16 CSS Side Menu Designs 06 / 16

Sticky Fixed Vertical Navigation Sidebar

A full-height sidebar that remains anchored to the viewport top while long-form main content scrolls independently alongside it using position:sticky.

Pure CSS MIT licensed
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The code

<div class="sm-06">
  <nav class="sm-06__nav">
    <div class="sm-06__brand">
      <div class="sm-06__logo">N</div>
      <div>
        <span class="sm-06__brand-name">Nova</span>
        <span class="sm-06__brand-plan">Pro</span>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="sm-06__section">
      <div class="sm-06__section-lbl">Content</div>
      <a class="sm-06__link sm-06__link--active" href="#">
        <span class="sm-06__link-pip"></span> Articles
        <span class="sm-06__badge">24</span>
      </a>
      <a class="sm-06__link" href="#">
        <span class="sm-06__link-pip"></span> Drafts
        <span class="sm-06__badge">3</span>
      </a>
      <a class="sm-06__link" href="#"><span class="sm-06__link-pip"></span> Media</a>
      <a class="sm-06__link" href="#"><span class="sm-06__link-pip"></span> Comments</a>
      <div class="sm-06__divider"></div>
      <div class="sm-06__section-lbl">Manage</div>
      <a class="sm-06__link" href="#"><span class="sm-06__link-pip"></span> Users</a>
      <a class="sm-06__link" href="#"><span class="sm-06__link-pip"></span> Settings</a>
      <a class="sm-06__link" href="#"><span class="sm-06__link-pip"></span> Plugins</a>
    </div>
    <div class="sm-06__upgrade">
      <div class="sm-06__upgrade-title">Upgrade to Team</div>
      <div class="sm-06__upgrade-sub">Collaborate with up to 20 members and unlock analytics.</div>
      <div class="sm-06__upgrade-btn">View Plans →</div>
    </div>
  </nav>
  <div class="sm-06__main">
    <div class="sm-06__page-title">Articles</div>
    <div class="sm-06__page-sub">The sidebar stays fixed while this content area scrolls. Scroll down to verify.</div>
    <div class="sm-06__article">
      <div class="sm-06__article-title">Getting Started with CSS Grid Layout</div>
      <div class="sm-06__article-body">A comprehensive guide to modern CSS Grid including template areas, named lines, and implicit grids for professional web layouts.</div>
      <div class="sm-06__article-meta">Published · 4 min read</div>
    </div>
    <div class="sm-06__article">
      <div class="sm-06__article-title">Mastering the CSS Cascade & Specificity</div>
      <div class="sm-06__article-body">Deep dive into how browsers resolve style conflicts, the cascade algorithm, and why understanding layers beats specificity hacks.</div>
      <div class="sm-06__article-meta">Draft · 7 min read</div>
    </div>
    <div class="sm-06__article">
      <div class="sm-06__article-title">Container Queries: A New Era of Responsive UI</div>
      <div class="sm-06__article-body">Explore how container queries enable truly component-level responsiveness without relying on the viewport width at all.</div>
      <div class="sm-06__article-meta">Published · 5 min read</div>
    </div>
    <div class="sm-06__article">
      <div class="sm-06__article-title">Advanced CSS Custom Properties Techniques</div>
      <div class="sm-06__article-body">Beyond basic theming: learn how to use custom properties as data channels, calculation bridges, and runtime animation drivers.</div>
      <div class="sm-06__article-meta">Published · 6 min read</div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
.sm-06, .sm-06 *, .sm-06 *::before, .sm-06 *::after {
  box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0; padding: 0;
}
.sm-06 ::selection { background: #db2777; color: #fff; }
.sm-06 {
  --bg: #0c0c14;
  --surface: #15151f;
  --nav-bg: #0e0e19;
  --accent: #db2777;
  --accent2: #f472b6;
  --text: #f8fafc;
  --muted: #6b7280;
  --border: rgba(219,39,119,0.15);
  --font: 'Manrope', system-ui, sans-serif;
  --nav-w: 240px;
  font-family: var(--font);
  background: var(--bg);
  color: var(--text);
  display: flex;
  min-height: 100vh;
  position: relative;
  overflow: hidden;
  border-radius: 12px;
}
/* Sticky sidebar */
.sm-06__nav {
  width: var(--nav-w);
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  height: 100vh;
  background: var(--nav-bg);
  border-right: 1px solid var(--border);
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  padding: 20px 0;
  flex-shrink: 0;
  overflow: hidden;
}
/* Top glow */
.sm-06__nav::after {
  content: '';
  position: absolute;
  bottom: 0; left: 50%;
  transform: translateX(-50%);
  width: 120px; height: 120px;
  background: radial-gradient(circle, rgba(219,39,119,0.15), transparent 70%);
  pointer-events: none;
}
.sm-06__brand {
  display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 10px;
  padding: 0 18px 18px;
  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border);
  margin-bottom: 16px;
}
.sm-06__logo {
  width: 34px; height: 34px;
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, var(--accent), var(--accent2));
  border-radius: 8px;
  display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
  font-weight: 800; font-size: 14px; color: #fff;
}
.sm-06__brand-name { font-size: 15px; font-weight: 800; }
.sm-06__brand-plan {
  font-size: 10px;
  color: var(--accent2);
  font-weight: 700;
  background: rgba(219,39,119,0.12);
  padding: 1px 6px;
  border-radius: 99px;
  margin-left: 4px;
}
.sm-06__section { padding: 0 18px; flex: 1; }
.sm-06__section-lbl {
  font-size: 10px; font-weight: 700;
  letter-spacing: 0.14em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  color: var(--muted);
  margin-bottom: 6px;
  margin-top: 4px;
}
.sm-06__link {
  display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 12px;
  padding: 10px 12px;
  border-radius: 9px;
  color: var(--muted);
  font-size: 13px; font-weight: 600;
  cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;
  transition: all 0.2s;
  margin-bottom: 1px;
  position: relative;
}
.sm-06__link:hover { color: var(--text); background: rgba(219,39,119,0.1); }
.sm-06__link--active {
  color: var(--text);
  background: rgba(219,39,119,0.15);
}
.sm-06__link--active .sm-06__link-pip {
  background: var(--accent);
  box-shadow: 0 0 8px var(--accent);
}
.sm-06__link-pip {
  width: 6px; height: 6px;
  border-radius: 50%;
  background: var(--muted);
  flex-shrink: 0;
  transition: background 0.2s, box-shadow 0.2s;
}
.sm-06__link:hover .sm-06__link-pip { background: var(--accent2); }
.sm-06__badge {
  margin-left: auto;
  background: rgba(219,39,119,0.2);
  color: var(--accent2);
  font-size: 10px;
  font-weight: 700;
  padding: 2px 6px;
  border-radius: 99px;
}
.sm-06__divider { height: 1px; background: var(--border); margin: 10px 0; }
.sm-06__upgrade {
  margin: 0 10px 16px;
  padding: 14px;
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, rgba(219,39,119,0.15), rgba(244,114,182,0.08));
  border: 1px solid rgba(219,39,119,0.25);
  border-radius: 10px;
}
.sm-06__upgrade-title { font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 4px; }
.sm-06__upgrade-sub { font-size: 11px; color: var(--muted); line-height: 1.5; }
.sm-06__upgrade-btn {
  display: inline-block;
  margin-top: 10px;
  padding: 6px 14px;
  background: var(--accent);
  color: #fff;
  font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700;
  border-radius: 7px;
  cursor: pointer;
}
/* Main content — scrollable */
.sm-06__main {
  flex: 1;
  min-width: 0;
  overflow-y: auto;
  padding: 24px;
}
.sm-06__main::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 4px; }
.sm-06__main::-webkit-scrollbar-track { background: transparent; }
.sm-06__main::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { background: var(--border); border-radius: 4px; }
.sm-06__page-title { font-size: 20px; font-weight: 800; margin-bottom: 4px; }
.sm-06__page-sub { font-size: 13px; color: var(--muted); margin-bottom: 24px; line-height: 1.6; }
.sm-06__article {
  background: var(--surface);
  border: 1px solid var(--border);
  border-radius: 10px;
  padding: 16px;
  margin-bottom: 12px;
}
.sm-06__article-title { font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 6px; }
.sm-06__article-body { font-size: 13px; color: var(--muted); line-height: 1.7; }
.sm-06__article-meta { font-size: 11px; color: rgba(219,39,119,0.7); margin-top: 8px; font-weight: 600; }
@container (max-width: 720px), (max-width: 720px) {
  .sm-06 { --nav-w: 64px; }
  .sm-06__brand { padding: 0 12px 14px; justify-content: center; }
  .sm-06__brand > div:last-child { display: none; }
  .sm-06__section { padding: 0 8px; }
  .sm-06__link { padding: 10px 8px; justify-content: center; gap: 0; font-size: 0; }
  .sm-06__link-pip { width: 8px; height: 8px; }
  .sm-06__badge, .sm-06__section-lbl { display: none; }
  .sm-06__upgrade { display: none; }
  .sm-06__main { padding: 16px; min-width: 0; }
  .sm-06__article { padding: 14px; }
  .sm-06__article-title, .sm-06__article-body { overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .sm-06__link, .sm-06__link-pip { transition: none; }
}

