Published on

How To Build A Dropdown For User Menu With Tailwind CSS From Scratch

Dropdown for User menu

As a FrontEnd technology blogger, I am always looking for ways to improve the user interface of my websites. One way to do this is by creating a dropdown for the user menu. In this article, I will show you how to build a dropdown for the user menu using Tailwind CSS from scratch.

What is Tailwind CSS?

Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that allows you to create custom designs without writing any CSS. It provides a set of pre-defined classes that you can use to style your HTML elements.

The description of Dropdown for User menu ui component

A dropdown for the user menu is a UI component that allows users to access their account settings, log out, or perform other actions related to their account. It is typically located in the top right corner of the page and is triggered by clicking on a user icon or their name.

Why use Tailwind CSS to create a Dropdown for User menu ui component?

Tailwind CSS is a great choice for creating a dropdown for the user menu because it provides a set of pre-defined classes that you can use to style your HTML elements. This means that you don't have to write any CSS from scratch, which can save you a lot of time and effort.

The preview of Dropdown for User menu ui component

To give you an idea of what the dropdown for the user menu will look like, here is a preview:

Free download of the Dropdown for User menu's source code

The source code of Dropdown for User menu ui component

To create the dropdown for the user menu, you will need to write some HTML and CSS. Here is the source code:

<div class="flex justify-center">
    <div class="relative inline-block mb-20">
        <!-- Dropdown toggle button -->
        <button class="relative z-10 flex items-center p-2 text-sm text-gray-600 bg-white border border-transparent rounded-md focus:border-blue-500 focus:ring-opacity-40 dark:focus:ring-opacity-40 focus:ring-blue-300 dark:focus:ring-blue-400 focus:ring dark:text-white dark:bg-gray-800 focus:outline-none">
            <span class="mx-1">Jane Doe</span>
            <svg class="w-5 h-5 mx-1" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
                <path d="M12 15.713L18.01 9.70299L16.597 8.28799L12 12.888L7.40399 8.28799L5.98999 9.70199L12 15.713Z" fill="currentColor"></path>
            </svg>
        </button>

        <!-- Dropdown menu -->
        <div class="absolute right-0 z-20 w-56 py-2 mt-2 overflow-hidden bg-white rounded-md shadow-xl dark:bg-gray-800">
            <a href="#" class="flex items-center p-3 -mt-2 text-sm text-gray-600 transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                <img class="flex-shrink-0 object-cover mx-1 rounded-full w-9 h-9" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1523779917675-b6ed3a42a561?ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxzZWFyY2h8N3x8d29tYW4lMjBibHVlfGVufDB8fDB8fA%3D%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=face&w=500&q=200" alt="jane avatar">
                <div class="mx-1">
                    <h1 class="text-sm font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200">Jane Doe</h1>
                    <p class="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400">[email protected]</p>
                </div>
            </a>

            <hr class="border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 ">
            
            <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-3 text-sm text-gray-600 capitalize transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                view profile
            </a>
            
            <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-3 text-sm text-gray-600 capitalize transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                Settings
            </a>

            <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-3 text-sm text-gray-600 capitalize transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                Keyboard shortcuts
            </a>

            <hr class="border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 ">
            
            <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-3 text-sm text-gray-600 capitalize transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                Company profile
            </a>

            <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-3 text-sm text-gray-600 capitalize transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                Team
            </a>

            <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-3 text-sm text-gray-600 capitalize transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                Invite colleagues
            </a>

            <hr class="border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 ">
            
            <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-3 text-sm text-gray-600 capitalize transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                Help
            </a>
            <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-3 text-sm text-gray-600 capitalize transition-colors duration-200 transform dark:text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-100 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 dark:hover:text-white">
                Sign Out
            </a>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

How to create a Dropdown for User menu with Tailwind CSS?

Now that you have an idea of what the dropdown for the user menu will look like and what the source code looks like, let's go through the steps of creating it with Tailwind CSS.

Step 1: Set up your HTML

The first step is to set up your HTML. Here is an example of what your HTML might look like:

<div class="relative inline-block text-left">
  <div>
    <button type="button" class="inline-flex justify-center w-full rounded-md border border-gray-300 shadow-sm px-4 py-2 bg-white text-sm font-medium text-gray-700 hover:bg-gray-50 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-offset-2 focus:ring-indigo-500" id="menu-button" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true">
      <span>Account</span>
      <svg class="-mr-1 ml-2 h-5 w-5" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true">
        <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M10 14l-5-5h10l-5 5z" clip-rule="evenodd" />
      </svg>
    </button>
  </div>

  <div class="origin-top-right absolute right-0 mt-2 w-56 rounded-md shadow-lg bg-white ring-1 ring-black ring-opacity-5 focus:outline-none" role="menu" aria-orientation="vertical" aria-labelledby="menu-button" tabindex="-1">
    <div class="py-1" role="none">
      <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-2 text-sm text-gray-700 hover:bg-gray-100 hover:text-gray-900" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1" id="menu-item-0">Account Settings</a>
      <a href="#" class="block px-4 py-2 text-sm text-gray-700 hover:bg-gray-100 hover:text-gray-900" role="menuitem" tabindex="-1" id="menu-item-1">Log out</a>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

In this example, we have a div element with the class relative inline-block text-left. Inside this div, we have another div element with a button inside it. This button has a set of pre-defined classes that we can use to style it.

We also have another div element that contains the dropdown menu. This div element has a set of pre-defined classes that we can use to style it as well.

Step 2: Style your HTML with Tailwind CSS

The next step is to style your HTML with Tailwind CSS. Here is an example of what your CSS might look like:

<style>
  .dropdown-menu {
    display: none;
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 1;
  }

  .dropdown:hover .dropdown-menu {
    display: block;
  }
</style>

In this example, we have defined two classes: .dropdown-menu and .dropdown. The .dropdown-menu class sets the display property to none, which hides the dropdown menu by default. The .dropdown:hover .dropdown-menu class sets the display property to block when the user hovers over the .dropdown element, which shows the dropdown menu.

Step 3: Add JavaScript to your HTML

The final step is to add some JavaScript to your HTML to make the dropdown menu work. Here is an example of what your JavaScript might look like:

<script>
  const dropdown = document.querySelector('.dropdown');
  const dropdownMenu = document.querySelector('.dropdown-menu');

  dropdown.addEventListener('mouseenter', () => {
    dropdownMenu.classList.add('show');
  });

  dropdown.addEventListener('mouseleave', () => {
    dropdownMenu.classList.remove('show');
  });
</script>

In this example, we have defined two variables: dropdown and dropdownMenu. We have also added two event listeners to the dropdown element: one for when the user hovers over the element and one for when the user leaves the element. When the user hovers over the element, we add the show class to the dropdownMenu element, which shows the dropdown menu. When the user leaves the element, we remove the show class from the dropdownMenu element, which hides the dropdown menu.

Conclusion

In this article, we have learned how to build a dropdown for the user menu using Tailwind CSS from scratch. We have gone through the steps of setting up our HTML, styling our HTML with Tailwind CSS, and adding JavaScript to our HTML to make the dropdown menu work. By following these steps, you can create a dropdown for the user menu that is both functional and stylish.