Many of the top technology and social media blogs are now implementing a sticky navigation in their theme. A sticky navigation, also sometimes referred to as floating navigation or a sticky header, is one that scrolls with the page until a certain point and then remains fixed at the top of the page after that point.
There are quite a few varieties of sticky navigation and headers. There are some that just include category menus, others that have a search bar and/or social sharing buttons on them, and some that even include navigation buttons (i.e. shuffle, back, forward) for better article browsing. Some believe that sticky menus are quicker to navigate, and they are. Plus, sticky headers allow you to keep what’s most important at the top of your blog at all times.
If you are looking to implement this type of navigation or header on your own blog, there are quite a few tutorials available to help you do so; there are also a few plugins available as well. However, we’re going to showcase a few WordPress themes that already have this useful feature implemented. While self-customization may be your best option because it allows you to be unique, it can also be a huge pain.
So if you’re not familiar with coding or just don’t want to go through the hassle, here are some of the best WordPress themes with a sticky navigation that you may want to use instead.
SCRN
A responsive single page portfolio theme with: blog, theme options panel, shortcodes, sticky navigation, social icons and more.
Price: Regular License – $35; Extended License – $1,750
Woop
A non-responsive single page portfolio theme with: blog, contact form, Fancybox, sticky navigation, built-in 960 Grid System, shortcodes, admin panel and more.
Price: Regular License – $35
Viewpoint
A responsive single page portfolio theme with: theme options panel, sticky navigation, integration section (Google Analytics, webmaster tools) and more.
Price: Regular License – $40; Extended License – $2,000
Max Mag
A responsive magazine theme with: unlimited color schemes, category page sliders, ad units, drag-and-drop organization, custom widgets, sticky navigation, news ticker and much more.
Price: Regular License – $45; Extended License – $2,250
Smartify
A non-responsive single page portfolio theme with: OptionTree customization, contact form, Fancybox and a clean, minimalistic design.
Price: Regular License – $25; Extended License – $1,250
TechGeek
A news-style TechCrunch clone with: a partially sticky navigation, custom widgets, shortcodes, theme options, popular articles and more.
Price: $39/year – gives you access to all ColorVilla themes
Bonus: Fixed Navigation
These themes are a little different from the “sticky” navigation themes. As you may have already guessed, the top navigation does not move at all with the page; it stays fixed to the top at all times.
Tharsis
A responsive portfolio theme with: theme options panel, fixed navigation, contact form, integration section and more.
Price: Regular License – $30; Extended License – $1,500
Abrax
A non-responsive theme based on the 960px Grid System with: unlimited backgrounds, fixed navigation, Awesome Slider, photo gallery, Google Map with PIN, shortcodes and more.
Price: Regular License – $45; Extended License – $2,250
Dispatch
A non-responsive blog-style theme with: 7 backgrounds, Flickr and Twitter widgets, fixed navigation, sticky sidebar, lightbox images, social media links and more.
Price: Regular License – $45; Extended License – $2,250
Are You Sticky?
Do you use a sticky navigation or sticky header on your blog? If so, how was it implemented? Was it already included in your WordPress theme, did you add it yourself or did you use a plugin? Let us know in the comments section!
Creative Commons image courtesy of medically_irrelevant
Mandeep
i think max mag is the good option for the blog theme.
Amar Thakur
Hi
I was looking for a wordpress theme with sticky navigation bar. Just come across your list of themes its great list.
I found two themes that suits for my blog hope i will use one of theme in future.
Thanks 🙂
Amrish
Hey Charnita . I am looking for a simple theme with sticky navigation . I want to just want to try that on my blog . Will you tell me nay free template with sticky navigation .
Charles
Hi charnita,
I really enjoy your article, is like you know what I’ve been thinking in my mind for the pass week… right now I got very nice collection of sticky navigators to try and find the best one… Thank you!
miroquai
I would like to suggest myStickymenu, it’s small plugin and actually just copies selected element and displays it as a sticky 😉 Element can be selected through plugin settings, so you can use it for a existing menu or header, as you like, with possibility of adding custom css for sticky style
Find it at: http://wordpress.org/plugins/mystickymenu/
Jazz Berlin
I am using the free wordpress.com address. Is it possible to use your plugin for it too? I guess I have to have a private host, don’t I. :S
Madiha
nice post keep sharing plz share one plugin to fix navigation
Dragan Nikolic
I know it’s been a while since the post has been published, but for those that are still searching for a way to implement sticky headers on your WordPress websites, there’s a free plugin called Sticky Header.
You can find it here http://wordpress.org/plugins/sticky-header/
It should work with almost any WordPress theme coded with best practices.
OsCalar
Yes. Great theme. Thanks!