How this works

The sidebar uses position: sticky; top: 0; height: 460px (or 100vh in a real page context) to lock it relative to the nearest scrolling ancestor. The main content uses overflow-y: auto with its own scrollbar, so only the content div scrolls. This avoids the layout complexity of position: fixed while producing the same visual result.

Flexbox on the outer wrapper ensures both columns fill the available height. The sidebar uses flex-direction: column internally so the upgrade card and user section sit at the bottom naturally. A custom scrollbar rule (::-webkit-scrollbar) gives the content area a thin styled track that blends with the dark theme.

Customize

  • For a real full-page layout, change height: 460px to height: 100vh with position: sticky; top: 0 on the sidebar.
  • Add a scroll progress indicator inside the sidebar reading the content scroll position via JS and updating a --scroll custom property for a progress bar.
  • Replace the upgrade card with contextual help tips relevant to the currently active page section.
  • Add a smooth active-link tracker using IntersectionObserver on content headings, updating the active link class as sections scroll into view.
  • Apply a top fade mask on the sticky nav: mask-image: linear-gradient(transparent, black 20px) to signal scrollable content above.

Watch out for

  • position: sticky requires the parent not to have overflow: hidden or overflow: auto — these break the sticky behaviour entirely.
  • The sticky sidebar only works if wrapped in a flex/grid parent with a defined height; without this the sticky context defaults to the body.
  • On mobile Safari, position: sticky can flicker during momentum scrolling — applying -webkit-transform: translateZ(0) to the element often resolves this.

Browser support

ChromeSafariFirefoxEdge
56+ 13+ 59+ 56+

position:sticky is fully supported in all modern browsers. IE11 has partial support with a prefix.

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