Header

Documentation and examples for CoreUI’s powerful, responsive header. Includes support for branding, navigation, and more.

Other frameworks

CoreUI components are available as native Angular, React, and Vue components. To learn more please visit the following pages.

On this page

How it works

Here’s what you need to know before getting started with the header component:

Headers and their contents are fluid by default. Use optional containers to limit their horizontal width.
Use our spacing and flex utility classes for controlling spacing and alignment within headers.
Headers are responsive by default, but you can easily modify them to change that. Responsive behavior depends on our Collapse JavaScript plugin.
Headers are hidden by default when printing. Force them to be printed by adding .d-print to the .header. See the display utility class.
Ensure accessibility by using a <header> element or, if using a more generic element such as a <div>, add a role="navigation" to every header to explicitly identify it as a landmark region for users of assistive technologies.

The animation effect of this component is dependent on the prefers-reduced-motion media query. See the reduced motion section of our accessibility documentation.

Read on for an example and list of supported sub-components.

Supported content

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

.header-brand for your company, product, or project name.
.header-nav for a full-height and lightweight navigation (including support for dropdowns).
.header-toggler for use with our collapse plugin and other navigation toggling behaviors.
.header-text for adding vertically centered strings of text.

Here’s an example of all the sub-components included in a responsive header.

html

<header class="header">
  <a class="header-brand" href="#">
    <img src="/assets/brand/coreui-signet.svg" alt="" width="22" height="24" class="d-inline-block align-top" alt="CoreUI Logo">
    CoreUI
  </a>
  <button class="header-toggler" type="button">
    <span class="header-toggler-icon"></span>
  </button>
  <ul class="header-nav mr-auto">
    <li class="nav-item active">
      <a class="nav-link" href="#">Home <span class="visually-hidden">(current)</span></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="headerDropdown" role="button" data-coreui-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
        Dropdown
      </a>
      <div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="headerDropdown">
        <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
        <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
        <div class="dropdown-divider"></div>
        <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a>
      </div>
    </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>
</header>

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

Brand

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

html

<!-- As a link -->
<header class="header">
  <a class="header-brand" href="#">CoreUI</a>
</header>

<!-- As a heading -->
<header class="header">
  <span class="header-brand mb-0 h1">Header</span>
</header>

Adding images to the .header-brand will likely always require custom styles or utilities to properly size. Here are some examples to demonstrate.

html

<!-- Just an image -->
<header class="header">
  <a class="header-brand" href="#">
    <img src="/assets/brand/coreui-signet.svg" alt="" width="22" height="24" alt="CoreUI Logo">
  </a>
</header>

html

<!-- Image and text -->
<header class="header">
  <a class="header-brand" href="#">
    <img src="/assets/brand/coreui-signet.svg" alt="" width="22" height="24" class="d-inline-block align-top" alt="CoreUI Logo">
    CoreUI
  </a>
</header>

Nav

Header navigation links build on our .header-nav.

Active states—with .active—to indicate the current page can be applied directly to .nav-links or their immediate parent .nav-items.

html

<header class="header">
  <a class="header-brand" href="#">CoreUI</a>
  <ul class="header-nav">
    <li class="nav-item active">
      <a class="nav-link" href="#">Home <span class="visually-hidden">(current)</span></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>
</header>

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

html

<header class="header">
  <a class="header-brand" href="#">CoreUI</a>
  <div class="header-nav">
    <a class="nav-item nav-link active" href="#">Home <span class="visually-hidden">(current)</span></a>
    <a class="nav-item nav-link" href="#">Features</a>
    <a class="nav-item nav-link" href="#">Pricing</a>
    <a class="nav-item nav-link disabled" href="#" tabindex="-1" aria-disabled="true">Disabled</a>
  </div>
</header>

You may also utilize dropdowns in your header nav. 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

<header class="header">
  <a class="header-brand" href="#">CoreUI</a>
  <ul class="header-nav">
    <li class="nav-item active">
      <a class="nav-link" href="#">Home <span class="visually-hidden">(current)</span></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="headerDropdownMenuLink" role="button" data-coreui-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
        Dropdown link
      </a>
      <div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="headerDropdownMenuLink">
        <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a>
        <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a>
        <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a>
      </div>
    </li>
  </ul>
</header>

Forms

Place various form controls and components within a header with .d-flex.

html

<header class="header">
  <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>
</header>

Immediate children elements in .header use flex layout and will default to justify-content: between. Use additional flex utilities as needed to adjust this behavior.

html

<header class="header">
  <a class="header-brand">Header</a>
  <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>
</header>

Input groups work, too:

html

<header class="header">
  <form class="d-flex">
    <div class="input-group">
      <div class="input-group-prepend">
        <span class="input-group-text" id="basic-addon1">@</span>
      </div>
      <input type="text" class="form-control" placeholder="Username" aria-label="Username" aria-describedby="basic-addon1">
    </div>
  </form>
</header>

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

html

<header class="header">
  <form class="d-flex">
    <button class="btn btn-outline-success" type="button">Main button</button>
    <button class="btn btn-sm btn-outline-secondary" type="button">Smaller button</button>
  </form>
</header>

Text

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

html

<header class="header">
  <span class="header-text">
    Header text with an inline element
  </span>
</header>

Containers

Although it’s not required, you can wrap a header in a .container to center it on a page or add one within to only center the contents of a fixed or static top header.

