Changing HTML id to class messes up CSS styling - html

Question

I am wanting to change some items that I have labeled using ids to one single class so that in my CSS I can refer to them with .sortsubmenu rather than #sortsongmenu, #sortartistmenu, etc.
The problem is that when I change one of them from an id to a class, it messes up the formatting. In the picture below, everything about the songsubmenu and artistsubmenu are exactly the same, only songsubmenu is identified using an id and artistsubmenu is identified using a class.
#topbar {
background-color: #222;
}
#topbar_wrapper {
width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
text-align: left;
}
#mainmenu {
list-style-type: none;
padding: 0px;
margin: 0px;
position: relative;
min-width: 200px;
}
#mainmenu li {
display: inline-block;
width: 200px;
}
#mainmenu li:hover {
background-color: #333;
}
#mainmenu li a {
color: #CCC;
display: block;
padding: 15px;
text-decoration: none;
}
#mainmenu li:hover > ul {
display: block;
}
#sortmenu {
display: none;
position: absolute;
background-color: #333;
border: 5px solid #222;
border-top: 0;
margin-left: -5px;
}
#sortmenu > li {
display: block;
position: relative;
}
#sortmenu li a:hover {
color: #699;
}
#sortmenu li:hover ul {
display: inline-block;
}
#sortsongmenu, .sortsubmenu {
display: none;
position: absolute;
background-color: #333;
border: 5px solid #222;
border-left: 0px;
text-align: right;
top: 0;
left: 100%;
width: 100px;
}
#sortsongmenu li, .sortsubmenu li {
display: inline;
}
#sortsongmenu li a:hover, .sortsubmenu li a:hover {
color: #DB7093;
}
<div id="topbar">
<div id="topbar_wrapper">
<ul id="mainmenu">
<li>Home
</li>
<li>
Search
</li>
<li>
Sort By &#9660
<ul id="sortmenu">
<li><a href='#'>Song</a>
<ul id="sortsongmenu">
<li><a href='#'>A to Z</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Z to A</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Artist</a>
<ul class="sortsubmenu">
<li><a href='#'>A to Z</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Z to A</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Album</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Genre</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>BPM</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Release Date</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
Add Song
</li>
<li>
Contact Us
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>

Answer 1

The #mainmenu li rule is getting in your way. It's not overridden by the class-based selector, as it was by the id-based selector.
Keep that positioning / size to the immediate descendants only, that is, change:
#mainmenu li {
to
#mainmenu > li {
and all is well.
#topbar {
background-color: #222;
}
#topbar_wrapper {
width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
text-align: left;
}
#mainmenu {
list-style-type: none;
padding: 0px;
margin: 0px;
position: relative;
min-width: 200px;
}
#mainmenu > li {
display: inline-block;
width: 200px;
}
#mainmenu li:hover {
background-color: #333;
}
#mainmenu li a {
color: #CCC;
display: block;
padding: 15px;
text-decoration: none;
}
#mainmenu li:hover > ul {
display: block;
}
#sortmenu {
display: none;
position: absolute;
background-color: #333;
border: 5px solid #222;
border-top: 0;
margin-left: -5px;
}
#sortmenu > li {
display: block;
position: relative;
}
#sortmenu li a:hover {
color: #699;
}
#sortmenu li:hover ul {
display: inline-block;
}
#sortsongmenu,
.sortsubmenu {
display: none;
position: absolute;
background-color: #333;
border: 5px solid #222;
border-left: 0px;
text-align: right;
top: 0;
left: 100%;
width: 100px;
}
#sortsongmenu li,
.sortsubmenu li {
display: inline;
}
#sortsongmenu li a:hover,
.sortsubmenu li a:hover {
color: #DB7093;
}
<div id="topbar">
<div id="topbar_wrapper">
<ul id="mainmenu">
<li>Home
</li>
<li>
Search
</li>
<li>
Sort By &#9660
<ul id="sortmenu">
<li><a href='#'>Song</a>
<ul id="sortsongmenu">
<li><a href='#'>A to Z</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Z to A</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Artist</a>
<ul class="sortsubmenu">
<li><a href='#'>A to Z</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Z to A</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Album</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Genre</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>BPM</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href='#'>Release Date</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
Add Song
</li>
<li>
Contact Us
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>