How can I darken the rest of the page when a dropdown menu item is clicked in Webflow without the need for coding?
TL;DR
- Add a full-screen, semi-transparent Overlay div with fixed position, initially hidden using Display: None.
- Use Webflow interactions on the Dropdown Toggle to show the Overlay on first click and hide it on second click.
- Optionally add a click interaction on the Overlay to hide it when clicked, and ensure z-index places it above content but below the dropdown.
To darken the rest of the page when a dropdown menu is clicked in Webflow without writing code, you can use a div overlay with interactions. Here’s how to set it up:
1. Create a Dark Overlay Element
- Add a new Div Block to your page, outside of your dropdown menu.
- Name it something like “Overlay”.
- Set the following styles:
- Position: Fixed
- Width & Height: 100%
- Top/Left: 0
- Z-index: Higher than your main content but lower than your dropdown menu (e.g., 1000)
- Background Color: Black with low opacity (e.g., rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5))
- Display: None (initially hidden)
2. Create a Show Overlay Interaction
- Select your Dropdown Toggle (the element that triggers opening the menu).
- Go to the Interactions (lightning bolt icon).
- Choose Mouse Click (Tap) → On 1st Click.
- Add an Action: Select Element → Show/Hide
- Target: The Overlay div
- Action: Show
- Display: Block
- You can also add an opacity animation before the Show for a fade effect.
3. Create a Hide Overlay Interaction
- In the same interaction, click “On 2nd Click”.
- Add an Action: Hide the Overlay div.
- Display: None
- Optionally animate the opacity before hiding.
4. Hide Overlay When Clicking Outside
If needed, you can also:
- Add a Click interaction to the Overlay div itself.
- Set it to Hide itself on click.
- This can be useful if you want the menu to close when clicking outside.
However, this part depends on how your dropdown is built. Webflow’s native dropdown auto-closes on outside click but doesn’t let you hook into that behavior directly with interactions.
5. Ensure Proper Stacking
- Make sure the Overlay’s z-index is:
- Higher than the rest of the content,
- Lower than the dropdown menu, so that the dropdown appears above it.
Summary
Add a full-screen overlay div with a semi-transparent background, and use Webflow interactions on the dropdown toggle to show and hide it. This creates a darkened effect on the rest of the page without needing custom code.