16 CSS Side Menu Designs 01 / 16

Pure CSS Slide-In Side Menu

A navigation drawer that slides in from off-screen left when a burger icon is clicked, driven entirely by a hidden checkbox and CSS sibling selectors.

Pure CSS MIT licensed
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The code

<div class="sm-01">
  <input type="checkbox" class="sm-01__toggle" id="sm-01-toggle">
  <label class="sm-01__burger" for="sm-01-toggle" aria-label="Toggle menu">
    <span></span><span></span><span></span>
  </label>
  <nav class="sm-01__nav">
    <div class="sm-01__brand">
      <div class="sm-01__logo">V</div>
      <div><div class="sm-01__brand-name">Velocity</div><div class="sm-01__brand-sub">Design System</div></div>
    </div>
    <div class="sm-01__links">
      <a class="sm-01__link sm-01__link--active" href="#">
        <span class="sm-01__link-icon">⬡</span> Dashboard
      </a>
      <a class="sm-01__link" href="#">
        <span class="sm-01__link-icon">◈</span> Analytics
      </a>
      <a class="sm-01__link" href="#">
        <span class="sm-01__link-icon">⬟</span> Projects
      </a>
      <a class="sm-01__link" href="#">
        <span class="sm-01__link-icon">◇</span> Messages
      </a>
      <a class="sm-01__link" href="#">
        <span class="sm-01__link-icon">⬙</span> Settings
      </a>
    </div>
    <div class="sm-01__nav-footer">
      <div class="sm-01__avatar">
        <div class="sm-01__avatar-img">JD</div>
        <div>
          <div class="sm-01__avatar-name">Jane Doe</div>
          <div class="sm-01__avatar-role">Pro Plan</div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </nav>
  <div class="sm-01__content">
    <div class="sm-01__heading">Welcome back, Jane 👋</div>
    <div class="sm-01__subhead">Click the button above to slide open the menu — pure CSS only.</div>
    <div class="sm-01__cards">
      <div class="sm-01__card"><div class="sm-01__card-val">2,847</div><div class="sm-01__card-lbl">Page Views</div></div>
      <div class="sm-01__card"><div class="sm-01__card-val">94%</div><div class="sm-01__card-lbl">Uptime</div></div>
      <div class="sm-01__card"><div class="sm-01__card-val">$12.4k</div><div class="sm-01__card-lbl">Revenue</div></div>
      <div class="sm-01__card"><div class="sm-01__card-val">483</div><div class="sm-01__card-lbl">Users</div></div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
.sm-01, .sm-01 *, .sm-01 *::before, .sm-01 *::after {
  box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0; padding: 0;
}
.sm-01 ::selection { background: #7c3aed; color: #fff; }
.sm-01 {
  --bg: #0f172a;
  --surface: #1e293b;
  --menu-bg: #1a1033;
  --accent: #7c3aed;
  --accent2: #a78bfa;
  --text: #e2e8f0;
  --muted: #94a3b8;
  --border: rgba(124,58,237,0.2);
  --font: 'Plus Jakarta Sans', system-ui, sans-serif;
  --menu-w: 280px;
  --duration: 0.4s;
  font-family: var(--font);
  background: var(--bg);
  color: var(--text);
  min-height: 100vh;
  position: relative;
  overflow: hidden;
  border-radius: 12px;
}
/* Hidden checkbox toggle */
.sm-01__toggle {
  position: absolute;
  opacity: 0;
  width: 0;
  height: 0;
  pointer-events: none;
}
/* Burger label */
.sm-01__burger {
  position: absolute;
  top: 20px;
  left: 20px;
  z-index: 50;
  width: 42px;
  height: 42px;
  background: var(--surface);
  border: 1px solid var(--border);
  border-radius: 10px;
  cursor: pointer;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  gap: 5px;
  transition: background 0.2s, border-color 0.2s;
}
.sm-01__burger:hover { background: var(--accent); border-color: var(--accent); }
.sm-01__burger span {
  display: block;
  width: 20px;
  height: 2px;
  background: var(--text);
  border-radius: 2px;
  transition: transform var(--duration), opacity var(--duration);
  transform-origin: center;
}
/* Burger → X animation */
.sm-01__toggle:checked ~ .sm-01__burger span:nth-child(1) { transform: translateY(7px) rotate(45deg); }
.sm-01__toggle:checked ~ .sm-01__burger span:nth-child(2) { opacity: 0; transform: scaleX(0); }
.sm-01__toggle:checked ~ .sm-01__burger span:nth-child(3) { transform: translateY(-7px) rotate(-45deg); }
/* Slide-in panel */
.sm-01__nav {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0; left: 0;
  width: var(--menu-w);
  height: 100%;
  background: var(--menu-bg);
  border-right: 1px solid var(--border);
  transform: translateX(-100%);
  transition: transform var(--duration) cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
  z-index: 40;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  padding: 80px 0 24px;
  box-shadow: 4px 0 32px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
}
.sm-01__toggle:checked ~ .sm-01__nav { transform: translateX(0); }
/* Brand */
.sm-01__brand {
  padding: 0 24px 24px;
  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border);
  margin-bottom: 16px;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 12px;
}
.sm-01__logo {
  width: 36px; height: 36px;
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, var(--accent), var(--accent2));
  border-radius: 9px;
  display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
  font-weight: 700; font-size: 16px;
}
.sm-01__brand-name { font-weight: 700; font-size: 16px; }
.sm-01__brand-sub { font-size: 11px; color: var(--muted); }
/* Nav links */
.sm-01__links { flex: 1; padding: 0 12px; }
.sm-01__link {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  gap: 14px;
  padding: 13px 16px;
  border-radius: 10px;
  color: var(--muted);
  text-decoration: none;
  font-size: 14px;
  font-weight: 500;
  transition: all 0.2s;
  margin-bottom: 4px;
  cursor: pointer;
}
.sm-01__link:hover { color: var(--text); background: rgba(124,58,237,0.15); }
.sm-01__link--active { color: var(--text); background: rgba(124,58,237,0.2); }
.sm-01__link-icon {
  width: 36px; height: 36px;
  background: rgba(255,255,255,0.05);
  border-radius: 8px;
  display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
  font-size: 18px;
  flex-shrink: 0;
  transition: background 0.2s;
}
.sm-01__link:hover .sm-01__link-icon,
.sm-01__link--active .sm-01__link-icon {
  background: var(--accent);
}
/* Footer */
.sm-01__nav-footer {
  padding: 16px 24px 0;
  border-top: 1px solid var(--border);
}
.sm-01__avatar {
  display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 12px;
}
.sm-01__avatar-img {
  width: 36px; height: 36px;
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, #f59e0b, #ef4444);
  border-radius: 50%;
  display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
  font-weight: 700; font-size: 13px;
}
.sm-01__avatar-name { font-size: 13px; font-weight: 600; }
.sm-01__avatar-role { font-size: 11px; color: var(--muted); }
/* Main content */
.sm-01__content {
  padding: 80px 24px 24px 24px;
  transition: transform var(--duration) cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
}
.sm-01__heading { font-size: 22px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 8px; }
.sm-01__subhead { font-size: 14px; color: var(--muted); margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 1.6; }
.sm-01__cards {
  display: grid;
  grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
  gap: 12px;
}
.sm-01__card {
  background: var(--surface);
  border: 1px solid var(--border);
  border-radius: 12px;
  padding: 16px;
}
.sm-01__card-val { font-size: 22px; font-weight: 700; color: var(--accent2); }
.sm-01__card-lbl { font-size: 12px; color: var(--muted); margin-top: 4px; }
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .sm-01__nav, .sm-01__burger span { transition: none; }
}

