Horizontal menu with sub-tabs in two columns for Blogger

This is a very nice horizontal menu in which its sub-tabs are displayed in two columns and is also made with CSS, without any scripts.

The "advantage" so to speak, is that the sub-tabs when arranged in two columns are not very long, so it will be neat and less space along. You can see an example here:

• Tab 1 Title Here
• Tab 2 Title Here
• Tab 3 Title Here
  • Sub Tab 3.1
  • Sub Tab 3.2
  • Sub Tab 3.3
  • Sub Tab 3.4
  • Sub Tab 3.5
  • Sub Tab 3.6
• Tab 4 Title Here
  • Sub Tab 4.1
  • Sub Tab 4.2
  • Sub Tab 4.3
  • Sub Tab 4.4
  • Sub Tab 4.5
  • Sub Tab 4.6
• Tab 5 Title Here
  • Sub Tab 5.1
  • Sub Tab 5.2
  • Sub Tab 5.3
  • Sub Tab 5.4
  • Sub Tab 5.5
  • Sub Tab 5.6
  • Sub Tab 5.7
  • Sub Tab 5.8
• Tab 6 Title Here

Adding A Horizontal Menu With Sub Tabs in Two Columns To Blogger

STEP 1: In Blogger, go to your "Layout" and on the "Page Elements" section.

• Click on the "Add a Gadget" link just under your header image
• From the Gadget's List, select "HTML/JavaScript" option.

STEP 2: Simply copy and paste this ENTIRE code into your widget. Note: Leave the "Title" section of this widget blank.

<div id='menucol'>
<div id='topwrapper'>
<ul id='top'>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Tab 1 Title Here</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Tab 2 Title Here</a></li>
<li><a class='submenucol' href='#'>Tab 3 Title Here</a>
<ul>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 3.1</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 3.2</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 3.3</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 3.4</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 3.5</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 3.6</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class='submenucol' href='#'>Tab 4 Title Here</a>
<ul>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 4.1</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 4.2</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 4.3</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 4.4</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 4.5</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 4.6</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class='submenucol' href='#'>Tab 5 Title Here</a>
<ul>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 5.1</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 5.2</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 5.3</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 5.4</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 5.5</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 5.6</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 5.7</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 5.8</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Tab 6 Title Here</a></li>

</ul>
<br class='clearit'/>
</div>
</div>

Customize your main tabs by changing the Tab Titles to whatever you want. Include a URL for each one if you want it to be 'clickable'. If not, you can just put a # sign where it says http://YOUR URL HERE.com

You can add or delete as many of the main tabs as you need, just make sure to copy the entire code for the main tab for each additional tab you want:

<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Tab 7 Title Here</a>
<ul>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 7.1</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 7.2</a></li>
<li><a href='http://YOUR URL HERE.com'>Sub Tab 7.3</a></li>
</ul>
</li>

STEP 3: Now let's go a step further and add the CSS style in our Template

• Go to Template > Edit HTML

• Click on the sideways arrow next to <b:skin>...</b:skin> 

• Then click anywhere inside the code area and search - using CTRL + F keys - for the ]]></b:skin> tag and just above ]]></b:skin> add this code:

