What’s the best pattern for a navbar that becomes offcanvas on mobile?
Asked on Jun 03, 2025
1 Answer
To create a responsive navbar that transforms into an offcanvas menu on mobile, you can use Bootstrap's Navbar and Offcanvas components. This pattern ensures your navigation is accessible and user-friendly across all devices.
<!-- 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="offcanvas" data-bs-target="#offcanvasNavbar" aria-controls="offcanvasNavbar">
<span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
</button>
<div class="offcanvas offcanvas-end" tabindex="-1" id="offcanvasNavbar" aria-labelledby="offcanvasNavbarLabel">
<div class="offcanvas-header">
<h5 class="offcanvas-title" id="offcanvasNavbarLabel">Offcanvas</h5>
<button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="offcanvas" aria-label="Close"></button>
</div>
<div class="offcanvas-body">
<ul class="navbar-nav justify-content-end flex-grow-1 pe-3">
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link active" aria-current="page" href="#">Home</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="offcanvasNavbarDropdown" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
Dropdown
</a>
<ul class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="offcanvasNavbarDropdown">
<li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Action</a></li>
<li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Another action</a></li>
<li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li>
<li><a class="dropdown-item" href="#">Something else here</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</nav>
<!-- END COPY / PASTE -->Additional Comment:
✅ Answered with Bootstrap 5 best practices.- The `navbar-toggler` button toggles the offcanvas menu on smaller screens.
- The `offcanvas` component is placed inside the navbar for seamless integration.
- Use `data-bs-toggle` and `data-bs-target` to control the offcanvas behavior.
- Customize the navbar and offcanvas styles using Bootstrap's utility classes.