AdminKit

Bootstrap 5 Navbar

Navbar ​

Documentation and examples for AdminKit for Bootstrap's powerful, responsive navigation navbar. Includes support for branding, navigation, dropdowns, collapse components and more.

Supported content ​

Navbars come with built-in support for a handful of sub-components. Choose from the following as needed:

  • .navbar-brand for your company, product, or project name.
  • .navbar-nav for a full-height and lightweight navigation (including support for dropdowns).
  • .navbar-toggler for use with our collapse plugin and other navigation toggling behaviors.
  • Flex and spacing utilities for any form controls and actions.
  • .navbar-text for adding vertically centered strings of text.
  • .collapse.navbar-collapse for grouping and hiding navbar contents by a parent breakpoint.
  • Add an optional .navbar-scroll to set a max-height and scroll expanded navbar content.

Here's an example of all the sub-components included in a responsive light-themed navbar that automatically collapses at the lg (large) breakpoint.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Navbar</a>
    <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#navbarSupportedContent" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
      <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
    </button>
    <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarSupportedContent">
      <ul class="navbar-nav me-auto mb-2 mb-lg-0">
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link active" aria-current="page" href="#">Home</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item dropdown">
          <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" id="navbarDropdown" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
            Dropdown
          </a>
          <ul class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="navbarDropdown">
            <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a></li>
            <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a></li>
            <li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li>
            <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a></li>
          </ul>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#" tabindex="-1" aria-disabled="true">Disabled</a>
        </li>
      </ul>
      <form class="d-flex">
        <input class="form-control me-2" type="search" placeholder="Search" aria-label="Search">
        <button class="btn btn-outline-success" type="submit">Search</button>
      </form>
    </div>
  </div>
</nav>

This example uses background (bg-light) and spacing (my-2, my-lg-0, me-sm-0, my-sm-0) utility classes.

Brand ​

The .navbar-brand can be applied to most elements, but an anchor works best, as some elements might require utility classes or custom styles.

Text ​

Add your text within an element with the .navbar-brand class.

html
<!-- As a link -->
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Navbar</a>
  </div>
</nav>

<!-- As a heading -->
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <span class="navbar-brand mb-0 h1">Navbar</span>
  </div>
</nav>

Image ​

You can replace the text within the .navbar-brand with an <img>.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">
      <img src="/logo.png" alt="AdminKit Logo" height="24" width="24">
    </a>
  </div>
</nav>

Image and text ​

You can also make use of some additional utilities to add an image and text at the same time. Note the addition of .d-inline-block and .align-text-top on the <img>.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">
      <img src="/logo.png" alt="AdminKit Logo" height="24" width="24" class="d-inline-block align-text-top">
      AdminKit
    </a>
  </div>
</nav>

Navbar navigation links build on our .nav options with their own modifier class and require the use of toggler classes for proper responsive styling. Navigation in navbars will also grow to occupy as much horizontal space as possible to keep your navbar contents securely aligned.

Add the .active class on .nav-link to indicate the current page.

Please note that you should also add the aria-current attribute on the active .nav-link.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Navbar</a>
    <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#navbarNav" aria-controls="navbarNav" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
      <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
    </button>
    <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarNav">
      <ul class="navbar-nav">
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link active" aria-current="page" href="#">Home</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Features</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Pricing</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#" tabindex="-1" aria-disabled="true">Disabled</a>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  </div>
</nav>

And because we use classes for our navs, you can avoid the list-based approach entirely if you like.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Navbar</a>
    <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#navbarNavAltMarkup" aria-controls="navbarNavAltMarkup" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
      <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
    </button>
    <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarNavAltMarkup">
      <div class="navbar-nav">
        <a class="nav-link active" aria-current="page" href="#">Home</a>
        <a class="nav-link" href="#">Features</a>
        <a class="nav-link" href="#">Pricing</a>
        <a class="nav-link disabled" href="#" tabindex="-1" aria-disabled="true">Disabled</a>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</nav>

