Usage
Header
The Header is a highly variable and customizable component. It comes in several design variants and provides a handful of building blocks you can use to achieve your specific design goals.
The Header is a composition of several subcomponents:
JavaScript Plugin
For full functionality, you need to provide Spirit JavaScript, which will handle toggling of the Header component:
<script src="node_modules/@lmc-eu/spirit-web/js/cjs/spirit-web.min.js" async></script>Please consult the main README for how to include JavaScript plugins.
Or, feel free to write the controlling script yourself.
The HeaderDialog uses the Offcanvas JS Plugin to toggle the dialog. See Offcanvas documentation for more details.
Accessibility Guidelines
- Ensure accessibility by using a <nav> element or, if using a more generic element such as a <div>, add a role="navigation" to every navigation to explicitly identify it as a landmark region for users of assistive technologies.
- Indicate the current item by using aria-current="page" for the current page or aria-current="true" for the current item in a set.
- Don't forget to provide textual equivalents for icon buttons. Use either the aria-label attribute, or the provided accessibility-hidden helper class.
- For Header to work correctly with assistive technologies, the aria-expanded attributes need to be updated by JavaScript when Header is toggled.
👉 The animation effect of this component is dependent on the prefers-reduced-motion media query.
🌍 Although we don't need it yet, this component experimentally supports RTL languages (because just a single line had to be added to make it all work 🎉).
Minimal Header
Without any modifier, Header is ready to contain necessary blocks in a classic left-to-right layout (in LTR documents). Please note it is fully transparent unless you add a color variant modifier class.
<header class="Header">
<a href="#" aria-label="Company homepage">
<img src="…" alt="Company" />
</a>
</header>Color Variants
Currently, Header comes in two color variants: transparent (for dark backgrounds) and inverted (for light backgrounds). Add Header--inverted modifier class to apply inverted background color to Header.
<header class="Header Header--inverted">
<a href="#" aria-label="Company homepage">
<img src="…" alt="Company" />
</a>
</header>Simple Header
The Header--simple modifier makes the header bar slightly shorter and aligns its content to the center. Use this design variant when all you need on the page is just branding.
<header class="Header Header--simple">
<a href="#" aria-label="Company homepage">
<img src="…" alt="Company" />
</a>
</header>Supported Content
To create a responsive header with top-level navigation, there are the following building blocks to use:
- Inside Header:
- mobile-only actions, including toggle button by default,
- desktop-only actions with primary and secondary action slots.
- Inside Header Dialog:
- primary actions slot (all breakpoints),
- secondary actions slot (all breakpoints).
Header
Mobile-Only Actions
Slot for actions that are intended to display on mobile and tablet screens only. It is designed to hold the toggle button (see below) but you can add as many custom elements as the free space in Header allows.
<div class="HeaderMobileActions">
<!-- Mobile-only actions -->
</div>Toggle Button
Toggle button reveals the Header Dialog containing actions for small screens (up to the desktop breakpoint). It makes use of an inverted Button by default.
The toggle button implements Spirit's Off-canvas JavaScript plugin. It is linked to the corresponding instance of Header Dialog via ID placed in data-spirit-target and aria-controls attributes.
<button
type="button"
class="Button Button--inverted Button--medium"
data-spirit-toggle="offcanvas"
data-spirit-target="#my-header-dialog"
aria-controls="my-header-dialog"
aria-expanded="false"
>
<svg width="24" height="24" aria-hidden="true">
<use xlink:href="/icons/svg/sprite.svg#hamburger" />
</svg>
<span class="accessibility-hidden">Menu</span>
</button>Desktop-Only Actions
As the name suggests, desktop-only actions are intended to display on desktop screens only. They generally work as flex containers that define vertical alignment and spacing.
There are two slots you can use: primary actions (aligned to left in LTR documents), and secondary actions (aligned to right).
👉 It is critical to make sure all your actions fit the Header on the desktop breakpoint. Spirit intentionally does not provide any overflow control here.
