you can use
http://www.cssplay.co.uk as a css reference. Stu Nicholls has many examples of quite beautiful css menus and other demos. Most of the code is free to use and is labelled as such.
If you want something a little more slick, check out jquery,
http://www.jquery.org, a free javascript library that allows for simple, unobtrusive javascript behaviours. You can have sliding menus, accordian effects, fades, highlights and other animation effects.
It's pretty easy to "wire up". Simply download the latest version of jquery and upload it to the /skin1 directory. Then include it in meta.tpl, like this:
Code:
<script type="text/javascript" src="{$SkinDir}/jquery.js"></script>
you can then find extra libraries on the jquery site (plugins) which you install using the same method.
Then you write the javascript, or use the javascript provided with the plugins, and put this into a javascript file and name it anything you want. Again, use the above method to include it in meta.tpl.
This should make sense, once you've checked out how jquery works.
You can check out some of the effects at
http://www.urban-kings.com
regards,
n00bert