The Mostly Painless Guide to WordPress Menu Editing (2025)

WordPress menus present themselves as straightforward until you dive beneath the surface and find yourself adrift in terminology and hidden settings.

First, the basics: a WordPress menu is simply a collection of links that appears in various locations on your site:

1. Primary navigation (typically horizontal, near the top)
2. Secondary/footer navigation
3. Mobile menus
4. Sidebar navigation

The first oddity you'll encounter is WordPress's decision to separate creating menus from displaying menus. This two-step process is logical to WordPress developers, but can be baffling to new users.

Despite WordPress's relentless march toward block-based everything, the classic menu editor refuses to go extinct. Here's how to use this digital dinosaur:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard
2. Navigate to Appearance > Menus (yes, it's hiding under 'Appearance', not 'Menus' or 'Navigation')
3. You'll see two main panels staring back at you:

On the left: Available items you can add (your raw menu ingredients)
On the right: Your current menu structure (your culinary creation)

To create a new menu:

1. Click 'create a new menu'
2. Name it something sensible like 'Main Menu' rather than 'Menu42XB'
3. Click 'Create Menu'

To add items, simply:

1. Select items from the left panels (Pages, Posts, Custom Links, etc.)
2. Check the boxes next to desired items
3. Click 'Add to Menu'

To organize your menu:

1. Drag items up/down to reorder
2. Drag slightly right to create dropdowns (indentation matters!)
3. Click arrows for additional options

Finally, under 'Menu Settings', check the locations where you want this menu to appear, then click 'Save Menu'. Forgetting this last step is a common mistake. Many a WordPress user has stared blankly at their unchanged site wondering where their beautiful new menu has gone, only to realize they skipped this critical final step. According to WPBeginner's research, forgetting to save menu changes ranks among the top 5 WordPress frustrations.

With Full Site Editing, WordPress introduced block-based navigation that promises to revolutionize menu creation.

If you're using a block theme, here's the process:

1. Edit a page using the Block Editor
2. Add a 'Navigation' block (search for it in the block inserter)
3. Choose to create a new menu, use an existing one, or let WordPress auto-generate one based on existing pages

The block navigation system offers:

Advantages:

• Visual editing directly on your page
• More styling options without touching code (colors, fonts, spacing)
• Built-in responsive controls

Disadvantages:

• Less intuitive for managing multiple menus
• Patchy compatibility with themes
• Migration path from classic menus that can be complex

Is it better? That depends on your preference. Some find it brilliantly intuitive; others prefer the classic editor. The WordPress Developer Resources offer technical details for those brave enough to venture deeper.

Once you've mastered basic menu creation, you might feel emboldened to venture into advanced territory. Here are some options:

Custom CSS Classes:

1. Click 'Screen Options' at the top right (that inconspicuous tab you've never noticed)
2. Check 'CSS Classes'
3. Add custom classes to individual menu items (for those who speak the arcane language of CSS)

Menu Icons:
Icons make navigation more intuitive:

1. Install a plugin like 'Menu Icons'
2. Select appropriately meaningful icons for menu items

Mega Menus:
For larger sites with complex navigation needs:

1. Install a mega menu plugin like Max Mega Menu
2. Transform your existing menus into customizable mega menus
3. Add columns, images, and other content

Conditional Menus:
Show different menus to different users:

1. Install 'Conditional Menus' or similar
2. Create multiple menus tailored to different audiences
3. Set rules for when each appears

These customizations can transform a basic navigation system into something perfectly tailored to your site.

With most web traffic now coming from mobile devices, your mobile navigation deserves special attention.

Common Mobile Menu Problems:

• Menus that are too long
• Dropdowns that are hard to tap
• Text sized too small for readability

Mobile Menu Solutions:

1. Check Theme Settings:

• Look for mobile menu options in your theme customizer
• Adjust hamburger style, animations, and breakpoints

2. Consider Responsive Menu Plugins:

• 'Responsive Menu' or 'WP Mobile Menu'
• Customize specifically for small screens

3. Create a Dedicated Mobile Menu:

• Simplified with essential items only
• Assign to the mobile menu location

When testing, don't just resize your browser window—test on actual mobile devices. What looks perfectly usable on a large monitor might be unusable on a smartphone. According to Nielsen Norman Group, nearly 50% of users abandon mobile sites due to poor navigation.

Creating a technically functional menu is one accomplishment; designing an effective navigation system is another.

Clarity Over Cleverness:

• Use straightforward labels ('About Us', not 'Our Journey')
• Avoid jargon unless your audience consists exclusively of people who understand that jargon
• Put important pages in prominent positions

Keep It Simple:

• Limit top-level items to 7 or fewer
• Avoid nested dropdowns deeper than three levels
• Ensure adequate spacing between items

Visual Guidance:

• Use hover effects to signal interactivity
• Implement active states so users know their location
• Consider icons for important items

Accessibility:

• Ensure sufficient color contrast
• Make clickable areas generously sized
• Test with keyboard navigation

The perfect navigation gets you what you need without drawing attention to itself. Users should reach their destination without consciously thinking about the menu structure.

Even with careful planning, WordPress menus occasionally misbehave. Here are solutions to common problems:

Menu Vanishing Act:

• Check that your menu is assigned to the correct location
• Verify your theme actually supports that location
• Ensure the theme is properly displaying menu locations

Dropdown Defiance:

• Check for JavaScript errors in your browser console
• Test in different browsers
• Disable plugins to check for conflicts

Missing Menu Items:

• Confirm you clicked 'Save Menu'
• Check responsive settings (items might be hidden on certain devices)
• Verify user permissions

Custom Links Leading Nowhere:

• Ensure URLs include 'https://' or 'http://'
• Check for typos in your URLs
• Verify the destination actually exists

Changes Not Appearing:

• Clear browser cache
• Purge caching plugins
• Check CDN settings

When troubleshooting, remember that most menu issues have straightforward solutions. The WordPress Support Documentation offers additional troubleshooting guidance.

WordPress evolves quickly, and navigation systems are constantly changing. To ensure your menus survive updates:

1. Stay Informed:

• Follow WordPress news sources like WP Tavern
• Test major updates on a staging site first

2. Avoid Theme Dependency:

• Don't rely heavily on theme-specific menu features
• Consider how menus might migrate between systems

3. Document Your Setup:

• Keep notes on custom classes and settings
• Take screenshots for reference

4. Backup Regularly:

• Ensure backups include your database where menu structures live
• Know how to restore if needed

Always prepare for unexpected changes. The WordPress universe will continue to transform, but with proper preparation, your navigation won't leave visitors stranded.

A criminally underutilized feature: Menu Item Description fields.

1. In the classic menu editor, click 'Screen Options' at the top right
2. Check the 'Description' box
3. Add helpful descriptions to your menu items

These descriptions can:

• Appear on hover as tooltips
• Display beneath menu items for additional context
• Improve accessibility for screen readers

While not all themes display descriptions by default, a bit of CSS or a plugin can make them visible. The WordPress experts at Kinsta provide excellent tutorials on enhancing menu functionality.

This feature is particularly helpful for sites with specialized terminology or similar-sounding sections that might confuse visitors.