How this works

A visually hidden <input type="checkbox"> paired with a <label> burger button provides the toggle mechanism. When the checkbox is :checked, the CSS general sibling combinator (~) targets .sm-01__nav and switches its transform: translateX(-100%) to translateX(0), animating the panel into view.

The burger bars animate into an ✕ via three nth-child rules — the top and bottom bars rotate ±45° while the middle bar fades out with opacity:0; scaleX(0). All animation uses only transform and opacity, keeping every frame on the GPU compositor for buttery 60 FPS performance.

Customize

  • Adjust slide speed by changing --duration: 0.4s — set to 0.25s for a snappier feel or 0.6s for a dramatic reveal.
  • Change the drawer width by editing --menu-w: 280px — values between 220px and 320px work best for typical navigation content.
  • Swap to a right-side drawer by setting the nav to right: 0; left: auto and flipping the transform to translateX(100%).
  • Add a semi-transparent overlay by inserting a sibling <label for="..."> and using :checked ~ .overlay { background: rgba(0,0,0,0.5); pointer-events: all; }.
  • Customise the burger to a text label like "MENU" by replacing the <span> bars with text and removing the rotation keyframe rules.

Watch out for

  • The ~ combinator requires the checkbox, burger label, and nav panel to all be direct children of the same parent — nesting any inside a wrapper div breaks CSS targeting.
  • Safari requires a visible element inside the burger <label> for the click area to register; always use explicit <span> bars or inner content.
  • Never toggle display:none for the reveal — always animate transform or opacity so the transition actually plays.

Browser support

ChromeSafariFirefoxEdge
49+ 9+ 44+ 49+

The checkbox :checked hack is universally supported; no special flags required.

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