You can also use dropdowns in your navbar. Dropdown menus require a wrapping element for positioning, so be sure to use separate and nested elements for .nav-item and .nav-link as shown below.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Navbar</a>
    <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#navbarNavDropdown" aria-controls="navbarNavDropdown" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
      <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
    </button>
    <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarNavDropdown">
      <ul class="navbar-nav">
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link active" aria-current="page" href="#">Home</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Features</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Pricing</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item dropdown">
          <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" id="navbarDropdownMenuLink" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
            Dropdown link
          </a>
          <ul class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="navbarDropdownMenuLink">
            <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a></li>
            <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a></li>
            <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a></li>
          </ul>
        </li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  </div>
</nav>

Forms ​

Place various form controls and components within a navbar:

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <form class="d-flex">
      <input class="form-control me-2" type="search" placeholder="Search" aria-label="Search">
      <button class="btn btn-outline-success" type="submit">Search</button>
    </form>
  </div>
</nav>

Input groups work, too. If your navbar is an entire form, or mostly a form, you can use the <form> element as the container and save some HTML.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <form class="container-fluid">
    <div class="input-group">
      <span class="input-group-text" id="basic-addon1">@</span>
      <input type="text" class="form-control" placeholder="Username" aria-label="Username" aria-describedby="basic-addon1">
    </div>
  </form>
</nav>

Various buttons are supported as part of these navbar forms, too. This is also a great reminder that vertical alignment utilities can be used to align different sized elements.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <form class="container-fluid justify-content-start">
    <button class="btn btn-outline-success me-2" type="button">Main button</button>
    <button class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-secondary" type="button">Smaller button</button>
  </form>
</nav>

Text ​

Navbars may contain bits of text with the help of .navbar-text. This class adjusts vertical alignment and horizontal spacing for strings of text.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <span class="navbar-text">
      Navbar text with an inline element
    </span>
  </div>
</nav>

Mix and match with other components and utilities as needed.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Navbar w/ text</a>
    <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#navbarText" aria-controls="navbarText" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
      <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
    </button>
    <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarText">
      <ul class="navbar-nav me-auto mb-2 mb-lg-0">
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link active" aria-current="page" href="#">Home</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Features</a>
        </li>
        <li class="nav-item">
          <a class="nav-link" href="#">Pricing</a>
        </li>
      </ul>
      <span class="navbar-text">
        Navbar text with an inline element
      </span>
    </div>
  </div>
</nav>

Color schemes ​

Theming the navbar has never been easier thanks to the combination of theming classes and background-color utilities. Choose from .navbar-light for use with light background colors, or .navbar-dark for dark background colors. Then, customize with .bg-* utilities.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-dark bg-dark">
  <!-- Navbar content -->
</nav>

<nav class="navbar navbar-dark bg-primary">
  <!-- Navbar content -->
</nav>

<nav class="navbar navbar-light" style="background-color: #e3f2fd;">
  <!-- Navbar content -->
</nav>

Placement ​

Use our position utilities to place navbars in non-static positions. Choose from fixed to the top, fixed to the bottom, or stickied to the top (scrolls with the page until it reaches the top, then stays there). Fixed navbars use position: fixed, meaning they're pulled from the normal flow of the DOM and may require custom CSS (e.g., padding-top on the <body>) to prevent overlap with other elements.

html
<nav class="navbar navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Default</a>
  </div>
</nav>
html
<nav class="navbar fixed-top navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Fixed top</a>
  </div>
</nav>
html
<nav class="navbar fixed-bottom navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Fixed bottom</a>
  </div>
</nav>
html
<nav class="navbar sticky-top navbar-light bg-light">
  <div class="container-fluid">
    <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Sticky top</a>
  </div>
</nav>

About ​

Here's what you need to know before getting started with the navbar:

  • Navbars require a wrapping .navbar with .navbar-expand{-sm|-md|-lg|-xl|-xxl} for responsive collapsing and color scheme classes.
  • Navbars and their contents are fluid by default. Change the container to limit their horizontal width in different ways.
  • Use our spacing and flex utility classes for controlling spacing and alignment within navbars.
  • Navbars are responsive by default, but you can easily modify them to change that. Responsive behavior depends on our Collapse JavaScript plugin.
  • Ensure accessibility by using a <nav> element or, if using a more generic element such as a <div>, add a role="navigation" to every navbar to explicitly identify it as a landmark region for users of assistive technologies.
  • Indicate the current item by using aria-current="page" for the current page or aria-current="true" for the current item in a set.