CSS Dropdown menu with normal buttons

Question

The problem is that my hovering works on all buttons, but I don't want it like that. What I want is to have, for example, two buttons which don't need to hover, so they are able to transfer you to another page, and another button which will hover like they are now.

CSS:

#wrapper {
    width:173px; 
    margin: 0 3px 0 0;
    display: inline-block;
/*  width: 220px;
    margin: 100px auto;
    font-size: 0.8125em;*/
}
.menu {
    width: auto;
    height: auto;
    -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.73), 0px 0px 18px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.13);
    -moz-box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.73), 0px 0px 18px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.13);
    box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.73), 0px 0px 18px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.13);
}
.menu > li > a {
    background-color: #616975;
    background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(rgb(114, 122, 134)),to(rgb(80, 88, 100)));
    background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgb(114, 122, 134), rgb(80, 88, 100));
    background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgb(114, 122, 134), rgb(80, 88, 100));
    background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgb(114, 122, 134), rgb(80, 88, 100));
    background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, rgb(114, 122, 134), rgb(80, 88, 100));
    background-image: linear-gradient(top, rgb(114, 122, 134), rgb(80, 88, 100));
    filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(GradientType=0,StartColorStr='#727a86', EndColorStr='#505864');
    border-bottom: 1px solid #33373d;
    -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #878e98;
    -moz-box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #878e98;
    box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #878e98;
    width: 100%;
    height: 2.75em;
    line-height: 2.75em;
    display: block;
    position: relative;
    font-weight: 600;
    color: #fff;
    text-shadow: 0px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.5);
}
.menu ul li a {
    background: #fff;
    border-bottom: 1px solid #efeff0;
    width: 100%;
    height: 2.75em;
    line-height: 2.75em;
    display: block;
    position: relative;
    font-size: 0.923em;
    font-weight: 400;
    color: #878d95;
}
.menu ul li:last-child a {
    border-bottom: 1px solid #33373d;
}
.menu > li hr > a:hover, 
.menu > li > a.active {
    background-color: #35afe3;
    background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(rgb(69, 199, 235)),to(rgb(38, 152, 219)));
    background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgb(69, 199, 235), rgb(38, 152, 219));
    background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgb(69, 199, 235), rgb(38, 152, 219));
    background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgb(69, 199, 235), rgb(38, 152, 219));
    background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, rgb(69, 199, 235), rgb(38, 152, 219));
    background-image: linear-gradient(top, rgb(69, 199, 235), rgb(38, 152, 219));
    filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(GradientType=0,StartColorStr='#45c7eb', EndColorStr='#2698db');
    border-bottom: 1px solid #103c56;
    -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #6ad2ef;
    -moz-box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #6ad2ef;
    box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 0px 0px #6ad2ef;
}
.menu > li > a.active {
    border-bottom: 1px solid #1a638f;
}
.menu > li > a:before {
    content: '';
    background-image: url(../images/sprite.png);
    background-repeat: no-repeat;
    font-size: 36px;
    height: 1em;
    width: 1em;
    position: absolute;
    left: 0;
    top: 50%;
    margin: -.5em 0 0 0;
}
.item1 > a:before {
    background-position: 0 0;
}
.item2 > a:before {
    background-position: -38px 0;
}
.item3 > a:before {
    background-position: 0 -38px;
}
.item4 > a:before {
    background-position: -38px -38px;
}
.item5 > a:before {
    background-position: -76px 0;
}
.item6 > a:before {
    background-position: -76px -76px;
}
.item7 > a:before {
    background-position: -114px 0;
}
.item8 > a:before {
    background-position: -114px -114px;
}
.item9 > a:before {
    background-position: -152px 0;
}
.item10 > a:before {
    background-position: -152px -152px;
}
.item11 > a:before {
    background-position: -190px 0;
}
.item12 > a:before {
    background-position: -190px -190px;
}
.menu > li > a span {
    font-size: 0.857em; 
    display: inline-block;
    position: absolute;
    right: 1em;
    top: 50%; 
    background: #48515c;
    line-height: 1em;
    height: 1em;
    padding: .4em .6em;
    margin: -.8em 0 0 0; 
    color: #fff;
    text-indent: 0;
    text-align: center;
    -webkit-border-radius: .769em;
    -moz-border-radius: .769em;
    border-radius: .769em;
    -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 3px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .26), 0px 1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, .15);
    -moz-box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 3px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .26), 0px 1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, .15);
    box-shadow: inset 0px 1px 3px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .26), 0px 1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, .15);
    text-shadow: 0px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.5);
    font-weight: 500;
}
.menu > li > a:hover span, .menu > li a.active span {
    background: #2173a1;
}
.menu > li > ul li a:before{
    content: '?';
    font-size: 8px;
    color: #bcbcbf;
    position: absolute;
    width: 1em;
    height: 1em;
    top: 0;
    left: -2.7em;
}

