How can I place a link in/on top of a css `content` property (without messing up the display of the property)?

Question

I found this very nice floating navbar with a rotating cube effect: https://codepen.io/arjancodes/pen/wtqIr

Unfortunately, it does not include working links, and it is not clear to me how to insert them. I've tried placing the <a> tag a bunch of different ways and monkeying with the CSS based on what I have read about ::after. I also tried changing nth-of-child to nth-of-type, which doesn't seem to have help or hurt.

The fork I am playing with is demoed here, but as it will change I will post the code in its current state below: https://codepen.io/AwakeAntelope/pen/wvJovrP

I have been able to get the links working in the appropriate places, but for some reason when I do that, each <li> ends up containing the first content property (in my fork of the code, "Google").

HTML

<nav>
  <ul>
        <a href="http://www.google.com">
    <li>
      <div class="home-icon">
        <div class="roof">
          <div class="roof-edge"></div>
        </div>
        <div class="front"></div>
      </div>
    </li>
    </a>
    <a href="http://www.yahoo.com">
    <li>
      <div class="about-icon">
        <div class="head">
          <div class="eyes"></div>
          <div class="beard"></div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </li>
    </a>
    <a href="http://www.bing.com">
    <li>
      <div class="work-icon">
        <div class="paper"></div>
        <div class="lines"></div>
        <div class="lines"></div>
        <div class="lines"></div>
      </div>
    </li>
    </a>
    <a href="http://www.duckduckgo.com">
    <li>
      <div class="mail-icon">
        <div class="mail-base">
          <div class="mail-top"></div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </li>
    </a>
  </ul>
</nav>

<section>
  <h1>3d rotating navigation</h1>
  <h2>+ CSS Icons</h2>
</section>

CSS:

*,*:before,*:after {
    box-sizing: border-box;
}

:after {
    content: "";
}

section {
  position: relative;
  left: 100px;
}

h1 { 
  margin:80px 0 10px 0;
  font-size: 52px;
  font-family: 'Montserrat', sans-serif;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  text-shadow: 1px 1px 0px #DC143C,
    2px 2px 0px #DC143C,
    3px 3px 0px #DC143C,
    4px 4px 0px #DC143C;
}

h2 {
  font-size: 24px;
}

body {
  padding: 100px 0;
    background: lightblue;
  color: white;
  max-width:640px;
    font-family: 'Montserrat', sans-serif;
    font-size: 14px;
  line-height:1.4;
  font-smoothing: anti-aliased;
}

nav {
  float: left;
    position: relative;
    top: 0;
  left: 0;
    background: transparent;
}

nav ul {
    text-align: center;
}

nav ul li {
    position: relative;
  width: 70px;
  cursor: pointer;
    background: crimson;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    transition:all .4s ease-out;
}

nav ul li:after {
    position: absolute;
    background: white;
    color: crimson;
    top:0;
    left: 70px;
    width: 70px; height: 100%;
  opacity:.5;
  transform: perspective(400px) rotateY(90deg);
    transform-origin: 0 100%;
    transition:all .4s ease-out;
}

nav ul li:nth-of-type(1):after { 
    content: "Google";
    line-height: 88px;
}
nav ul a li:nth-of-type(2):after { 
    content: "Yahoo";
    line-height: 88px;
}
nav ul a li:nth-of-type(3):after { 
    content: "Bing";
    line-height: 85px;
}
nav ul a li:nth-of-type(4):after { 
    content: "DuckDuckGo";
    line-height: 70px;
}

nav ul li:hover {
    transform: translateX(-70px);
}

nav ul li:hover:after {
  opacity: 1;
    transform: perspective(400px) rotateY(0deg) scale(1) ;
}


nav ul li > div {
    display: inline-block;
    padding: 25px 0;
    background: transparent;
}

nav ul li div { position: relative; }

.roof {
    width: 0;
    height: 0;
    top:2px;
    border-style: solid;
    border-width: 0 21px 15px 21px;
    border-color: transparent transparent #ffffff transparent;
}

