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How to get mega menu with nested UL without JS?

We have the following html structure for our menu (see codepin). We would like to modify the menu without having to use JS on page load to move any elements around.
Here is what I tried, but cannot get the custom-dropdown to show like the screenshot below.
Here is my codepin that I have so far, but we are having hard time getting it to align in two columns like the screenshot. The goals below have been simplified, but should be applicable to other links like Category and Company as well since they follow similar structure.
Goal (see screenshot):
On hover of Testing 1, Collaboratively testing 1 and transition accurate should display
On hover of Collaboratively testing 1 then the Enthusiastically communicate cross-platform and Uniquely reconceptualize accurate should display
Screenshot:
Underline below Testing 1 is to simulate on hover effect
Grey background behind Collaboratively Testing is to indicate on hover effect, which results in goal #2 where they are display to the right.

Multi-Level Drop Down Menu with Pure CSS
ul {
list-style: none;
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
background: #1bc2a2;
}
ul li {
display: block;
position: relative;
float: left;
background: #1bc2a2;
}
/* This hides the dropdowns */
li ul { display: none; }
ul li a {
display: block;
padding: 1em;
text-decoration: none;
white-space: nowrap;
color: #fff;
border-bottom: 3px solid #1bc2a2
}
ul li a:hover {border-bottom: 3px solid #2c3e50}
/* Display the dropdown */
li:hover > ul {
display: block;
position: absolute;
}
li:hover li { float: none; }
li:hover a { background: #1bc2a2; }
li:hover li a:hover { background: #2c3e50; }
.main-navigation li ul li { border-top: 0; }
/* Displays second level dropdowns to the right of the first level dropdown */
ul ul ul {
left: 100%;
top: 0;
}
/* Simple clearfix */
ul:before,
ul:after {
content: " "; /* 1 */
display: table; /* 2 */
}
ul:after { clear: both; }
here comes your html code
<h1>Multi-Level Drop Down Menu with Pure CSS</h1>
<ul class="main-navigation">
<li>Home</li>
<li>Front End Design
<ul>
<li>HTML</li>
<li>CSS
<ul>
<li>Resets</li>
<li>Grids</li>
<li>Frameworks</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>JavaScript
<ul>
<li>Ajax</li>
<li>jQuery</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

Responsive nav not appearing as intended

I am trying to create a responsive nav bar, but I am coming across issues making it appear in the way intended.
Here is an image of how it looks when window is maximized:
Here is an image when the window is resized:
Here is an image of what I want the page to look and function like:
Issues:
As the images show, the header currently shows the links "stretches, mobility" etc, when I want it to display "Join / Log In" etc (image 3).
When menuis clicked, I want the nav to dynamically display the other links.
Here is what I have tried so far: https://jsfiddle.net/hudnybux/

Ok, I think I got it to look almost exactly like your screenshots. One of the main things I had to do was move your nav-trigger up within html.
<div id="header-main">
<div id="nav-trigger"><span>Menu</span></div>
<nav id="main-navigation" role="navigation">
<ul>
<li>Stretches</li>
<li>Mobility</li>
<li>Posture</li>
</ul>
</nav>
<!--<nav id="nav-mobile"></nav>-->
</div>
Technically you no longer need nav-mobile nav. I also fixed your caret triangle next to "menu". It needed a height and width of 0.
width: 0;
height: 0;
Edit:
I have revisited my solution. Just as a suggestion, I am recommending css transitions instead of jQuery slideDown and slideUp. You were already applying a class and that is all we need to create dynamic animations. jQuery's methods apply the styles inline and frankly leave you with less flexibility.
https://jsfiddle.net/qnco3x7e/8/

You will need to add another media query
#media all and (max-width: 460px) {
nav#main-navigation li {
display:block;
border-bottom: 1px solid #fafafa;
}
}

You can use flexbox css properties. It's very powerfull. http://www.alsacreations.com/tuto/lire/1493-css3-flexbox-layout-module.html

