How to Create & Manage WordPress Menus

Menus are a crucial part of website navigation, as they allow visitors to easily access the various pages, posts, categories, and other content on your site. WordPress provides an intuitive way to create and manage menus, giving you full control over how your site is navigated.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create, edit, and manage menus in WordPress, so you can organize your content in a way that enhances the user experience.

What Are WordPress Menus?

In WordPress, a menu is a collection of links or pages that are displayed on the website, usually in a header, footer, or sidebar area. Menus allow users to navigate between different parts of the website efficiently.

You can add various types of links to a WordPress menu, including:

Pages (e.g., About, Contact)
Posts (e.g., Latest Blog Posts)
Categories (e.g., Blog Categories)
Custom Links (e.g., external URLs, social media links)
Custom Post Types (e.g., Portfolio, Testimonials)
Tags or Taxonomies (e.g., Topic-based navigation)

Step 1: Access the Menu Section in WordPress

To start creating and managing menus in WordPress, follow these steps:

Login to WordPress Dashboard: Access your website’s admin panel by logging in to WordPress.
Go to Menus:
- In the WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance > Menus. This is where you’ll create, manage, and edit your website’s menus.
- If you are using the WordPress Customizer, go to Appearance > Customize > Menus.

Once in the Menus section, you can manage your site’s existing menus, create new menus, and assign them to specific locations (like the header or footer).

Step 2: Creating a New Menu

To create a new menu in WordPress:

Click “Create a New Menu”:
- In the Menus page, you’ll see an option to Create a New Menu. Click this button to begin.
Enter Menu Name:
- Give your menu a name. The name is for internal use (e.g., Main Navigation, Footer Menu, Mobile Menu). This helps you organize and identify different menus.
Select Menu Location:
- In the Menu Settings section, you’ll see several theme-specific locations where your menu can be displayed (e.g., Primary Menu, Footer Menu, Social Links).
- You can check one or more locations, depending on where you want the menu to appear on your site. The available locations vary based on your theme.
Click “Create Menu”: After naming your menu and selecting the locations, click Create Menu.

Step 3: Adding Items to Your Menu

Once your menu is created, you can add various items to it:

Select Menu Items:
- In the left column, you will see different options for adding items to your menu:
  - Pages: Select pages like About, Contact, Services, etc.
  - Posts: Add individual blog posts to your menu.
  - Custom Links: Add external URLs or specific links (e.g., social media profiles, external pages).
  - Categories: Add blog categories to your menu for easy navigation.
  - Tags: If you use tags, you can add them as menu items as well.
  - Custom Post Types: If your theme uses custom post types (e.g., portfolios, products), they will be listed here.
Add Items:
- To add an item to your menu, simply select it from the list and click the Add to Menu button.
- For Custom Links, you can manually enter the URL and link text in the provided fields.
Rearrange Menu Items:
- After adding items to your menu, you can rearrange their order by dragging and dropping them. To create submenus (dropdowns), drag items slightly to the right under the parent item.
Save the Menu:
- After adding and organizing your menu items, click Save Menu to save your changes.

Step 4: Customizing Menu Structure

Create Submenus (Dropdown Menus):
- You can organize your menu items into hierarchical structures by creating submenus.
- Simply drag a menu item slightly to the right under another item. This will make it a sub-item (child) of the parent item.
- For example, you could have a parent menu item called Services, and under that, you could have sub-items like Web Design, SEO Services, and Content Writing.
Edit Menu Item Labels:
- Each menu item has a Navigation Label. This is the text displayed in the menu.
- To change the label, click the drop-down arrow next to a menu item, then edit the Navigation Label field. For example, you might want to display “About Us” in the menu, but label it as “About Our Company” in the backend.
Remove Menu Items:
- To remove a menu item, click the drop-down arrow next to the item and click the Remove link. This will delete the item from the menu (it won’t delete the actual page or post).

Step 5: Assigning Menus to Locations

Once you’ve created and customized your menu, it’s important to assign it to the correct location on your site.

Go to Menu Settings:
- In the Menu Settings section (under the menu structure), you’ll find several checkboxes for Menu Locations. These locations depend on your theme and can include areas like Primary Menu, Footer Menu, Social Links, etc.
Assign Menu to a Location:
- Check the box next to the location where you want this menu to appear (e.g., Primary Menu for the main navigation).
- Click Save Menu to apply the changes.

Step 6: Editing and Managing Existing Menus

If you need to make changes to an existing menu, follow these steps:

Select the Menu to Edit:
- From the Menu screen, you’ll see a drop-down at the top labeled Select a menu to edit. Select the menu you want to edit from the list.
Make Changes:
- Add, remove, or reorder items as needed.
- Customize individual menu item labels, add custom links, or create new submenus.
Save Changes:
- After making edits, click Save Menu to apply the changes.

Step 7: Advanced Menu Customization (Optional)

If you want to take your menu customization a step further, here are some advanced options:

Adding Icons to Menu Items:
- Many WordPress themes and plugins allow you to add icons to menu items. For example, you might want to add a home icon next to the Home menu item or social media icons next to social links.
- To add icons, you may need to use a plugin like Font Awesome or a theme that supports this feature.
Customizing Menus with CSS:
- If you want to modify the appearance of your menus (like font style, size, colors, or hover effects), you can add custom CSS.
- Go to Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS and add the CSS code to modify the style of your menus.
Mega Menus:
- Some themes and plugins, like WP Mega Menu, allow you to create more complex menu structures, including mega menus with multiple columns, images, and widgets.
- This is ideal for sites with a lot of content that need a more sophisticated navigation system.

Step 8: Test Your Menu

Once you’ve created and customized your menu, make sure to test it:

Check Responsiveness: Ensure that the menu looks good and is easy to navigate on mobile devices. Many modern WordPress themes use responsive menus, meaning the layout adapts to smaller screens (e.g., a hamburger menu on mobile).
Test Menu Links: Ensure all menu links are working correctly and lead to the intended pages.

Conclusion

Creating and managing menus in WordPress is an essential skill for organizing your site’s content and improving navigation. By following the steps outlined above, you can create custom menus that help visitors easily find important pages, blog posts, categories, or external links. WordPress also offers a lot of flexibility with its menus, allowing for advanced features like submenus, icons, and custom styling.

How to Create & Manage WordPress Menus