How to create a bottom navigation with Tailwind CSS

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Toda we are doing a responsive bottom navigation using only Tailwind CSS. This is a great way to add a navigation bar to your website or app.

A bottom navigation is a navigation component that is usually placed at the bottom of a screen. It is a great way to provide quick access to different sections of your website or app. It is commonly used in mobile apps and responsive websites.

Use cases:

Mobile App Navigation:
- Social Media Apps: In apps like Instagram or Twitter, a bottom navigation bar provides quick access to the home feed, search, notifications, and user profile.
- E-commerce Apps: In shopping apps, it allows users to easily switch between the home page, search, cart, orders, and account sections.
- Messaging Apps: For messaging platforms, it offers navigation to chats, contacts, settings, and other features.
Responsive Website Navigation:
- Personal Blogs: Bottom navigation can be used to switch between the home page, categories, about, and contact sections.
- Portfolio Sites: Designers and developers can use it to navigate between work samples, about, services, and contact information.
- Small Business Sites: Bottom navigation can direct users to services, pricing, testimonials, and contact pages.
Web Application Navigation:
- Dashboard Applications: In web apps with complex functionalities, a bottom navigation can help users switch between dashboards, reports, user settings, and notifications.
- Project Management Tools: Users can easily navigate between their task list, calendar, project overview, and settings.
- Educational Platforms: Students can use bottom navigation to move between courses, assignments, grades, and profile settings.
Media and Entertainment:
- Streaming Services: Users can quickly access home, search, library, and profile sections.
- Music Apps: Provide easy navigation to home, search, library, and playlists.
- News Apps: Users can switch between the latest news, categories, bookmarks, and profile settings.
Utility Applications:
- Fitness Apps: Users can navigate between workout plans, progress tracking, settings, and community sections.
- Travel Apps: Provide quick access to home, search for destinations, bookings, and user profiles.
- Finance Apps: Users can switch between accounts overview, transactions, budgeting, and profile settings.

Now, let’s get started with the markup

The main wrapper

This is the main wrapper that contains the navigation buttons. It is a fixed position at the bottom of the screen, with a shadow effect, and a border at the top.

fixed: This is a utility class that makes an element positioned relatively.
bottom-0: This is a utility class that sets the bottom property of the element to 0.
sm:bottom-5: This is a utility class that sets the bottom property of the element to 5 when the screen size is smaller than or equal to 576px.
sm:shadow-lg: This is a utility class that sets the box-shadow property of the element to the value of the lg shadow.
sm:shadow-gray-500/30: This is a utility class that sets the box-shadow property of the element to the value of the gray-500/30 shadow.
hover:shadow-md: This is a utility class that sets the box-shadow property of the element to the value of the md shadow when the user hovers over it.
left-0: This is a utility class that sets the left property of the element to 0.
duration-300: This is a utility class that sets the transition-duration property of the element to 300ms.
overflow-hidden: This is a utility class that sets the overflow property of the element to hidden.
border-t: This is a utility class that sets the border-top property of the element to 1px.
sm:border: This is a utility class that sets the border-top property of the element to 1px when the screen size is smaller than or equal to 576px.
z-50: This is a utility class that sets the z-index property of the element to 50.
w-full: This is a utility class that sets the width property of the element to full.
h-16: This is a utility class that sets the height property of the element to 16.
bg-white: This is a utility class that sets the background-color property of the element to white.
sm:max-w-md: This is a utility class that sets the max-width property of the element to md when the screen size is smaller than or equal to 576px.
sm:rounded-xl: This is a utility class that sets the border-radius property of the element to xl when the screen size is smaller than or equal to 576px.
inset-x-0: This is a utility class that sets the left and right properties of the element to 0.
mx-auto: This is a utility class that sets the margin-left and margin-right properties of the element to auto.

