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:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<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>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>Output:
Inverted Navigation Bar
Bootstrap provide us with different navigation style we can change the color of navbar by changing the .navbar-default class into .navbar-inverse:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<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>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>Output:
Dropdown
Navigation bars can hold dropdown menus.
Following example adds a dropdown menu for the “Page 2” button:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<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 class="dropdown">
<a class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" href="#">Page 2
<span class="caret"></span></a>
<ul class="dropdown-menu">
<li><a href="#">Page 2-1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2-2</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Page 2-3</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#">Page 3</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>Output:
Right-Aligned
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:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<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>
</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>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>Output:
Navbar Buttons
To add buttons inside the navbar, add the .navbar-btn class on a Bootstrap button:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<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="#">Link 1</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Link 2</a></li>
</ul>
<button class="btn btn-danger navbar-btn">Button</button>
</div>
</nav>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>Output:
Navbar Forms
To add form elements inside the navbar, add the .navbar-form class to a form element and add an input(s). Note that we have added a .form-group class to the div container holding the input. This adds proper padding if you have more than one inputs.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<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>
</ul>
<form class="navbar-form navbar-left" action="#">
<div class="form-group">
<input type="text" class="form-control" placeholder="Name">
</div>
<button type="submit" class="btn btn-default">Submit</button>
</form>
</div>
</nav>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>Output:
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:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<nav class="navbar navbar-default 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>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container" style="margin-top:50px">
<h3>Fixed Navbar</h3>
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-4">
<p>A fixed navigation bar stays visible in a fixed position (top or bottom) independent of the page scroll.</p>
<p>A fixed navigation bar stays visible in a fixed position (top or bottom) independent of the page scroll.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-4">
<p>A fixed navigation bar stays visible in a fixed position (top or bottom) independent of the page scroll.</p>
<p>A fixed navigation bar stays visible in a fixed position (top or bottom) independent of the page scroll.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-4">
<p>A fixed navigation bar stays visible in a fixed position (top or bottom) independent of the page scroll.</p>
<p>A fixed navigation bar stays visible in a fixed position (top or bottom) independent of the page scroll.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>Output:
Collapsing The Navigation Bar
The navigation bar often 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:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<nav class="navbar navbar-default">
<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>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>Output:
