20 CSS Responsive Navbar Designs 05 / 20

CSS Pill Highlight Navigation Bar

Compact pill-shaped nav links that highlight on hover with a soft background fill and subtle scale animation.

Pure CSS MIT licensed
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The code

<div class="nav-05">
  <div class="nav-05__bar">
    <a href="#" class="nav-05__logo">⬡ Helix</a>
    <div class="nav-05__sep"></div>
    <ul class="nav-05__links">
      <li><a href="#" class="is-active">Home</a></li>
      <li><a href="#">Features</a></li>
      <li><a href="#">Pricing</a></li>
      <li><a href="#">Blog</a></li>
      <li><a href="#">About</a></li>
    </ul>
    <div class="nav-05__sep"></div>
    <button class="nav-05__cta">Get access</button>
  </div>
</div>
<input type="checkbox" id="nav-05-toggle">
<div class="nav-05__mobile-bar">
  <a href="#" class="nav-05__mobile-logo">⬡ Helix</a>
  <label for="nav-05-toggle" class="nav-05__hamburger" aria-label="Toggle menu">
    <span></span><span></span><span></span>
  </label>
</div>
<div class="nav-05__mobile-links">
  <a href="#">Home</a>
  <a href="#">Features</a>
  <a href="#">Pricing</a>
  <a href="#">Blog</a>
  <a href="#">About</a>
  <a href="#" style="color:#818cf8; font-weight:600;">Get access →</a>
</div>
<div style="padding:4rem 2rem; color:#f9fafb; max-width:700px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;">
  <h1 style="font-size:3rem; font-weight:700; letter-spacing:-0.04em; margin-bottom:1rem;">Pill Highlight <br>Navigation Bar</h1>
  <p style="color:#9ca3af; font-size:1.1rem; line-height:1.7;">A floating pill-style navbar centered on the page. Active state uses a solid white pill with dark text. Hover shows a translucent pill preview.</p>
</div>
.nav-05, .nav-05 *, .nav-05 *::before, .nav-05 *::after {
  margin: 0; padding: 0; box-sizing: border-box;
}
.nav-05 {
  --text: #f9fafb;
  --muted: #9ca3af;
  --pill: rgba(255,255,255,0.1);
  --active-pill: #ffffff;
  --active-text: #111827;
  font-family: 'Inter', sans-serif;
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  padding: 1.5rem 1rem;
  position: sticky; top: 0; z-index: 100;
}
.nav-05__bar {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 0.5rem;
  background: rgba(255,255,255,0.06);
  border: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.1);
  border-radius: 999px;
  padding: 0.35rem;
  backdrop-filter: blur(12px);
  box-shadow: 0 8px 32px rgba(0,0,0,0.4), inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.08);
}
.nav-05__logo {
  font-weight: 700;
  font-size: 0.95rem;
  color: var(--text);
  text-decoration: none;
  padding: 0.4rem 1rem;
  letter-spacing: -0.02em;
  flex-shrink: 0;
}
.nav-05__sep {
  width: 1px; height: 20px;
  background: rgba(255,255,255,0.15);
  flex-shrink: 0;
}
.nav-05__links {
  display: flex;
  list-style: none;
  gap: 0.25rem;
}
.nav-05__links a {
  display: block;
  color: var(--muted);
  text-decoration: none;
  font-size: 0.85rem;
  font-weight: 500;
  padding: 0.4rem 0.9rem;
  border-radius: 999px;
  transition: color 0.2s, background 0.2s;
  white-space: nowrap;
}
.nav-05__links a:hover { color: var(--text); background: var(--pill); }
.nav-05__links a.is-active {
  background: var(--active-pill);
  color: var(--active-text);
  font-weight: 600;
  box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.25);
}
.nav-05__cta {
  padding: 0.4rem 1.1rem;
  border-radius: 999px;
  font-size: 0.85rem;
  font-weight: 600;
  cursor: pointer;
  border: none;
  font-family: inherit;
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, #6366f1, #8b5cf6);
  color: #fff;
  transition: opacity 0.2s, transform 0.15s;
  flex-shrink: 0;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(99,102,241,0.4);
}
.nav-05__cta:hover { opacity: 0.85; transform: scale(0.97); }

/* Mobile — stack center-aligned */
#nav-05-toggle { display: none; }
.nav-05__mobile-bar {
  display: none;
  position: sticky; top: 0; z-index: 100;
  background: rgba(10,10,10,0.9);
  backdrop-filter: blur(12px);
  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.08);
  padding: 0.75rem 1.25rem;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: space-between;
}
.nav-05__mobile-logo { font-weight: 700; font-size: 1rem; color: #f9fafb; text-decoration: none; }
.nav-05__hamburger { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 4px; cursor: pointer; border: none; background: transparent; padding: 6px; }
.nav-05__hamburger span { display: block; width: 20px; height: 1.5px; background: #f9fafb; border-radius: 2px; transition: transform 0.3s, opacity 0.3s; }
#nav-05-toggle:checked ~ .nav-05__mobile-bar .nav-05__hamburger span:nth-child(1) { transform: translateY(5.5px) rotate(45deg); }
#nav-05-toggle:checked ~ .nav-05__mobile-bar .nav-05__hamburger span:nth-child(2) { opacity: 0; }
#nav-05-toggle:checked ~ .nav-05__mobile-bar .nav-05__hamburger span:nth-child(3) { transform: translateY(-5.5px) rotate(-45deg); }
.nav-05__mobile-links {
  display: none; flex-direction: column; gap: 0.25rem;
  background: rgba(10,10,10,0.95); backdrop-filter: blur(12px);
  padding: 1rem 1.25rem;
  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.08);
  position: sticky; top: 56px; z-index: 99;
}
.nav-05__mobile-links a { display: block; color: #9ca3af; text-decoration: none; font-size: 0.95rem; font-weight: 500; padding: 0.6rem 0.75rem; border-radius: 8px; transition: background 0.15s, color 0.15s; }
.nav-05__mobile-links a:hover { background: rgba(255,255,255,0.06); color: #f9fafb; }
#nav-05-toggle:checked ~ .nav-05__mobile-links { display: flex; }

@media (max-width: 640px) {
  .nav-05 { display: none; }
  .nav-05__mobile-bar { display: flex; }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .nav-05__links a, .nav-05__cta { transition: none; }
  .nav-05__hamburger span { transition: none; }
  .nav-05__mobile-links a { transition: none; }
}

How this works

Each link is styled with border-radius: 999px and a transparent background. On :hover and .is-active, the background transitions to a semi-transparent tinted fill and the link scales up slightly via transform: scale(1.04). Because transform and background-color are compositor-friendly properties, the transition is smooth even on lower-end devices.

Customize

  • Adjust pill padding with padding: 0.5rem 1.1rem — wider horizontal padding makes the pills feel more button-like.
  • Use a solid background instead of semi-transparent for a more assertive active state.
  • Remove the scale animation by setting transform: none in the hover rule for a flatter design language.

Watch out for

  • If links have varying font weights between default and active states, the layout will reflow and shift surrounding links — use font-weight consistently or reserve the space with a pseudo-element trick.

Browser support

ChromeSafariFirefoxEdge
49+ 9+ 44+ 49+

No advanced features — universally supported.

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