Drop-Down Menu: 30+ Useful Scripts to Enhance Header Navigation

Drop-down menu (also known as pull-down menu) is an essential in most web design. It plays important role in the creation of an effective and user friendly website. It’s a good solution to trim down long menu that is overwhelming the screen space, getting them to display in a more organize category-sub category pattern.

In this article, we’d like to show you some of the best drop-down menu scripts we come to know. These drop-down menu varies from CSS only, CSS & Javascripts and menu that will work with your current Javascript library like jQuery, MooTools and Prototype. Full list after jump.

Here are some related articles we figured you might be interested in:

• Building HTML Tables
• Starter Kits for Web Designers
• CSS Tab-Based navigation scripts

CSS (Only)

If you are worried about Javascript disabled on client’s browser, these css-only drop down menu will not fail you.
CSS Drop-Down Menu Framework
Title says it all. It’s a framework, released under GNU General Public License. Cross browser compatible, light and easy transformable to mimic a lot of existing drop down menus out there. For example Flickr, Adobe, and MTV.com [Demo | Download]

Ultimate CSS only drop-down menu
Also see this.

CSS Express Drop-Down Menus
Help you produce a quick (express) CSS drop-down menu without some of the limitations found in some other "pure" CSS menus.

Pure CSS Drop Down Menus

CSS + Javascripts

With the help of Javascript, drop down menu are more interactive or at least they get some subtle animation that enhance user experience. CSS on the other hand, make sure the look and feel is easily cuztomizable.
JavaScript Dropdown Menu with Multi Levels
This multi-level drop down menu script weighs in at only 1.2 KB. It features animation, active header persistence, easy implementation and multiple instance support. [Demo | Download]

All Levels Navigational Menu (v2.2)
CSS/ HTML list based menu with support for infinite levels of sub menus. It’s lightweight and easy to implement.

Professional dropdown

Drop Down Tabs (5 styles)
Drop Down Tabs is a horizontal CSS tabs menu that supports a second level drop down menu for each of its tabs. Comes in 5 different styles.

Chrome CSS Drop Down Menu
Chrome Menu is a CSS and JavaScript hybrid drop down menu. It’s easy to configure and search engine friendly. The main menu bar consist of a CSS list, while the drop down menus are simply regular DIV tags on page.

jQuerys

If you’ve implemented jQuery Javascript Library on your site, here are some really cool jQuery based drop down menus you should know.
Smooth Navigational Menu
Smooth Navigation Menu is a multi level, CSS list based menu powered using jQuery that makes website navigation a smooth affair. Here’s another similar one – jQuery Multi Level CSS Menu.

Superfish
Superfish is an enhanced Suckerfish-style menu jQuery plugin that takes an existing pure CSS drop-down menu (so it degrades gracefully without JavaScript). [Demo | Download]

Animated Drop Down Menu with jQuery
Dropdown with much slicker effect using jQuery and CSS.

Droppy
Quick and dirty nested drop-down menu in the jQuery style.

Dropdown, iPod Drilldown, and Flyout styles with ARIA Support and ThemeRoller Ready
Menu system, which can be used to create a simple dropdown menu for a single list of options, a flyout menu for a smaller hierarchical list of options. [Demo | Download]

Mega Drop-Down Menu
A drop down menu that holds more than just new line of links. It also makes group links and make nagivation much easier! [Demo]

(mb)Menu
Powerful jQuery component to build easily a multilevel tree menu or a contextual menu (right click) in an intuitive way. [Demo | Download]

Simple Drop Down Menu

MooTools

JavaScript drop down menu using Mootools
Easy, unobtrusive way to create a drop down menu with Mootools 1.2. [Demo | Download]

UvumiTools Dropdown Menu
Simple multi-level menu built from an HTML unorderd list, using Mootools Javascript Framework.

Unobstrusive Mootool Drop Down Menu

MenuMatic
MenuMatic takes a sematic ordered or unordered list of links and uses MooTools 1.2 to turn it into a dynamic drop down menu system, with enhanced usability and flair. [Demo | Download]

Scriptaculous/Prototype

Dropdown Menu
Based on Knallgrau Unordered list. Here’s more similar drop down menu – Horizontal dropdown menu, e24TabMenu.

Mimics

Step by step tutorial on how some of the nicest drop down menus are created.
Designing the Digg Header
Step by step tutorial on how to build a drop down menu that really looks like Digg’s. [Demo | Download]

Simple CSS vertical menu Digg-like
Yet another good tutorial to implement a simple vertical menu digg-like using CSS and javascript to show/hide sub-menu. [Demo | Download]

Sliding Jquery Menu
How to create a sliding menu button using jquery that looks like Envato’s TUT+ navigation. [Demo | Download]

Vimeo-like top navigation
If you like Vimeo (see it here, top) this Vimeo-alike drop down script is perhaps 99% the same.[Demo | Download]

MISC

WordPress Multi-Level Drop Down menu using jQuery
A tutorial that helps you build a simple multi-level drop-down menu in your WordPress theme using jQuery’s JavaScript library to ensure cross-browser compatibility. Here’s another WordPress plugin that does the trick too.

izzyMenu
Create professional looking CSS menus for your website online, without writing a single line of code or just use some of the ready made ones.

PureCSS Menu
Free CSS Drop Down Menu generator