note: I went ahead and added the rounded corners to the demo (CSS3 – Only supported in Firefox, Safar, & Chrome). If you would like to give it a try, check out this tutorial.
Experiment and customize this to fit your needs! If you have any questions, concerns, suggestions, or comments, please do not hesitate to let me know.