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WordPress Menus help users create attractive, responsive, and better navigation. The user experience allows WordPress users to convert more visitors from readers to subscribers, business partners, and revenue partners.
Let’s discuss the importance of WordPress menus in general and learn how to create and use Menus smarter.
Remember that if you’re using a page builder, such as Divi Builder, menus can also require the builder’s specific options. In this case, you’ll need to see how the page builder(s) treat WordPress menus, provide various options, and handle changes made to WordPress menus.
What are WordPress Menus?
Menus represent a collection of linked pages in WordPress. You can usually see an example of WordPress Menus on navigations.
Once pages are created, the Appearance -> Menus page in the Dashboard helps users add pages to menus. However, you’ll need to create a Menu before you can add pages.
How to create a Menu?
Creating a menu in WordPress is simple. All you have to do is:
- Land on the Menus page in the Dashboard
- Use the option That says “Create a Menu”
Let’s learn how to create a menu in WordPress with screenshots for beginners.
Step 1: First, land on the Menus page in the WordPress dashboard. The page is accessible at Appearance -> Menus, as shown in the screenshot below.
Step 2: Now, you can “Create a Menu.” You can also name the new menu and click Create Menu directly on the menu page.
The creation process should also define the menu’s type, such as the Primary or Secondary menu. Let’s discuss various menu types in more detail.
- Primary Menu – The menu presents pages on the main navigation bars in most WordPress Themes.
- Secondary Menu – as its name suggests, are the menus in secondary places on a WordPress theme, such as sidebars, footers, or below the main navigation bar.
Once you’ve set the required parameters for a new menu, save the changes at the end.
How to add Pages to Menus?
The process of adding pages to WordPress menus is simple.
Once you’ve landed on the Menus page in the Dashboard, you can see the following:
- A list of created pages
- The button That says “Add to Menu.”
- The order of added pages in the selected Menu
Let’s explain the process in more detail.
- Step 1: Once you have landed on the Menus page, choose pages from the list to add to the menu and click Add to Menu. The newly added pages are arranged in order on the left side. Here, reordering the pages is simple, drag-and-drop, and user-friendly. Once you have made the required changes, don’t forget to save them at the end.
- Step 2: You can also add links to Posts. Below the pages list, you can see a list of published posts. Do so accordingly and make sure the changes are saved at the end.
- Step 3: You can add custom links and category pages here.
- Step 4: Changing menu locations on the Menus page is also possible. As shown in the screenshot below, setting different menus for various locations on WordPress creates different effects.
How to delete a WordPress Menu?
Be aware deleting a menu can cause immense damage to WordPress.
In typical cases, once you have deleted a menu – you can see effects on the home page navigation bar. The entire menu disappears, or the whole section is shown as empty.
Let’s explain how to delete a WordPress menu.
Once you’re ready to proceed, land on the Menus page in the WordPress dashboard.
- Step 1: Once landed on the Menus screen, choose the menu you want to delete. The page shows a list of created menus in WordPress.
- Step 2: Once you have selected a menu, the Delete Menu option will make it disappear. Remember that deleting a menu will have consequences, so proceed only if you know what you’re doing.
- Step 3: If you’re presented with a caution prompt, choose an option to proceed.
- Step 4: Once you delete a menu, clear the WordPress cache. Read this tutorial for more information on clearing the cache in WordPress.
Let’s learn how to make more changes to WordPress Menus.
Customize a WordPress Menu
Navigation Label
The Navigation Label refers to the Text shown once a menu is placed in a specific location on WordPress, such as the top navigation bar.
Users can change their label when adding a page or custom link to a menu. The one you save will be shown on the menu on the front end.
Original Target Link
Users can also change the target link of a menu item. When adding a custom link, users can quickly define the target link.
More options
Some Themes support multiple menu locations. In this case, you can create and choose different menus for Theme locations depending on your preference.
So, if your Theme supports multiple menus, you can proceed. To confirm if your Theme supports menu locations, do the following:
- See the Theme’s official documentation
- Visit the Appearance -> Customize page to verify if your Theme supports multiple menus
WordPress Menus: Best Practices
- Tip 1: If you’ve set the option “Automatically add new pages to Menu,” the new pages you create will automatically be added to the selected menu. However, such settings could create unwanted menu changes, such as the added page being unsuitable for navigation bars.
- Tip 2: If you add custom links to menus, you might need to address link tags and attributes, such as Nofollow or Dofollow.
- Tip 3: Deleting a page will automatically remove the page from menus.
- Tip 4: If you’re using a page builder to create a WordPress site(s), you should take proper measures. For example, page builders require specific settings to display WordPress menus. Make changes accordingly and save changes at the end.
- Tip 5: Migrating a site from an old to a new Hosting can cause problems. In this case, ensure you’ve set proper menus, backups, and a staging site to test various workflows – before proceeding and applying changes to a live website. In most cases, manual migration can cause problems compared to plugins. Remember that the plugin you’ve used to take the site’s backups is the one you’ll need to use when migrating, recovering, and setting your site on a new web Hosting platform.
- Tip 6: Users can also add a menu to different locations. In this scenario, the option may not seem reasonable to most users, as adding the same set of pages at various locations on WordPress doesn’t make sense for most users.
- Tip 7: If your site’s menu supports multiple menu locations, you should first verify which location supports which kind of menu. Once confirmed, you can proceed and make the necessary changes.
Wrapping up
Managing WordPress menus is a rare routine. When creating WordPress, you must create and set proper menus once.
The settings will define how your site’s menus should react. In this case, you can choose the following measures to see if a change makes sense:
- Menu locations
- Set whether new pages are automatically added to the selected menu
- Menu locations, primarily if your site’s Theme supports locations for multiple menus
Let us know your thoughts for more information on WordPress menus, SEO, and maintenance. We support users of all stages, providing one-time support sessions, monthly plans, and custom infrastructure for those interested.