Menus are a vital part of your website, as they allow your visitors to navigate your site and find the information they’re looking for. WordPress allows you to create and customise your menus with ease. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to add a menu to your WordPress site.

Step 1: Create a New Menu

  1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Menus.
  2. Click on the Create a new menu link at the top of the page.
  3. Give your new menu a name in the Menu Name box (for example, “Main Menu”).
  4. Click the Create Menu button.

Step 2: Add Items to the Menu

  1. On the left-hand side, you’ll see boxes titled Pages, Posts, Custom Links, and Categories. You can use these to add items to your menu.
  2. Select the pages or categories you want to add to your menu by clicking the checkbox next to each item, then click the Add to Menu button.
  3. If you want to add a custom link (for example, a link to an external website), click on the Custom Links dropdown, enter the URL and link text, then click Add to Menu.

Step 3: Arrange Your Menu Items

  1. You can arrange the order of your menu items by dragging and dropping them into place.
  2. To make one menu item a submenu of another, simply drag it slightly to the right under the parent item.

Step 4: Set Menu Display Location

  1. In the Menu Settings section at the bottom, you’ll see a checkbox for each menu location available in your WordPress theme. These typically include primary, secondary, footer, and others, depending on your theme.
  2. Select the location where you want your menu to appear by clicking the checkbox next to it.

Step 5: Save Your Menu

  1. Click the Save Menu button.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve just created and added a new menu to your WordPress website. Remember, you can always come back and edit your menu if you want to add or remove items, create nested submenu items, or change the order of your menu items. Effective menus make your website easier to navigate and help visitors find the information they’re looking for, improving user experience.

Hey, I've worked with WordPress since I discovered it in 2006. During this time I've built websites for myself and clients (typically without writing code) and provided coaching and technical support to anyone who needed it. Send me an email if you need help - I'm always happy to do so whenever I can.