Is anyone familiar with the issue where the subnavigation on a Webflow website is being positioned absolute over the whole page and moving when scrolling on certain combinations of browsers and operating systems? Is there a workaround to fix this?

A subnavigation bar being unintentionally positioned absolutely and moving during scroll usually indicates CSS positioning or rendering inconsistencies across certain browser/OS combinations. This is a known behavior with fixed or absolute elements inside scrollable or flex containers, and it can appear differently based on how browsers interpret stacking and positioning rules.

1. Identify Where the Positioning is Breaking

• Inspect the subnav element in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox across macOS and Windows.
• Check if it's using position: absolute or position: fixed, and whether any parent containers have overflow: hidden, transform, or perspective, which can alter stacking contexts.

2. Use fixed Instead of absolute if Appropriate

• If the intention is to keep the subnav in place as the user scrolls, use position: fixed instead of absolute.
• fixed ensures it stays in place relative to the viewport, not its container.
• Be aware: fixed elements are removed from normal flow and don’t respond to container scroll, which could be favorable here.

3. Correct Any Unintended Stacking Contexts

• Check parent elements for any of these CSS effects: transform, filter, perspective, or will-change. These can create new stacking contexts, causing fixed or absolute elements to behave unexpectedly.
• If present, try removing or moving those styles further up the DOM tree.

4. Ensure Consistent Z-Index Usage

• Set a clear z-index value on your subnav to avoid it being hidden or overlapped by other elements on some browser stacks.
• Example: Set the subnav to z-index: 1000 and its parent section/container to relative positioning if needed.

5. Avoid Nested Positioning Conflicts

• Don’t nest absolute or fixed elements inside containers that are themselves relatively positioned unless necessary.
• If you must nest it, ensure the parent wrapper isn't unintentionally causing the subnav to reflow by layout changes.

6. Test on Affected OS + Browser Combinations

• Common problem spots include:
• Safari on macOS: Handles position: fixed differently, especially inside transformed containers.
• Firefox on Windows: Clipping/rendering bugs when using GPU-accelerated stacking.

7. Consider Fallback JavaScript as a Last Resort

• If CSS fixes don’t work, a fallback is to add JavaScript scroll event listeners that manually fix the subnav’s position based on scroll position.
• For example: updating top styles on scroll (only if layout truly breaks and no CSS workaround applies).

Summary

To fix subnav scrolling/position issues in Webflow across certain browsers and OSs: avoid placing absolute or fixed elements inside transformed or overflow-hidden containers, set consistent z-indexes, and use fixed positioning if scroll behavior is desired. Test across browsers to confirm changes. Adjust layout structure in Webflow Designer as needed to reflect clean DOM hierarchy for consistent cross-browser rendering.