.roof-edge {
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 20;
    left: -17px;
    top: 3px;
    width: 0;
    height: 0;
    border-style: solid;
    border-width: 0 17px 12px 17px;
    border-color: transparent transparent crimson transparent;
}
/*white triangle over red triangle*/
.roof-edge:after {
    position: absolute;
    left: -14.5px;
    top: 3px;
    width: 0;
    height: 0;
    border-style: solid;
    border-width: 0 14.5px 10px 14.5px;
    border-color: transparent transparent white transparent;
}

.front {
    position: relative;
    top: 3px;
    width: 28.5px;
    height: 20px;
    margin: 0 auto;
    background: white;
}
/*door*/
.front:after {
    position: absolute;
    background: crimson;
    width: 11px;
    height: 13px;
    bottom: 0;
    left:9px;
}

/*/// About me ////*/

.head {
    width: 32px;
    height: 35px;
    background: white;
    border-radius:8px;
}
/*mouth*/
.head:after {
    width: 4px;
    height: 10px;
    background: white;
    position: absolute;
    border-radius:4px 0 0 4px;
    top:21px;
    left: 14px;
    transform:rotate(270deg);
}

.eyes {
    width: 8px;
    height: 5px;
    border-radius: 50%;
    position: absolute;
    top: 10px;
    left: 5px;
    background: crimson;
}
/*right eye*/
.eyes:after {
    width: 8px;
    height: 5px;
    border-radius: 50%;
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;
    left: 14px;
    background: crimson;
}

.beard {
    width: 32px;
    height: 17px;
    background: crimson;
    border:2px solid white;
    position: absolute;
    bottom: 0;
    left: 0;
    border-radius:0 0 8px 8px;
}
/*nose*/
.beard:after {
    position: absolute;
    top:-2px;
    left: 11px;
    background: white;
    width:6px;
    height: 4px;
    border-left:1px solid crimson;
    border-right:1px solid crimson;
}

/*//work//*/

.paper {
    position: relative;
    height:32px;
    width: 29px;
    background: white;
    border:2px solid white;
}

/*window*/
.paper:after {
    position: absolute;
    top:1px;
    left: 0;
    width: 25px;
    height: 29px;
    background: white;
    border-top:4px solid crimson;
}

.lines {
    position: absolute;
    top: 36px;
    left: 5px;
    width: 11px;
    box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px crimson;
}

.lines:after {
    position: absolute;
    top: 4px;
    left: 3px;
    width: 14px;
    box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px crimson;
}

.lines:nth-child(2) {
    position: absolute;
    top: 44px;
    left: 8px;
    width: 11px;
}

.lines:nth-child(2):after {
    position: absolute;
    top: 4px;
    left: -3px;
    width: 11px;
}

.lines:nth-child(3) {
    position: absolute;
    top: 52px;
    left: 8px;
    width: 14px;
}

.lines:nth-child(3):after {
    display: none;
}

/*//mail //*/

.mail-base {
    position: relative;
    width: 32px;
    height: 18px;
    background: white;
}

.mail-top {
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 20;
    left: 0;
    top: 0;
    width: 0;
    height: 0;
    transform: rotate(180deg);
    border-style: solid;
    border-width: 0 16px 11px 16px;
    border-color: transparent transparent crimson transparent;
}

.mail-top:after {
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 20;
    left: -16px;
    top: 3px;
    width: 0;
    height: 0;
    border-style: solid;
    border-width: 0 16px 9px 16px;
    border-color: transparent transparent white transparent;
}

Answer 1

I got it working, just changed this code :

nav ul a:nth-of-type(1) li:after { 
    content: "Google";
    line-height: 88px;
}
nav ul a:nth-of-type(2) li:after { 
    content: "Yahoo";
    line-height: 88px;
}
nav ul a:nth-of-type(3) li:after { 
    content: "Bing";
    line-height: 85px;
}
nav ul a:nth-of-type(4) li:after { 
    content: "DuckDuckGo";
    line-height: 70px;
}

The nth-of-type needs to target the A element because right now you have it traversing LI elements inside of the first A element, hence the same text every time. I agree that having ul a li is not a best practice btw.