<nav class="HeaderDesktopActions HeaderDesktopActions--primary" aria-label="Main navigation">
<!-- Desktop-only primary actions -->
</nav>
<nav class="HeaderDesktopActions HeaderDesktopActions--secondary">
<!-- Desktop-only secondary actions -->
</nav>Navigation
Navigation is designed to live in either of the action slots (just remember you should use the <nav> element with the appropriate aria-label for that slot, see the example above).
👉 As of now, only single-level navigation is supported. You may consider using the Header Dialog for other use cases such as the user menu.
<ul class="HeaderNav">
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink HeaderLink--current" aria-current="page">Job offers</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Part-time jobs</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Inspiration</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Replies</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Employers</a>
</li>
</ul>Both links and buttons are supported by HeaderLink class:
<ul class="HeaderNav">
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Link item</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<button type="button" class="HeaderLink">Button item</button>
</li>
</ul>Other Content
You can avoid using the HeaderNav for standalone links. That way, you can combine links and buttons in the same container:
<nav class="HeaderDesktopActions HeaderDesktopActions--secondary">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Marian</a>
<a href="#" class="Button Button--primary Button--medium">Sign in</a>
</nav>Header Dialog
Header Dialog is Spirit's solution for responsive navigation and selected use cases such as the user menu. Please note Header Dialog is not intended to be used for second-level navigation in general.
Header Dialog implements the <dialog> element to easily provide the best possible user experience and accessibility.
<dialog id="my-header-dialog" class="HeaderDialog" aria-label="Menu">
<div class="HeaderDialog__panel">
<div class="HeaderDialog__content">
<!-- Close button with primary and secondary actions -->
</div>
</div>
</dialog>Close Button
Close button closes the Header Dialog using our Off-canvas JavaScript plugin.
<button
type="button"
class="HeaderDialogCloseButton"
data-spirit-dismiss="offcanvas"
data-spirit-target="#my-header-dialog"
aria-controls="my-header-dialog"
aria-expanded="false"
>
<svg width="24" height="24" aria-hidden="true">
<use xlink:href="/icons/svg/sprite.svg#close" />
</svg>
<span class="accessibility-hidden">Close</span>
</button>Primary and Secondary Actions
There are two slots for actions inside Header Dialog: primary actions slot and the optional secondary actions slot.
👉 When there are too many actions, vertical overflow is correctly handled on small screens (HeaderDialog__content provides vertical scrolling when necessary).
<nav class="HeaderDialogActions HeaderDialogActions--primary" aria-label="Main navigation">
<!-- Primary actions -->
</nav>
<nav class="HeaderDialogActions HeaderDialogActions--secondary">
<!-- Secondary actions -->
</nav>Navigation
Navigation capabilities are very similar to those of Header. All principles apply here as well, with the only difference in class names starting with HeaderDialog instead of Header.