/* Horizontal menu with 2 columns
----------------------------------------------- */
#menucol {
width:940px;
height:37px;
background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, #666666, #000000);
background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0.00, #666666), color-stop(1.0, #000000));
filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Gradient(gradientType=0,startColorStr=#666666,endColorStr=#000000);
border-bottom:1px solid #666666;
border-top:1px solid #666666;
margin:0 auto;padding:0 auto;
overflow:hidden;
}
#topwrapper {
width:940px;
height:40px;
margin:0 auto;
padding:0 auto;
}
.clearit {
clear: both;
height: 0;
line-height: 0.0;
font-size: 0;
}
#top {
width:100%;
}
#top, #top ul {
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
list-style: none;
}
#top a {
border-right:1px solid #333333;
text-align:left;
display: block;
text-decoration: none;
padding:10px 12px 11px;
font:bold 14px Arial;
text-transform:none;
color:#eee;
}
#top a:hover {
background:#000000;
color:#F6F6F6;
}
#top a.submenucol {
background-image: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2V7a5VwRDlNMvP2uhmZ8jEnH46WCeNbHEqiGiARdLOZN688y33VEhniRf0YbxyxJoU_8T33URKXBWlm4U6D956LqjPRRLo0GKJ9fRNMm9VwafusLfgBo63x43s_EwvUDZxZdQTXVxPEY/s1600/arrow_white.gif);
background-repeat: no-repeat;
padding: 10px 24px 11px 12px;
background-position: right center;
}
#top li {
float: left;
position: relative;
}
#top li {
position: static !important;
width: auto;
}
#top li ul, #top ul li {
width:300px;
}
#top ul li a {
text-align:left;
padding: 6px 15px;
font-size:13px;
font-weight:normal;
text-transform:none;
font-family:Arial, sans-serif;
border:none;
}
#top li ul {
z-index:100;
position: absolute;
display: none;
background-color:#F1F1F1;
margin-left:-80px;
padding:10px 0;
border-radius: 0px 0px 6px 6px;
box-shadow:0 2px 2px rgba(0,0,0,0.6);
filter:alpha(opacity=87);
opacity:.87;
}
#top li ul li {
width:150px;
float:left;
margin:0;
padding:0;
}
#top li:hover ul, #top li.hvr ul {
display: block;
}
#top li:hover ul a, #top li.hvr ul a {
color:#333;
background-color:transparent;
text-decoration:none;
}
#top ul a:hover {
text-decoration:underline!important;
color:#444444 !important;
}

• Now find (CTRL + F) this line:

/* Tabs

• It will also have some little lines beneath:

/* Tabs
----------------------------------------------- */

• And just below these little lines, delete the code below until you reach at:

/* Columns
----------------------------------------------- */

• Instead of the code that you have removed, add this one:

#crosscol ul {z-index: 200; padding:0 !important;}
#crosscol li:hover {position:relative;}
#crosscol ul li {padding:0 !important;}
.tabs-outer {z-index:1;}
.tabs-inner {padding: 0 0px;}

See this screenshot for more info:

STEP 4: The final step is to Save the Template and you are done!

Visit your blog to see a beautiful navigation menu just below header.
If you have any questions or need help, leave a comment below.

Fade In/Out Page Loading Effect On Blogger Posts

A very common effect in jQuery is the fade effect that hides or shows an element by fading it, and we can use it in many ways as for example in the blog's navigation. The following script does just that, by loading the page with a fading effect when we browse on internal links that are in the blog, such as post titles, labels links, archive, navigation links, etc..

You can see an example in this demo blog, click on the title of any post and see the fading effect when the page is loading.

How To Implement the Fade In Loading Effect

1) To put this fading effect on your blog, go to your Template > Edit HTML :

2) Click anywhere inside the code area and search for the </head> tag using CTRL + F keys:

3) Then, just above </head> add the following code:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
$(document).ready(function() {
$("body").css("z-index", "-10");
$("body").fadeIn(0);

$("a").click(function(event){
event.preventDefault();
linkLocation = this.href;
$("body").fadeOut(500, redirectPage); });
function redirectPage() {
window.location = linkLocation;
}
});
//]]>
</script>
<style>
html {
background-color: #F2F2F2; /* Color fading */
}
</style>

4) Save the changes and that's it. In green you can see where to change the color that fades on a loading page.

The original script hides the body of the page while loading, I prefer to change that property with a negative z-index to avoid problems with the search engine robots that may effect the positioning.

Problems?

Consider that such effects could increase the blog loading time, so I recommend using it only when your blog loads fast and does not have too many scripts.

If you already use another version of jQuery remove the other, leaving only this which will be readed first.

If you are using Mootools or Scriptaculous, then you have to make some modifications to the code in order to be compatible.
If you have another script with a fade effect, then it could interfere with this and you might not see anything on the page except the color fading, in such cases it is better without this script.

You can also use this effect only on some links, for example, if you want to appear only when you click on the post titles in the navigation links (older posts and newer posts), and on the top tabs, then replace this line:

$("a").click(function(event){

With this:

$(".post-title a, .blog-pager-older-link, .blog-pager-newer-link, .tabs").click(function(event){

In some cases, the page can load for a second and then load with the fade effect, this may be "normal" because the browser is slow to read the script on page load.