html

<div class="container">
  <header class="header">
    <a class="header-brand" href="#">CoreUI</a>
  </header>
</div>

When the container is within your header, its horizontal padding is removed at breakpoints lower than your specified .header-expand{-sm|-md|-lg|-xl} class. This ensures we’re not doubling up on padding unnecessarily on lower viewports when your header is collapsed.

html

<header class="header">
  <div class="container">
    <a class="header-brand" href="#">CoreUI</a>
  </div>
</header>

Customizing

CSS variables

Headers use local CSS variables on .header for enhanced real-time customization. Values for the CSS variables are set via Sass, so Sass customization is still supported, too.

scss/_header.scss

--#{$prefix}header-min-height: #{$header-min-height};
--#{$prefix}header-padding-x: #{$header-padding-x};
--#{$prefix}header-padding-y: #{$header-padding-y};
--#{$prefix}header-bg: #{$header-bg};
--#{$prefix}header-color: #{$header-color};
--#{$prefix}header-border-color: #{$header-border-color};
--#{$prefix}header-border: #{$header-border-width} solid var(--#{$prefix}header-border-color);
--#{$prefix}header-hover-color: #{$header-hover-color};
--#{$prefix}header-disabled-color: #{$header-disabled-color};
--#{$prefix}header-active-color: #{$header-active-color};
--#{$prefix}header-transition: #{$header-transition};
--#{$prefix}header-brand-padding-y: #{$header-brand-padding-y};
--#{$prefix}header-brand-color: #{$header-brand-color};
--#{$prefix}header-brand-hover-color: #{$header-brand-hover-color};
--#{$prefix}header-toggler-padding-x: #{$header-toggler-padding-x};
--#{$prefix}header-toggler-padding-y: #{$header-toggler-padding-y};
--#{$prefix}header-toggler-bg: #{$header-toggler-bg};
--#{$prefix}header-toggler-color: #{$header-toggler-color};
--#{$prefix}header-toggler-border-radius: #{$header-toggler-border-radius};
--#{$prefix}header-toggler-hover-color: #{$header-toggler-hover-color};
--#{$prefix}header-toggler-icon-bg: #{escape-svg($header-toggler-icon-bg)};
--#{$prefix}header-toggler-hover-icon-bg: #{escape-svg($header-toggler-hover-icon-bg)};
--#{$prefix}header-nav-link-padding-x: #{$header-nav-link-padding-x};
--#{$prefix}header-nav-link-padding-y: #{$header-nav-link-padding-y};
--#{$prefix}header-divider-border-color: #{$header-divider-border-color};
--#{$prefix}header-divider-border: #{$header-divider-border-width} solid var(--#{$prefix}header-divider-border-color);

SASS variables

scss/_variables.scss

$header-min-height:             4rem;
$header-padding-y:              $spacer * .5;
$header-padding-x:              $spacer * .5;
$header-brand-font-size:        $font-size-lg;
$header-color:                  rgba(var(--#{$prefix}emphasis-color-rgb), .65);
$header-bg:                     var(--#{$prefix}body-bg);
$header-border-color:           var(--#{$prefix}border-color);
$header-border-width:           var(--#{$prefix}border-width);
$header-hover-color:            rgba(var(--#{$prefix}emphasis-color-rgb), .8);
$header-active-color:           rgba(var(--#{$prefix}emphasis-color-rgb), 1);
$header-disabled-color:         rgba(var(--#{$prefix}emphasis-color-rgb), .3);
$header-transition:             box-shadow .15s ease-in-out;

// Compute the header-brand padding-y so the header-brand will have the same height as header-text and nav-link
$nav-link-height:               $font-size-base * $line-height-base + $nav-link-padding-y * 2;
$header-brand-height:           $header-brand-font-size * $line-height-base;
$header-brand-padding-y:        ($nav-link-height - $header-brand-height) * .5;
$header-brand-margin-end:       1rem;
$header-brand-font-size:        $font-size-lg;
$header-brand-color:            $gray-900;
$header-brand-hover-color:      shade-color($gray-900, 10%);

$header-toggler-padding-y:      .25rem;
$header-toggler-padding-x:      .75rem;
$header-toggler-font-size:      $font-size-lg;
$header-toggler-color:          rgba(var(--#{$prefix}emphasis-color-rgb), .65);
$header-toggler-bg:             transparent;
$header-toggler-border-radius:  $btn-border-radius;
$header-toggler-hover-color:    rgba(var(--#{$prefix}emphasis-color-rgb), 1);

$header-toggler-icon-bg:        url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg viewBox='0 0 30 30' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%3E%3Cpath stroke='#{$header-color}' stroke-width='2.25' stroke-linecap='round' stroke-miterlimit='10' d='M4 7h22M4 15h22M4 23h22'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
$header-toggler-hover-icon-bg:  url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg viewBox='0 0 30 30' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%3E%3Cpath stroke='#{$header-hover-color}' stroke-width='2.25' stroke-linecap='round' stroke-miterlimit='10' d='M4 7h22M4 15h22M4 23h22'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");

$header-nav-link-padding-x:     .5rem;
$header-nav-link-padding-y:     .5rem;

$header-divider-border-width:   var(--#{$prefix}border-width);
$header-divider-border-color:   var(--#{$prefix}border-color);