Component
Breadcrumbs
Navigational breadcrumbs, showing page hierarchy
Accepts an array of breadcrumb objects. Each crumb must have a title and a URL.
We recommend that if using the breadcrumbs for navigation purposes, you set collapse_on_mobile to true to make things more readable for mobile users. However, you can specify collapse_on_mobile:false or remove the flag completely to stop this behaviour.
How it looks (preview) (preview all)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Sub-section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section/sub-section"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"2"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section">Section</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"2"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section/sub-section">Sub-section</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav>How to call this component
<%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Section",
url: "/section"
},
{
title: "Sub-section",
url: "/section/sub-section"
}
]
} %>Accessibility acceptance criteria
The breadcrumb links must have a text contrast ratio higher than 4.5:1 against the background colour to meet WCAG AA (this especially applies when using the inverse flag).
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.
Links in the component must:
- accept focus
- be focusable with a keyboard
- be usable with a keyboard
- indicate when they have focus
- change in appearance when touched (in the touch-down state)
- change in appearance when hovered
- be usable with touch
- be usable with voice commands
- have visible text
- have meaningful text
Other examples
Standard options
This component uses the component wrapper helper. It accepts the following options and applies them to the parent element of the component. See the component wrapper helper documentation for more detail.
id- accepts a string for the element ID attributedata_attributes- accepts a hash of data attributesaria- accepts a hash of aria attributesclasses- accepts a space separated string of classes, these should not be used for styling and must be prefixed withjs-margin_bottom- accepts a number from0to9(0pxto60px) using the GOV.UK Frontend spacing scale (defaults to no margin)role- accepts a space separated string of roleslang- accepts a language attribute valueopen- accepts an open attribute value (true or false)hidden- accepts an empty string, ‘hidden’, or ‘until-found’tabindex- accepts an integer. The integer can also be passed as a string.dir- accepts ‘rtl’, ‘ltr’, or ‘auto’.
Inverse (preview)
On a dark background, such as the header of topic pages
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Education of disadvantaged children",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section/sub-section"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile gem-c-breadcrumbs--inverse">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"2"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section">Section</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"2"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section/sub-section">Education of disadvantaged children</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Section",
url: "/section"
},
{
title: "Education of disadvantaged children",
url: "/section/sub-section"
}
],
inverse: true
} %>No breadcrumbs (preview)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": []
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: []
} %>Single section (preview)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"1"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section">Section</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Section",
url: "/section"
}
]
} %>Many breadcrumbs (preview)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Home",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 3,
"item": {
"name": "Sub-section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section/sub-section"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 4,
"item": {
"name": "Sub Sub-section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section/sub-section/sub-sub-section"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"4"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/">Home</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"4"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section">Section</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"3","index_total":"4"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section/sub-section">Sub-section</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"4","index_total":"4"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section/sub-section/sub-sub-section">Sub Sub-section</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Home",
url: "/"
},
{
title: "Section",
url: "/section"
},
{
title: "Sub-section",
url: "/section/sub-section"
},
{
title: "Sub Sub-section",
url: "/section/sub-section/sub-sub-section"
}
]
} %>No home (preview)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Service Manual",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/service-manual"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Agile Delivery",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"2"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/service-manual">Service Manual</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"2"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/service-manual/agile-delivery">Agile Delivery</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Service Manual",
url: "/service-manual"
},
{
title: "Agile Delivery",
url: "/service-manual/agile-delivery"
}
]
} %>Real (preview)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Home",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Passports, travel and living abroad",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/browse/abroad"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 3,
"item": {
"name": "Travel abroad",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/browse/abroad/travel-abroad"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/">Home</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/browse/abroad">Passports, travel and living abroad</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"3","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/browse/abroad/travel-abroad">Travel abroad</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Home",
url: "/"
},
{
title: "Passports, travel and living abroad",
url: "/browse/abroad"
},
{
title: "Travel abroad",
url: "/browse/abroad/travel-abroad"
}
]
} %>Long taxon (preview)
This is an example of a breadcrumb with long taxons to demonstrate the wrapping behaviour and touch target area on mobile
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Home",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Education, training and skills",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/education"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 3,
"item": {
"name": "Education of disadvantaged children appended with some extra long content to make this a very very very very long taxon",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/education"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/">Home</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/education">Education, training and skills</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"3","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/education">Education of disadvantaged children appended with some extra long content to make this a very very very very long taxon</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Home",
url: "/"
},
{
title: "Education, training and skills",
url: "/education"
},
{
title: "Education of disadvantaged children appended with some extra long content to make this a very very very very long taxon",
url: "/education"
}
]
} %>Stop collapsing on mobile (preview)
We recommend that if using the breadcrumbs for navigation purposes, you set collapse_on_mobile to true to make things more readable for mobile users. However, you can specify collapse_on_mobile:false or remove the flag completely to stop this behaviour.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Home",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Passports, travel and living abroad",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/browse/abroad"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 3,
"item": {
"name": "Travel abroad",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/browse/abroad/travel-abroad"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/">Home</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/browse/abroad">Passports, travel and living abroad</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"3","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/browse/abroad/travel-abroad">Travel abroad</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
collapse_on_mobile: false,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Home",
url: "/"
},
{
title: "Passports, travel and living abroad",
url: "/browse/abroad"
},
{
title: "Travel abroad",
url: "/browse/abroad/travel-abroad"
}
]
} %>With border (preview)
Set a border below the breadcrumb. Off by default.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Sub-section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section/sub-section"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 3,
"item": {
"name": "Sub-sub-section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section/sub-section/sub-section"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs gem-c-breadcrumbs--border-bottom">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section">Section</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section/sub-section">Sub-section</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"3","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section/sub-section/sub-section">Sub-sub-section</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
border: "bottom",
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Section",
url: "/section"
},
{
title: "Sub-section",
url: "/section/sub-section"
},
{
title: "Sub-sub-section",
url: "/section/sub-section/sub-section"
}
]
} %>With border and collapse on mobile (preview)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"item": {
"name": "Section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"item": {
"name": "Sub-section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section/sub-section"
}
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 3,
"item": {
"name": "Sub-sub-section",
"@id": "https://www.gov.uk/section/sub-section/sub-section"
}
}
]
}
</script>
<nav data-module="ga4-link-tracker" aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile gem-c-breadcrumbs--border-bottom">
<ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list">
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"1","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section">Section</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"2","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section/sub-section">Sub-section</a>
</li>
<li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item">
<a data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumb","index_link":"3","index_total":"3"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/section/sub-section/sub-section">Sub-sub-section</a>
</li>
</ol>
</nav><%= render "govuk_publishing_components/components/breadcrumbs", {
border: "bottom",
collapse_on_mobile: true,
breadcrumbs: [
{
title: "Section",
url: "/section"
},
{
title: "Sub-section",
url: "/section/sub-section"
},
{
title: "Sub-sub-section",
url: "/section/sub-section/sub-section"
}
]
} %>