How can I build a mega-menu style navbar in Bootstrap 5 without third-party plugins?

Asked on Jun 02, 2025

1 Answer

To create a mega-menu style navbar in Bootstrap 5, you can utilize Bootstrap's grid system and dropdown components. Here's a basic example of how to structure it:

<!-- BEGIN COPY / PASTE -->
        <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light bg-light">
            <div class="container-fluid">
                <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Brand</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 dropdown">
                            <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" id="navbarDropdownMenuLink" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
                                Mega Menu
                            </a>
                            <ul class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="navbarDropdownMenuLink">
                                <div class="container">
                                    <div class="row">
                                        <div class="col-md-4">
                                            <h6>Category 1</h6>
                                            <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Item 1</a>
                                            <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Item 2</a>
                                        </div>
                                        <div class="col-md-4">
                                            <h6>Category 2</h6>
                                            <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Item 3</a>
                                            <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Item 4</a>
                                        </div>
                                        <div class="col-md-4">
                                            <h6>Category 3</h6>
                                            <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Item 5</a>
                                            <a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Item 6</a>
                                        </div>
                                    </div>
                                </div>
                            </ul>
                        </li>
                    </ul>
                </div>
            </div>
        </nav>
        <!-- END COPY / PASTE -->

Additional Comment:

This example uses Bootstrap's grid system to organize the mega-menu into columns.
The `navbar-expand-lg` class makes the navbar responsive, expanding on larger screens.
The `dropdown-menu` is wrapped in a `container` and `row` to utilize the grid system for layout.
Ensure you include Bootstrap's CSS and JS in your project for this to work correctly.

✅ Answered with Bootstrap 5 best practices.

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