Navigation menus allow you to present a site structure to your users. They help users find information and browse through different sections of your website. Since navigation menus are so important, they are usually placed close to the header in most WordPress themes.

WordPress comes with a navigation menu system that makes it quite easy for beginner users to create and manage menus. The location of the menus can vary from theme to theme. Almost all WordPress themes come with at least one menu location. Some WordPress themes come with multiple menu locations to accommodate for more complex websites.

How To Create Your First Custom Navigation Menu

You can create menus in WordPress by visiting ‘Appearance » Menus’ in your WordPress admin area.

This will bring you to the Edit Menus screen which is divided into two columns. The column on your left has your pages, categories, and custom links tab. The column on the right is where you add and adjust menu items.

Provide a name for your menu, and then click on the create menu button. This will expand the menu area, and it will look like this:

Next, you need to select the pages you want to add to the menu. You can do this by selecting the pages listed on the left-hand side and clicking on ‘Add to Menu’ button.

After adding pages to the menu, select the theme location where you want to display the menu and click on the ‘Save Menu’ button.

Don’t worry if you’re unsure where each menu location is on your site. You can visit the website to see the menu in action. If you don’t like it, then you can always change the menu location.

How To Arrange Items In A Custom Navigation Menu

You probably noticed that each menu item you added is arranged in the order you added them. For example, your about link appears at the end, while the contact page link appears first. Don’t worry you can easily rearrange your WordPress menu items in any order you want. Simply drag and drop a menu item to adjust its position in the menu. Repeat the process to create new menus for other theme locations.

How To Create Nested Drop-Down Menus in WordPress

Nested menus, also known as drop-down menus, are navigational menus with parent and child menu items. These menus are usually styled by WordPress themes in such a way that when a user takes their mouse to a parent item, all their sub-menus are displayed.

In your menu structure, drag the menu item just below the parent item. Next, slightly drag the menu item to the right. You will notice that it will automatically become a sub-menu item.

How To Add Categories to WordPress Menus

If you’re using WordPress to run a blog, then you can add your blog categories as a drop-down in your WordPress menu. By default, WordPress provides an easier way to add pages and categories from the left-hand column on the menu editor screen.

Start by clicking on the Categories tab to expand it. You will see your blog categories listed there. Simply select the categories you want to add to the menu, and then click on add to the menu button.

You will notice that categories will appear as menu items under menu structure column. Just like pages, you can simply drag and drop them to arrange their position on the menu. In this example, we have dragged all categories to appear as sub-menu items under the Blog.

We hope this article has helped you learn how to add custom navigation menu’s in WordPress. Be sure to check out our other WordPress guides for helpful tips and walkthroughs.