.menu > li > ul li:hover a,
.menu > li > ul li:hover a span,
.menu > li > ul li:hover a:before {
    color: #32373D;
}

.menu ul > li > a span {
    font-size: 0.857em; 
    display: inline-block;
    position: absolute;
    right: 1em;
    top: 50%; /
    background: #fff;
    border: 1px solid #d0d0d3;
    line-height: 1em;
    height: 1em;
    padding: .4em .7em;
    margin: -.9em 0 0 0; 
    color: #878d95;
    text-indent: 0;
    text-align: center;
    -webkit-border-radius: .769em;
    -moz-border-radius: 769em;
    border-radius: 769em;
    text-shadow: 0px 0px 0px rgba(255,255,255,.01));
}

HTML:

        <div id="wrapper">
            <ul class="menu">
                <li class="item1"><a href="?page=overview">{$lm_overview} </a>
                    </li>
                <ul>
                <li class="item2"><a href="?page=chat">{$lm_chat} <span>{$chatusers}</span></a>
                    </li>
                </ul>
                <li class="item3"><a href="#">{$lm_research} </a>
                    <ul>
                        <li class="subitem1"><a href="#">Cute Kittens </a></li>
                        <li class="subitem2"><a href="#">Strange "Stuff" </a></li>
                        <li class="subitem3"><a href="#">Automatic Fails </a></li>
                    </ul>
                </li>
    </ul>
    </div>
<script type="text/javascript">
    $(function() {

        var menu_ul = $('.menu > li > ul'),
               menu_a  = $('.menu > li > a');

        menu_ul.hide();

        menu_a.click(function(e) {
            e.preventDefault();
            if(!$(this).hasClass('active')) {
                menu_a.removeClass('active');
                menu_ul.filter(':visible').slideUp('normal');
                $(this).addClass('active').next().stop(true,true).slideDown('normal');
            } else {
                $(this).removeClass('active');
                $(this).next().stop(true,true).slideUp('normal');
            }
        });

    });
</script>

Image Link

The Overview button and the Chat button should be normal buttons with a design like the others but they shouldn't hover, and also they should immediately transfer you to another page. The other buttons work as I want them to. And my problem is that when I click on the Overview button it wont transfer me anywhere, because it still makes it to hover when I click on it.

Answer 1

As per my understanding of you question. You want Overview and Chat button to work as normal anchor tags and redirect to the URL given in href but Research button should work as it is. Well the main problem is in your code for the menu->li->anchor click, you are preventing the default click behaviour e.preventDefault(). Which will not allow anchor tag to redirect to the url in href (the default behaviour). See the code below, you just need to remove e.preventDefault(), so that anchor tag can redirect to the URL and anyway Research button and other similar will have # in href so they will not redirect to any URL.

menu_a.click(function(e) {

    if(!$(this).hasClass('active')) {
        menu_a.removeClass('active');
        menu_ul.filter(':visible').slideUp('normal');
        $(this).addClass('active').next().stop(true,true).slideDown('normal');
    } else {
        $(this).removeClass('active');
        $(this).next().stop(true,true).slideUp('normal');
    }
});

Here is the updated jsfiddle http://jsfiddle.net/VRBwm/1/

Hope this helps, tell me if something else is required.