How to add a navigation menu in WordPress
What is a navigation menu?
Menus are navigational tools that enable your users to find content on your site. It allows your visitors to easily navigate and access different pages around your website. On most websites, they are usually presented as a horizontal bar of links at the top of every page.
WordPress comes with a drag and drop menu interface that you can use to create header menus, menus with dropdown options, and more. Not only that, it’s also versatile enough that you can present them not only at the top of your page, but also on several different locations in your website. You can even make them vertical, as opposed to horizontal.
How to create a new navigation menu
On your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance > Menus.
This will bring you to the Menus screen, which is divided into two columns. The column on the left has your pages, categories, and custom links tab. The column on the right is where you can add and adjust your menu items.
Under the Menu Structure, in the Menu Name field, give your menu a name. Here, I named mine “Primary Menu“. Then click the “Create Menu” button on the bottom right.
How to add pages to your menu
Click the “View All” tab under PAGES tab on the Add Menu Items on the left column.
Check every menu title that you want to include in your navigation menu, and hit the “Add to Menu” button.
It will add those items into the right column as shown below. Hit the “Save Menu” button to save it.
To rearrange the order of your menu items, simply drag and drop the items as shown below. Don’t forget to always hit “Save Menu” after you make any changes.
How to edit menu items
You can edit each of the menu item by clicking on the downward arrow next to it. For example, you want to change the label or title of the menu item. Simply replace the original name in the Navigation Label field, with the new one. Here I changed “Homepage” to “Home”.
How to add categories to your menu
Click the “Categories” tab under “Add menu items” on the left column. Click “View All” tab to see all categories that you have. Select the categories you want to include in your menu, and hit “Add to Menu“.
How to create a dropdown menu
To create submenus (also known as dropdown menus), drag menu items underneath the parent item, and then drag them slightly to the right. This will create a nested submenu.
Assign a menu to a menu location
Finally, you’ll need to assign your menu to a location on your website. Depending on your theme, you may have different menu locations available. To assign your menu, go to the “Manage Locations” tab at the top of the screen and select location where you want to display your menu.