<div
  class="fixed bottom-0 sm:bottom-5 sm:shadow-lg sm:shadow-gray-500/30 hover:shadow-md left-0 duration-300 overflow-hidden border-t sm:border z-50 w-full h-16  sm:max-w-md sm:rounded-xl inset-x-0 mx-auto ">
  <!--- Container for buttons go here -->
</div>

The container for buttons

This is the container that contains the navigation buttons. It is a grid with 5 columns, and the buttons are centered horizontally and vertically.

grid: This is a utility class that creates a grid container.
h-full: This is a utility class that sets the height property of the element to full.
grid-cols-5: This is a utility class that sets the grid-template-columns property of the element to 5.
mx-auto: This is a utility class that sets the margin-left and margin-right properties of the element to auto.

<div class="grid h-full grid-cols-5 mx-auto">
    <!---Navigation buttons go here -->
  </div>
</div>

The buttons

These are the navigation buttons that are displayed in the container. They are centered horizontally and vertically, and have a gap of 1 unit between them.

inline-flex: This is a utility class that creates an inline flex container.
flex-col: This is a utility class that sets the flex-direction property of the element to column.
items-center: This is a utility class that sets the align-items property of the element to center.
justify-center: This is a utility class that sets the justify-content property of the element to center.
px-5: This is a utility class that sets the padding-left and padding-right properties of the element to 5.
hover:bg-gray-50: This is a utility class that sets the background-color property of the element to gray-50 when the user hovers over it.
gap-1: This is a utility class that sets the gap property of the element to 1.
hover:text-orange-500: This is a utility class that sets the color property of the element to orange-500 when the user hovers over it.
text-gray-500: This is a utility class that sets the color property of the element to gray-500.

<button
  type="button"
  class="inline-flex flex-col items-center justify-center px-5 hover:bg-gray-50  gap-1 hover:text-orange-500 text-gray-500">
  <svg
    class="size-5"
    xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
    viewBox="0 0 24 24"
    fill="currentColor"
    ><path
      d="M21 20C21 20.5523 20.5523 21 20 21H4C3.44772 21 3 20.5523 3 20V9.48907C3 9.18048 3.14247 8.88917 3.38606 8.69972L11.3861 2.47749C11.7472 2.19663 12.2528 2.19663 12.6139 2.47749L20.6139 8.69972C20.8575 8.88917 21 9.18048 21 9.48907V20ZM19 19V9.97815L12 4.53371L5 9.97815V19H19Z"
    ></path></svg
  >
  <span class="text-xs">Home</span>
</button>