Writing others' code for them is not in the spirit of Stack Overflow, but, as I prefer teaching by showing and not telling, I went ahead and did the task for you. Observe how I changed your implementation and learn as much as you can!
The Strategy
Use the same HTML markup for the main menu (Stretches, Mobility, Posture) on both large and small screen widths, instead of using JavaScript to duplicate it in two places.
Use the same CSS for both menus as a starting point; in the media query for small screen sizes, change the main menu to be horizontal
Show everything by default; use display: none only on screen sizes you don't want to show something on.
JSFiddle
$(document).ready(function() {
$("#main-nav-mobile-trigger span").click(function() {
$(this).toggleClass("open");
if ($(this).hasClass("open")) {
$("#main-nav").addClass("open").slideDown(250);
} else {
$("#main-nav").removeClass("open").slideUp(250);
}
});
});
.pageOverlay {
width: 900px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
/******************/
nav {
background-color: #fefefe;
/*NAV COLOUR*/
padding: 10px 0;
border-bottom: 1px solid #e3e3e3;
text-align: center;
}
nav ul li a {
color: #a4a4a5;
text-decoration: none;
}
nav ul li a:hover {
color: black;
}
nav ul {
display: inline-block;
list-style-type: none;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
text-align: center;
}
nav li {
display: inline-block;
padding: 0 2px;
}
nav li:last-child {
border-right: none;
}
nav a {
display: block;
color: white;
padding: 10px 20px;
}
/****************************************************************/
/* Menu CSS which pops up when window is resized */
#main-nav-mobile-trigger {
text-align: center;
}
#main-nav-mobile-trigger span {
display: inline-block;
padding: 10px 30px;
cursor: pointer;
text-transform: uppercase;
}
#main-nav-mobile-trigger span:after {
display: inline-block;
margin-left: 10px;
width: 20px;
height: 10px;
content: "";
border-left: solid 10px transparent;
border-top: solid 10px #e3e3e3;
border-right: solid 10px transparent;
}
#main-nav-mobile-trigger span:hover {
background-color: #e3e3e3;
}
#main-nav-mobile-trigger span.open:after {
border-left: solid 10px transparent;
border-top: none;
border-bottom: solid 10px #fff;
border-right: solid 10px transparent;
}
#media all and (min-width: 901px) {
#top-nav {
text-align: right;
}
#main-nav {
text-align: left;
}
#main-nav-mobile-trigger {
display: none;
}
}
#media all and (max-width: 900px) {
#main-nav:not(.open) {
display: none;
}
#main-nav ul {
display: block;
}
#main-nav li {
display: block;
border-bottom: solid 1px #e3e3e3;
}
#main-nav li:last-child {
border-bottom: none;
}
#main-nav a {
padding: 10px 30px;
}
#main-nav a:hover {
background-color: #e3e3e3;
color: #fff;
}
}
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<div id="pageOverlay">
<nav id="top-nav" role="navigation">
<ul>
<li>Join / Log In</li>
<li>Help</li>
<li>Shop</li>
</ul>
</nav>
<div id="main-nav-mobile-trigger"><span>Menu</span></div>
<nav id="main-nav" role="navigation">
<ul>
<li>Stretches</li>
<li>Mobility</li>
<li>Posture</li>
</ul>
</nav>
</div>
<!-- pageOverlay closed-->
The HTML
I removed your container <div>s (#header and #header-main), as they serve no purpose as far as layout is concerned.
There are now only three parts to the header area. In order they are:
#top-nav - Join/Login, Help, Shop
#main-nav-mobile-trigger - MENU button
#main-nav - Stretches, Mobility, Posture
The JavaScript
When the MENU button (#main-nav-mobile-trigger span) is clicked:
Toggle its .open class.
If it has the .open class,
Add #main-nav's .open class.
Otherwise,
Remove #main-nav's .open class.
The CSS
You had duplicates of the styling rules for each horizontal menu (formerly #nav-main and #main-navigation, which are very easy to confuse). These are now combined into one set of rules under the more general selector, nav. Additionally, their text-align is set to center by default (the desired alignment on small screen widths).
For big screen widths (#media all and (min-width: 901px)):
Align #top-nav to the right and #main-nav to the left.
Hide the MENU button.
For small screen widths (#media all and (max-width: 900px)):
If #main-nav doesn't have the .open class, hide it.
Display the menu items in #main-nav horizontally.
I hope this helps you. Best of luck with your future adventures in front-end development!

