How to create a split navigation bar using CSS ?

Last Updated : 28 Apr, 2025

The article will demonstrate how to create a split navigation bar using CSS. There are two ways to make the split navigation bar these are with the help of flexbox properties and CSS position property. A split navigation bar is a popular layout where navigation links are divided into two sections. It is used to achieve a balanced look for the navbar.

Table of Content

Using Flexbox and space-between
Using CSS Position Property

Syntax

// Syntax forFlexbox and space-between
.class{
display: flex;
} 

// Syntax for CSS Position Property
.class{
position: absolute;
right: 20px;
}

Using Flexbox and space-between

Using Flexbox with ' justify-content: space-between ' aligns items with maximum space between them, pushing the first item to the start and the last item to the end of the container. This creates a layout where space is distributed evenly, providing a clean and organized appearance to the elements.

Approach

Create the structure of the navbar in HTML using different types of the elements including <div>, <ul>, <li>, and button.
There are two unordered list defined where the first have three list items and the second have only one list item.
Cretae a external stylesheet and link to the index.html file for defining the style to the navbar.
Use property display flex and justify-content space between to split navigation bar.

Example 1: The example shows split navigation bar using CSS with various flexbox properties.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" 
          content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Navbar</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" 
          href="index.css">
    <link rel="stylesheet" href=
"https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/6.5.1/css/all.min.css">
</head>

<body>
    <div class="box">
        <div class="nav_list_box">

            <div class="navlistleft">
                <ul>
                    <li>
                        <a href="#">
                            <i class="fa fa-solid fa-house">
                              </i>
                            Home
                        </a>
                    </li>
                    <li>
                        <a href="#">
                            <i class="fa fa-solid fa-address-card">
                              </i>
                            About
                        </a>
                    </li>
                    <li>
                        <a href="#">
                            <i class="fa fa-solid fa-address-book">
                              </i>
                            Contact Us
                        </a>
                </ul>
            </div>
            <div class="navlistright">
                <ul>
                    <li>
                        <a href="#">
                            <i class="fa fa-solid fa-book">
                              </i>
                            Courses
                        </a>
                    </li>
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

CSS

/* style.css */
@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Poppins&display=swap');

* {
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
    box-sizing: border-box;
}

.box {
    background-color: rgb(111, 201, 108);
    font-family: 'Poppins', sans-serif;
}

.nav_list_box {
    display: flex;
    justify-content: space-between;
    align-items: center;
    height: 10vh;
}

ul {
    list-style: none;
}

.navlistleft ul {
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    gap: 20px;
    margin-left: 20px;
}

li {
    font-size: 20px;
}

.navlistright ul {
    margin-right: 20px;
}

li {
    transition: .2s linear;
}

li:hover {
    color: rgb(9, 21, 4);
    transform: translateY(-3px);
}

a {
    text-decoration: none;
    color: rgb(23, 64, 7);
}

a:hover {
    color: rgb(9, 21, 4);
    font-weight: 700;
}

@media only screen and (max-width: 513px) {
    li {
        font-size: 15px;
    }
}

@media only screen and (max-width: 424px) {
    li {
        font-size: 10px;
    }
}

Output:

Using CSS Position Property

The CSS ' position: absolute' property allows an element to be positioned relative to its nearest positioned ancestor or the initial containing block. Elements with `position: absolute` are positioned based on their nearest positioned ancestor, creating layouts with more control over element placement.

Approach

Create the structure of the navbar in HTML using different types of the elements including <div>, <ul>, <li>, and button. There is unordered list defined where four list items are defined.
Cretae a external stylesheet and link to the index.html file for defining the style to the navbar.
Style the list item and set the position property to absolute and right to 20px. It will give the effect of split navigation bar.
Use fontawsome icons and different CSS properties to style the navbar.

Example 2: The example shows split navigation bar using CSS with position property.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" 
          content="width=device-width,
                   initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Navbar</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
    <link rel="stylesheet" href=
"https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/6.5.1/css/all.min.css">
</head>

<body>
    <div class="box">

        <div class="navlist">
            <ul>
                <li>
                    <a href="#">
                        <i class="fa fa-solid fa-house"></i>
                        Home
                    </a>
                </li>
                <li>
                    <a href="#">
                        <i class="fa fa-solid fa-address-card"></i>
                        About
                    </a>
                </li>
                <li>
                    <a href="#">
                        <i class="fa fa-solid fa-address-book"></i>
                        Contact Us
                    </a>
                </li>
                <li class="split">
                    <a href="#">
                        <i class="fa fa-solid fa-book"></i>
                        Courses
                    </a>
                </li>
            </ul>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>