Apart from these drawbacks, I think it's a very elegant way to load blog pages while browsing them, don't you think?

Using the :before and :after Pseudo Elements on Sidebar Titles

This is another method of using the :after and :before properties and it will work without too many problems in any browser, including IE8. What this trick will do is to divide the header bar into left and right sections, where the left will contain an explanatory title and the right, a related link.

The idea of generating Adobe-like Arrow Headers was actually discussed by css-tricks and adapted to Blogger.

How to Add Adobe-like Headers to Blogger

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger dashboard > go to Template > Edit HTML, then click anywhere inside the code area to search - using the CTRL + F keys - for the following tag:

</head>

Step 2. Just above it, copy and paste this code:

 <style>
.module h2 {
  background-color: #D5D5D5;
  border-radius: 20px 0 0 20px;
  color: #FFFFFF;
  font-family: Verdana;
  font-size: 14px;
  line-height: 32px;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0 0 0 20px;
  text-shadow: 2px 1px 1px #222;
}

.module h2 a {
    border-left: 5px solid #ffffff;
    color: #101921;
    float: right;
    font-size: 14px;
    text-decoration: none;
    text-shadow: none;
    padding: 0 10px;
    position: relative;
   -moz-transition: padding 0.1s linear;
   -webkit-transition: padding 0.1s linear;
   -ms-transition: padding 0.1s linear;
   -o-transition: padding 0.1s linear;
}
.module h2 a:hover {
  padding: 0 32px;
}

.module h2 a:before, .module h2 a:after {
    content: &quot;&quot;;
    height: 0;
    position: absolute;
    top: 50%;
    width: 0;
}
.module h2 a:before {
    border-bottom: 8px solid transparent;
    border-right: 8px solid #ffffff;
    border-top: 8px solid transparent;
    left: -12px;
    margin-top: -8px;
}
.module h2 a:after {
    border-bottom: 6px solid transparent;
    border-top: 6px solid transparent;
    left: -6px;
    margin-top: -6px;
}

.module.blue h2 a {background-color: #A2D5EC;}
.module.blue h2 a:hover {background-color: #C5F0FF;}
.module.blue h2 a:after {border-right: 6px solid #A2D5EC;}
.module.blue h2 a:hover:after {border-right-color: #C5F0FF;}

.module.yellow h2 a {background-color: #FCE98D;}
.module.yellow h2 a:hover {background-color: #FFD700;}
.module.yellow h2 a:after {border-right: 6px solid #FCE98D;}
.module.yellow h2 a:hover:after {border-right-color: #FFD700;}

.module.green h2 a {background-color: #bada55;}
.module.green h2 a:hover {background: #C7E176;}
.module.green h2 a:after {border-right: 6px solid #bada55;}
.module.green h2 a:hover:after {border-right-color: #C7E176;}

.module.red h2 a {background-color: #F0A5B5;}
.module.red h2 a:hover {background-color: #FFC7D2;}
.module.red h2 a:after {border-right: 6px solid #F0A5B5;}
.module.red h2 a:hover:after {border-right-color: #FFC7D2;}
</style>

Step 3. Save the Template.

Screenshot:

Step 4. Now go to Layout and Add a new HTML/JavaScript Gadget with one of the codes below for each of the widget title:

Background in blue:

<div class="module blue">
<h2>Title in <a href="Link URL">Blue</a></h2>
</div>

Background in yellow:

<div class="module yellow">
<h2>Title in <a href="Link URL">Yellow</a></h2>
</div>

Background in green:

<div class="module green">
<h2>Title in <a href="Link URL">Green</a></h2>
</div>

Background in red:

<div class="module red">
<h2>Title in <a href="Link URL">Red</a></h2>
</div>

Note: Change "Title in" text with your widget's title and Blue, Yellow, Green and Red with the text on the right, then add a Link URL to it.
Step 5. After you saved the HTML/Javascript gadgets containing the codes above, drag and drop them just above the widgets you want to show... and Save the Arrangement.

DEMO

You can see how the sidebar titles has been replaced with some cool header bars on this demo blog.