Components

Breadcrumbs

The breadcrumbs component helps users to understand where they are within a website’s structure and move between levels.

Open this example in a new tab

HTML

<div class="govuk-breadcrumbs">
  <ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Home</a>
    </li>
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Passports, travel and living abroad</a>
    </li>
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Travel abroad</a>
    </li>
  </ol>
</div>

Nunjucks

Nunjucks macro options

Use options to customise the appearance, content and behaviour of a component when using a macro, for example, changing the text.

Some options are required for the macro to work; these are marked as "Required" in the option description.

If you're using Nunjucks macros in production with "html" options, or ones ending with "html", you must sanitise the HTML to protect against cross-site scripting exploits.

Name	Type	Description
items	array	Required. Array of breadcrumbs item objects. See items.
classes	string	Classes to add to the breadcrumbs container.
collapseOnMobile	boolean	When true, the breadcrumbs will collapse to the first and last item only on tablet breakpoint and below.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the breadcrumbs container.

Options for items

Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the breadcrumbs item. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html	string	Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the breadcrumbs item. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
href	string	Link for the breadcrumbs item. If not specified, breadcrumbs item is a normal list item.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the individual crumb.

{% from "govuk/components/breadcrumbs/macro.njk" import govukBreadcrumbs %}

{{ govukBreadcrumbs({
  items: [
    {
      text: "Home",
      href: "#"
    },
    {
      text: "Passports, travel and living abroad",
      href: "#"
    },
    {
      text: "Travel abroad",
      href: "#"
    }
  ]
}) }}

When to use this component

Use the breadcrumbs component when you need to help users understand and move between the multiple levels of a website.

When not to use this component

Do not use the breadcrumbs component on websites with a flat structure, or to show progress through a linear journey or transaction.

If you’re using other navigational elements on the page, such as a sidebar, consider whether your users need the additional support of breadcrumbs.

How it works

Always place breadcrumbs at the top of a page, before the <main> element. Placing them here means that the ‘Skip to main content’ link allows the user to skip all navigation links, including breadcrumbs.

The breadcrumb should start with your ‘home’ page and end with the parent section of the current page.

There are 2 ways to use the breadcrumbs component. You can use HTML or, if you are using Nunjucks or the GOV.UK Prototype Kit, you can use the Nunjucks macro.

Open this example in a new tab

HTML

<div class="govuk-breadcrumbs">
  <ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Home</a>
    </li>
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Passports, travel and living abroad</a>
    </li>
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Travel abroad</a>
    </li>
  </ol>
</div>

Nunjucks

Nunjucks macro options

Use options to customise the appearance, content and behaviour of a component when using a macro, for example, changing the text.

Some options are required for the macro to work; these are marked as "Required" in the option description.

If you're using Nunjucks macros in production with "html" options, or ones ending with "html", you must sanitise the HTML to protect against cross-site scripting exploits.

Name	Type	Description
items	array	Required. Array of breadcrumbs item objects. See items.
classes	string	Classes to add to the breadcrumbs container.
collapseOnMobile	boolean	When true, the breadcrumbs will collapse to the first and last item only on tablet breakpoint and below.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the breadcrumbs container.

Options for items

Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the breadcrumbs item. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html	string	Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the breadcrumbs item. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
href	string	Link for the breadcrumbs item. If not specified, breadcrumbs item is a normal list item.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the individual crumb.

{% from "govuk/components/breadcrumbs/macro.njk" import govukBreadcrumbs %}

{{ govukBreadcrumbs({
  items: [
    {
      text: "Home",
      href: "#"
    },
    {
      text: "Passports, travel and living abroad",
      href: "#"
    },
    {
      text: "Travel abroad",
      href: "#"
    }
  ]
}) }}

Collapsing breadcrumbs on mobile devices

If you have long breadcrumbs you can configure the component to only show the first and last items on mobile devices.

To do this, add a govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile class to the outer <div> element of the component HTML. Or if you’re using Nunjucks, add collapseOnMobile: true to the Nunjucks macro as shown in this example.

Open this example in a new tab

HTML

<div class="govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile">
  <ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Home</a>
    </li>
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Environment</a>
    </li>
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Rural and countryside</a>
    </li>
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Rural development and land management</a>
    </li>
    <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
      <a class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="#">Economic growth in rural areas</a>
    </li>
  </ol>
</div>

Nunjucks

Nunjucks macro options

Use options to customise the appearance, content and behaviour of a component when using a macro, for example, changing the text.

Some options are required for the macro to work; these are marked as "Required" in the option description.

If you're using Nunjucks macros in production with "html" options, or ones ending with "html", you must sanitise the HTML to protect against cross-site scripting exploits.

Name	Type	Description
items	array	Required. Array of breadcrumbs item objects. See items.
classes	string	Classes to add to the breadcrumbs container.
collapseOnMobile	boolean	When true, the breadcrumbs will collapse to the first and last item only on tablet breakpoint and below.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the breadcrumbs container.

Options for items

Name	Type	Description
text	string	Required. If html is set, this is not required. Text to use within the breadcrumbs item. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
html	string	Required. If text is set, this is not required. HTML to use within the breadcrumbs item. If html is provided, the text option will be ignored.
href	string	Link for the breadcrumbs item. If not specified, breadcrumbs item is a normal list item.
attributes	object	HTML attributes (for example data attributes) to add to the individual crumb.

{% from "govuk/components/breadcrumbs/macro.njk" import govukBreadcrumbs %}

{{ govukBreadcrumbs({
  collapseOnMobile: true,
  items: [
    {
      text: "Home",
      href: "#"
    },
    {
      text: "Environment",
      href: "#"
    },
    {
      text: "Rural and countryside",
      href: '#'
    },
    {
      text: "Rural development and land management",
      href: '#'
    },
    {
      text: "Economic growth in rural areas",
      href: '#'
    }
  ]
}) }}

Help improve this component

To help make sure that this page is useful, relevant and up to date, you can:

• take part in the 'Breadcrumbs' discussion on GitHub and share your research
• propose a change – read more about how to propose changes in GitHub

Need help?

If you’ve got a question about the GOV.UK Design System, contact the team.