How to make href link and <li> in one package

Currently im using <li> to display href link, the problem is when i click on the so called 'box'it wont direct link to another page, i have to click on href link it will just link to another page. How can i make it like whenever i click on box / href link it will direct link to another page?
My current progress : Fiddle Demo
Any help will be appreciated.

You can't make an <li> act like an <a>, but you can match their sizes.
Updated Fiddle
#colOne ul li
{
margin-bottom:10px;
/*padding: 4px 10px;*/
width:170px;
}
#colOne ul li a
{
padding: 4px 10px;
display: block;
}
By making the link a block element and moving the padding to it, instead of its wrapper, it will be exactly the same size as the <li>

You should be adding the padding to the anchor elements (<a>) instead of the list items <li>. This effectively increases the area of the link itself, instead of the area around the link.
First, get rid of the padding for the list item (the attributes I commented out):
#colOne ul li
{
margin-bottom:10px;
/*padding: 4px 10px;*/
width:150px;
}
li {
font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 9px;
color: #FFFFFF;
/*position: relative; */
/*display:block; */
text-align: center;
font-weight:bold;
box-shadow: 1px 3px 3px #000;
background: #7EB427;
cursor: pointer;
transition: all 0.2s;
}
Then, add it to the link:
.bg1 li a {
display: block;
padding: 4px 10px;
}
Updated jsFiddle

JS selected item not showing properly in css menu

CSS
#myMenu ul li {
display: inline;
}
#myMenu ul li a {
background-color:#333333;
text-transform: uppercase;
font-weight: bold;
font-family:"Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;
font-size:12px;
text-decoration: none;
padding: 1em 2em;
color: #000000;
border-left:1px solid #333333;
border-right:1px solid #333333;
border-top:1px solid #333333;
}
#myMenu ul li a:hover {
color: #fff;
background-color: #999999;
}
.selection {
background-color: #000000;
border-bottom:10px solid #000000;
border-top:9px solid #000000;
}
HTML
<div align="right" id="myMenu">
<ul>
<li>Structure</li>
<li id="style">Style</li>
<li>Details</li>
</ul>
JavaScript
$(function () {
$("li:first-child").addClass("selection");
$('li').click(function () {
$('#myMenu li').removeClass('selection');
$(this).addClass('selection');
});
});
I want to add black colour to selected items background, but the above code is not working.
If I remove background-color:#333333 from #myMenu ul li a it works.

There are a couple of issues here.
You have tied your click handler to li so the context will be the li element
Your background color is set on the anchor: #myMenu ul li a initially
Assuming you want .selection to apply to the anchor tag, it has less specificity than the class for the anchor.
Change your code and CSS to:
CSS:
#myMenu ul li a.selection {
background-color: #000000;
border-bottom:10px solid #000000;
border-top:9px solid #000000;
}
Code:
$(function () {
$("li:first-child").addClass("selection");
// Or move your handler to the anchor rather than the list item
$('li').click(function () {
$('#myMenu li a').removeClass('selection');
$(this).find('a').addClass('selection');
});
});
Demo Fiddle

You are adding the background color via CSS to the <a> element. You are targeting the <li> element with your jQuery. For all you know, the jQuery could be working properly, but you can't see it because the <a> element has a background color.
Try changing the jQuery to target the <a> element instead. Be sure to return false or use preventDefault() when targeting the <a> element.
Also, as a side note, unless you have something else going on which I don't know about, it would be more efficient just hard code the selection class to the first element instead of targeting it with jQuery. Just a tip.

