diff --git a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/components/_icon-links.scss b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/components/_icon-links.scss
index e6f726a18..ab0748c06 100644
--- a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/components/_icon-links.scss
+++ b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/components/_icon-links.scss
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@
   flex-flow: row wrap;
   column-gap: 1rem;
   justify-content: space-evenly;
+  align-items: center;
+  padding-left: 0;
+  margin-bottom: 0;
+  list-style: none;
 
   // Remove the padding so that we can define it with flexbox gap above
   li.nav-item a.nav-link {
diff --git a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/components/_navbar-links.scss b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/components/_navbar-links.scss
index cd27e56ff..243722e4b 100644
--- a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/components/_navbar-links.scss
+++ b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/components/_navbar-links.scss
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 /**
- * Navigation text links in the navbar
+ * Navigation links in the navbar and icon links
  */
-.navbar-nav {
+.navbar-nav,
+.navbar-icon-links {
   ul {
     display: block;
     list-style: none;
diff --git a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/sections/_header.scss b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/sections/_header.scss
index a5d643cc6..34ac624e7 100644
--- a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/sections/_header.scss
+++ b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/assets/styles/sections/_header.scss
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@
     display: flex;
 
     @include media-breakpoint-up($breakpoint-sidebar-primary) {
-      // Center align on wide screens so the dropdown button is centered properly
+      // Align on wide screens so the dropdown button is centered properly
       align-items: baseline;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/components/icon-links.html b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/components/icon-links.html
index 0b6ce64ad..c40e2638a 100644
--- a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/components/icon-links.html
+++ b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/components/icon-links.html
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
   {%- endif -%}
 {%- endmacro -%}
 {%- if theme_icon_links -%}
-<ul class="navbar-icon-links navbar-nav"
+<ul class="navbar-icon-links"
     aria-label="{{ theme_icon_links_label }}">
   {%- for icon_link in theme_icon_links -%}
     {{ icon_link_nav_item(icon_link["url"], icon_link["icon"], icon_link["name"], icon_link.get("type", "fontawesome"), icon_link.get("attributes", {})) -}}
diff --git a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/components/navbar-nav.html b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/components/navbar-nav.html
index 42e08b9ad..0782392e7 100644
--- a/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/components/navbar-nav.html
+++ b/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/components/navbar-nav.html
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {# Displays links to the top-level TOCtree elements, in the header navbar. #}
-<nav class="navbar-nav">
+<nav>
   <ul class="bd-navbar-elements navbar-nav">
     {{ generate_header_nav_html(n_links_before_dropdown=theme_header_links_before_dropdown, dropdown_text=theme_header_dropdown_text) }}
   </ul>
diff --git a/tests/test_build/navbar_icon_links.html b/tests/test_build/navbar_icon_links.html
index 69589f5a2..5c90cd961 100644
--- a/tests/test_build/navbar_icon_links.html
+++ b/tests/test_build/navbar_icon_links.html
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-<ul aria-label="Icon Links" class="navbar-icon-links navbar-nav">
+<ul aria-label="Icon Links" class="navbar-icon-links">
  <li class="nav-item">
   <a class="nav-link" data-bs-placement="bottom" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" href="https://site1.org" rel="noopener" target="_blank" title="FONTAWESOME">
    <span>
diff --git a/tests/test_build/navbar_ix.html b/tests/test_build/navbar_ix.html
index 00fcdcce7..69ba50bc4 100644
--- a/tests/test_build/navbar_ix.html
+++ b/tests/test_build/navbar_ix.html
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <div class="me-auto navbar-header-items__center">
  <div class="navbar-item">
-  <nav class="navbar-nav">
+  <nav>
    <ul class="bd-navbar-elements navbar-nav">
     <li class="nav-item pst-header-nav-item">
      <a class="nav-link nav-internal" href="page1.html">
diff --git a/tests/test_build/sidebar_subpage.html b/tests/test_build/sidebar_subpage.html
index a55ea5b57..47cbe1e1a 100644
--- a/tests/test_build/sidebar_subpage.html
+++ b/tests/test_build/sidebar_subpage.html
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  <div class="sidebar-header-items sidebar-primary__section">
   <div class="sidebar-header-items__center">
    <div class="navbar-item">
-    <nav class="navbar-nav">
+    <nav>
      <ul class="bd-navbar-elements navbar-nav">
       <li class="nav-item pst-header-nav-item">
        <a class="nav-link nav-internal" href="../page1.html">