[[!meta title="Tabbed Content Without JavaScript"]] [[!meta date="2019-01-28"]] Creating tabs is a fairly trivial and common practice in web design, but many times it requires JavaScript to properly implement. Fortunately it *is* possible to create tabbed content with only using CSS. ![Tabbed elements with only CSS](/public/images/tabbed-content.png) [Live CodePen Example](https://codepen.io/bradleytaunt/pen/abjmayw) ---

Sidenote:

While this method is semantic and accessible, you might consider using a pre-existing plugin for tabbed data.

This component tends to feel a little "stiff" compared to more fleshed out variations available. This pure CSS version is better suited as a fallback for when users have disabled JavaScript.

## The HTML The skeleton for this component is fairly basic - we just need the following structure: 1. Parent element for each tab item 2. Default radio input 3. Label linked to corresponding input 4. Inner content associated with each tab item ---
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Full HTML for reference:
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## The CSS First, we need to set each `input`, `label` and inner content into their own parent containers: /* Main parent that holds all contents */ .tabs { height: 100%; min-height: 250px; position: relative; } /* Each tab items (includes heading & content) */ .tab-item { display: inline; } Next, we will hide the default `radio` input and design our labels to resemble a basic web tab element. The `z-index` property on the label is important for how we will be stacking our content on the z-axis (labels above inner content for example). /* Hide the default radio inputs */ .tab-input { position: absolute; visibility: hidden; } /* The main tab headings */ .tab-label { background: white; box-shadow: inset 0 -4px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.02); color: lightgrey; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-weight: 600; margin: 0 5px 0 0; padding: 10px 20px; position: relative; text-align: center; z-index: 0; } The main inner content of each tab needs to have an `absolute` position set as it's default, since the one currently selected will switch to `relative` on mobile (more on that in a moment): /* The inner tab content */ .tab-content { background: white; bottom: 0; box-shadow: 0 6px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.02); left: 0; overflow: scroll; padding: 20px; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 50px; z-index: 0; } The final step is just telling the browser to style both the `label` and inner content of the currently selected radio `input`: /* Style the currently selected tab label */ .tab-input:checked + .tab-label { border: 1px solid #eee; border-bottom: 0; box-shadow: 0 -6px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.02); color: #268bd2; z-index: 2; } /* Show the currently selected tab content */ .tab-input:checked ~ .tab-content { border: 1px solid #eee; z-index: 1; } It's as simple as that! For reference, here is the entire CSS file for easier access: /* Main parent that holds all contents */ .tabs { height: 100%; min-height: 250px; position: relative; } /* Each tab items (includes heading & content) */ .tab-item { display: inline; } /* Hide the default radio inputs */ .tab-input { position: absolute; visibility: hidden; } /* The main tab headings */ .tab-label { background: white; box-shadow: inset 0 -4px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.02); color: lightgrey; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-weight: 600; margin: 0 5px 0 0; padding: 10px 20px; position: relative; text-align: center; z-index: 0; } /* The inner tab content */ .tab-content { background: white; bottom: 0; box-shadow: 0 6px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.02); left: 0; overflow: scroll; padding: 20px; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 50px; z-index: 0; } /* Style the currently selected tab label */ .tab-input:checked + .tab-label { border: 1px solid #eee; border-bottom: 0; box-shadow: 0 -6px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.02); color: #268bd2; z-index: 2; } /* Show the currently selected tab content */ .tab-input:checked ~ .tab-content { border: 1px solid #eee; z-index: 1; } ## Don't forget about mobile With only a few extra lines of CSS we can ensure that our custom tabs will stack on top of each other and look solid on mobile devices: @media(max-width:38em) { .tab-label { display: block; width: 100%; } .tab-content { display: none; } .tab-input:checked ~ .tab-content { bottom: auto; display: block; position: relative; top: auto; } } ## One minor caveat Even though I'm a pretty big fan of implementing tabs this way, there is a small drawback: The `height` of the inner content doesn't grow dynamically since it defaults as `absolute`, so a `min-height` or `height` value is required on the parent element. This could become a problem in certain situations where you don't have the luxury of setting a static height. Other than that, enjoy building some JavaScript-free tabs!