Also to add to Chris's answer...the css for #myMenu ul li a will always outweigh the .selection because it is has more specificity. You will need to add !important to any styles in .selection if you want them to override the styles in #myMenu ul li a

Generally although jQuery does auto selection automatically I personally like to handle it myself, just because then I know my code is "selecting" what I want.
So Like this:
$(function () {
$("li:first-child").addClass("selection");
$('li').each(function(){ //loop all li elements
$(this).click(function () {
$('#myMenu li.selection').removeClass('selection'); //select the li
// with the selection class
$(this).addClass('selection');
});
});
});
But basically an issue I see with how you did it is there is no margin on you anchor, or padding on your li, witch could make the changes to the li invisible.
Used with the following it should tell you if this works
.selection{
background-color: #000000;
border-bottom:10px solid #000000;
border-top:9px solid #000000;
padding:5px; //change to suit your needs
}

Maintaining a css :hover effect for all items up a nested list chain

So, I have DOM that looks like this:
<ul id="nav">
<li><a>Hello</a></li>
<li>
<a>OuterMenu</a>
<ul>
<li><a>InnerMenu1</a>
<ul><li><a>InnerMenu2</a></li><li><a>Item 1</a></li><li><a>Item 2</a></li></ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
which looks like this:
+Hello +OuterMenu
----InnerMenu1--------------InnerMenu2
----Other list item Item 1
Item 2
That is, the first menu is horizontal, the next menu is directly below the first menu, and all subsequent inner menus appear directly to the right [see example here].
This works fine, but I need the hover styles for each outer menu to persist as each inner menu is selected. When the user is hovering over Item 1, Item 1, InnerMenu, and OuterMenu should be highlighted, and when the user moves off of the whole menu tree, then and only then should OuterMenu no longer be highlighted. Is there a better way to do this than trying to manage a hover and mouseout event on every single list item?
I'm looking for a clean implementation here.

Check out Stu Nicholls great css-only work on just this issue.

I don´t know what you have already, but if you use something like:
#nav > li:hover > a {
// outer menu highlight
}
it should highlight the outer menu also when you are on a sub-menu item.
The same technique can be applied to all levels, but it depends on your browser compatibility requirements as li:hover will not work in older IE versions.
For completeness
/* second level */
#nav > li > ul > li:hover > a {
}
/* third level */
#nav > li > ul > li > ul > li:hover > a {
}

Simply using the :hover psuedo-class on your li will apply even when you are over a descendant element. Here's a working example showing that this is true: http://jsfiddle.net/eMyHE/; hover over InnerMenu2 and you'll see InnerMenu1 and OuterMenu highlight.
Also, you might be interested in my 8-years-old CSS-only hierarchical menu tests, part of some ancient code that uses JavaScript for hierarchical menus.

This isn't my work, I'm just passing it on. It looks like it's the same answer as JakeParis's, but in JSFiddle form. http://jsfiddle.net/XPE3w/7/ This is for HTML with a ul>li>a structure (see the link if this doesn't make sense).
ul {
font-family: Arial, Verdana;
font-size: 14px;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
list-style: none;
}
ul li {
display: block;
position: relative;
float: left;
}
li ul {
display: none;
}
ul li a {
display: block;
text-decoration: none;
color: #ffffff;
border-top: 1px solid #ffffff;
padding: 5px 15px 5px 15px;
background: #2C5463;
margin-left: 1px;
white-space: nowrap;
}
ul li a:hover {
background: #617F8A;
}
li:hover ul {
display: block;
position: absolute;
}
li:hover li {
float: none;
font-size: 11px;
}
li:hover a {
background: #617F8A;
}
li:hover li a:hover {
background: #95A9B1;
}