In this guide, we’ll explain how to create and edit navigation menus in WordPress.
Menus help visitors move around your website and are commonly used for links such as Home, About Us, Services, Blog and Contact.
Depending on your WordPress theme, menus are usually managed in one of two places.
For traditional themes, go to:
Appearance > Menus
For newer block-based themes, go to:
Appearance > Editor
The exact options available depend on the theme you are using.
If your theme uses the traditional menu system:
For example:
Main Menu
You can now add links to it.
To add an existing page:
You can add as many pages as required.
You can also add links to other websites or specific URLs.
Under Custom Links:
For example:
https://example.com/contact/
Custom links can also be used for external websites.
If you want visitors to access posts from a specific category:
The category will then appear as a menu item.
WordPress allows you to rearrange menu items using drag and drop.
Simply click and drag an item into the position you want.
For example:
Home
About Us
Services
Blog
Contact
Click Save Menu after rearranging the links.
You can create dropdown or sub-menu items by placing one menu item underneath another.
For example:
Services
Web Design
Hosting
SEO
To create this structure:
WordPress will normally display the indented items as a dropdown.
The exact appearance depends on your theme.
You can change the text shown in the menu without changing the actual page title.
For example, you might have a page called:
Contact Cheap Host
but want the menu to simply show:
Contact
Open the menu item and change the Navigation Label.
Then click Save Menu.
Removing an item from the menu does not normally delete the actual page.
To remove a menu link:
The page itself will remain available under Pages.
Themes can provide different menu locations.
These may include:
Under the menu settings, select the location where you want the menu to appear.
Click Save Menu after making changes.
Modern WordPress themes may use the Site Editor instead of Appearance > Menus.
Go to:
Appearance > Editor
Then open the header, navigation or template area containing your menu.
You can normally add, remove and rearrange menu links using the Navigation block.
Because block themes can vary, the exact layout may be different from one theme to another.
If your homepage is not listed in the navigation, add it like any other page.
Alternatively, you can use a custom link pointing to:
https://example.com/
Replace example.com with your own domain.
Check that the same page has not been added more than once.
Duplicate Home or Contact links can make navigation confusing.
Remove any unnecessary duplicates from the menu.
For some external links, you may want them to open in a new browser tab.
Depending on your WordPress version and theme, this option may be available in the menu item settings or Navigation block settings.
Use this only where it makes sense, rather than for every menu item.
Many themes display a different layout on mobile devices.
After changing your menu, check the website on:
Make sure dropdown menus and navigation buttons are easy to use.
If you have created a menu but cannot see it on the website, check:
Some themes and page builders also have their own header and navigation settings.
If changes do not appear immediately, clear any WordPress caching plugin and refresh your browser.
You can also try opening the website in a private or incognito window.
WordPress menus allow you to control how visitors navigate around your website.
You can add pages, categories and custom links, rearrange their order and create dropdown menus.
Depending on your theme, menus can be managed under Appearance > Menus or through Appearance > Editor.
If you experience problems creating or editing your WordPress menu, please log in to your Cheap Host account and submit a support ticket for assistance.