Teh full markup

<div
  class="fixed bottom-0 sm:bottom-5 sm:shadow-lg sm:shadow-gray-500/30 hover:shadow-md left-0 duration-300 overflow-hidden border-t sm:border z-50 w-full h-16 bg-white sm:max-w-md sm:rounded-xl inset-x-0 mx-auto border-gray-200">
  <div class="grid h-full grid-cols-5 mx-auto font-medium">
    <button
      type="button"
      class="inline-flex flex-col items-center justify-center px-5 hover:bg-gray-50 group gap-1 hover:text-orange-500 text-gray-500">
      <svg
        class="size-5"
        xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
        viewBox="0 0 24 24"
        fill="currentColor"
        ><path
          d="M21 20C21 20.5523 20.5523 21 20 21H4C3.44772 21 3 20.5523 3 20V9.48907C3 9.18048 3.14247 8.88917 3.38606 8.69972L11.3861 2.47749C11.7472 2.19663 12.2528 2.19663 12.6139 2.47749L20.6139 8.69972C20.8575 8.88917 21 9.18048 21 9.48907V20ZM19 19V9.97815L12 4.53371L5 9.97815V19H19Z"
        ></path></svg
      >
      <span class="text-xs">Home</span>
    </button>
    <button
      type="button"
      class="inline-flex flex-col items-center justify-center px-5 hover:bg-gray-50 group gap-1 hover:text-orange-500 text-gray-500">
      <svg
        class="size-5"
        xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
        viewBox="0 0 24 24"
        fill="currentColor"
        ><path
          d="M18.031 16.6168L22.3137 20.8995L20.8995 22.3137L16.6168 18.031C15.0769 19.263 13.124 20 11 20C6.032 20 2 15.968 2 11C2 6.032 6.032 2 11 2C15.968 2 20 6.032 20 11C20 13.124 19.263 15.0769 18.031 16.6168ZM16.0247 15.8748C17.2475 14.6146 18 12.8956 18 11C18 7.1325 14.8675 4 11 4C7.1325 4 4 7.1325 4 11C4 14.8675 7.1325 18 11 18C12.8956 18 14.6146 17.2475 15.8748 16.0247L16.0247 15.8748Z"
        ></path></svg
      >
      <span class="text-xs">Search</span>
    </button>
    <button
      type="button"
      class="inline-flex flex-col items-center justify-center px-5 hover:bg-gray-50 group gap-1 hover:text-orange-500 text-gray-500">
      <svg
        class="size-5"
        xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
        viewBox="0 0 24 24"
        fill="currentColor"
        ><path
          d="M12.001 4.52853C14.35 2.42 17.98 2.49 20.2426 4.75736C22.5053 7.02472 22.583 10.637 20.4786 12.993L11.9999 21.485L3.52138 12.993C1.41705 10.637 1.49571 7.01901 3.75736 4.75736C6.02157 2.49315 9.64519 2.41687 12.001 4.52853ZM18.827 6.1701C17.3279 4.66794 14.9076 4.60701 13.337 6.01687L12.0019 7.21524L10.6661 6.01781C9.09098 4.60597 6.67506 4.66808 5.17157 6.17157C3.68183 7.66131 3.60704 10.0473 4.97993 11.6232L11.9999 18.6543L19.0201 11.6232C20.3935 10.0467 20.319 7.66525 18.827 6.1701Z"
        ></path></svg
      >
      <span class="text-xs">Likes</span>
    </button>
    <button
      type="button"
      class="inline-flex flex-col items-center justify-center px-5 hover:bg-gray-50 group gap-1 hover:text-orange-500 text-gray-500">
      <svg
        class="size-5"
        xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
        viewBox="0 0 24 24"
        fill="currentColor"
        ><path
          d="M5 18H19V11.0314C19 7.14806 15.866 4 12 4C8.13401 4 5 7.14806 5 11.0314V18ZM12 2C16.9706 2 21 6.04348 21 11.0314V20H3V11.0314C3 6.04348 7.02944 2 12 2ZM9.5 21H14.5C14.5 22.3807 13.3807 23.5 12 23.5C10.6193 23.5 9.5 22.3807 9.5 21Z"
        ></path></svg
      >
      <span class="text-xs">Notifications</span>
    </button>
    <button
      type="button"
      class="inline-flex flex-col items-center justify-center px-5 hover:bg-gray-50 group gap-1 hover:text-orange-500 text-gray-500">
      <svg
        class="size-5"
        xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
        viewBox="0 0 24 24"
        fill="currentColor"
        ><path
          d="M4 22C4 17.5817 7.58172 14 12 14C16.4183 14 20 17.5817 20 22H18C18 18.6863 15.3137 16 12 16C8.68629 16 6 18.6863 6 22H4ZM12 13C8.685 13 6 10.315 6 7C6 3.685 8.685 1 12 1C15.315 1 18 3.685 18 7C18 10.315 15.315 13 12 13ZM12 11C14.21 11 16 9.21 16 7C16 4.79 14.21 3 12 3C9.79 3 8 4.79 8 7C8 9.21 9.79 11 12 11Z"
        ></path></svg
      >
      <span class="text-xs">Profile</span>
    </button>
  </div>
</div>

Conclusion

This is a simple bottom navigation that demonstrates how to use Tailwind CSS to create a bottom navigation with a predefined set of styles. It’s a great starting point for building more complex bottom navigations.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have a great day!

/Michael Andreuzza

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