<ul class="HeaderDialogNav">
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink HeaderDialogLink--current" aria-current="page">Job offers</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Part-time jobs</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Inspiration</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Replies</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Employers</a>
</li>
</ul>Navigation items can be links, buttons, or just text:
<ul class="HeaderDialogNav">
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Link item</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<button type="button" class="HeaderDialogLink">Button item</button>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<span class="HeaderDialogText">Text item</span>
</li>
</ul>Composition
This is how all supported building blocks of the Header build up the complete composition:
<header class="Header Header--inverted">
<!-- Branding -->
<!-- Mobile-only actions -->
<!-- Desktop-only primary actions -->
<!-- Desktop-only secondary actions -->
</header>And the complete Header Dialog:
<dialog class="HeaderDialog">
<div class="HeaderDialog__panel">
<div class="HeaderDialog__content">
<!-- Close button -->
<!-- Primary actions -->
<!-- Secondary actions -->
</div>
</div>
</dialog>Show full example code of Header with responsive navigation
<!-- Header: start -->
<header class="Header Header--inverted">
<a href="#" aria-label="Spirit homepage">
<img src="…" width="65" height="24" alt="Spirit" />
</a>
<!-- HeaderMobileActions: start -->
<div class="HeaderMobileActions">
<button
type="button"
class="Button Button--inverted Button--medium Button--square"
data-spirit-toggle="offcanvas"
data-spirit-target="#header_dialog_example_1"
aria-controls="header_dialog_example_1"
aria-expanded="false"
>
<svg width="24" height="24" aria-hidden="true">
<use xlink:href="/icons/svg/sprite.svg#hamburger" />
</svg>
<span class="accessibility-hidden">Menu</span>
</button>
</div>
<!-- HeaderMobileActions: end -->
<!-- HeaderDesktopActions: start -->
<nav class="HeaderDesktopActions HeaderDesktopActions--primary" aria-label="Main navigation">
<!-- HeaderNav: start -->
<ul class="HeaderNav">
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink HeaderLink--current" aria-current="page">Job offers</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Part-time jobs</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Inspiration</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Replies</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderLink">Employers</a>
</li>
</ul>
<!-- HeaderNav: end -->
</nav>
<!-- HeaderDesktopActions: end -->
<!-- HeaderDesktopActions: start -->
<nav class="HeaderDesktopActions HeaderDesktopActions--secondary">
<a href="#" class="Button Button--primary Button--medium">Sign in</a>
<a href="#" class="Button Button--inverted Button--medium">Enterprise</a>
</nav>
<!-- HeaderDesktopActions: end -->
</header>
<!-- Header: end -->
<!-- HeaderDialog: start -->
<dialog id="header_dialog_example_1" class="HeaderDialog" aria-label="Menu">
<div class="HeaderDialog__panel">
<div class="HeaderDialog__content">
<!-- HeaderDialogCloseButton: start -->
<button
type="button"
class="HeaderDialogCloseButton"
data-spirit-dismiss="offcanvas"
data-spirit-target="#header_dialog_example_1"
aria-controls="header_dialog_example_1"
aria-expanded="false"
>
<svg width="24" height="24" aria-hidden="true">
<use xlink:href="/icons/svg/sprite.svg#close" />
</svg>
<span class="accessibility-hidden">Close</span>
</button>
<!-- HeaderDialogCloseButton: end -->
<!-- HeaderDialogActions: start -->
<nav class="HeaderDialogActions HeaderDialogActions--primary" aria-label="Main navigation">
<!-- HeaderDialogNav: start -->
<ul class="HeaderDialogNav">
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink HeaderDialogLink--current" aria-current="page">Job offers</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Part-time jobs</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Inspiration</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Replies</a>
</li>
<li class="HeaderDialogNavItem">
<a href="#" class="HeaderDialogLink">Employers</a>
</li>
</ul>
<!-- HeaderDialogNav: end -->
</nav>
<!-- HeaderDialogActions: end -->
<!-- HeaderDialogActions: start -->
<nav class="HeaderDialogActions HeaderDialogActions--secondary">
<a href="#" class="Button Button--primary Button--medium">Sign in</a>
<a href="#" class="Button Button--inverted Button--medium">Enterprise</a>
</nav>
<!-- HeaderDialogActions: end -->
</div>
</div>
</dialog>
<!-- HeaderDialog: end -->Known Limitations
- Header Dialog is currently the only responsive option for actions on mobile and tablet screens. As a consequence, the navigation markup needs to be duplicated in your HTML.
- Only single-level navigation is currently supported. However, you can provide a custom navigation component instead of the built-in HeaderNav (or HeaderDialogNav) as long as it works with the responsive off-canvas design of Header Dialog.
- The Header breakpoint is mapped to the desktop breakpoint and currently cannot be changed.
- As of now, the Header height cannot be changed.
✍️ Please do feel free to let us know should you believe this component lacks some important capabilities. Thank you! 🙏
[examples]: https://spirit-design-system.netlify.app/packages/web/