Creating a WordPress Custom Menu

This is the fifth article of our  Series: From Zero to WordPress Rockstar on how to create a WordPress Custom Menu.

What are WordPress Custom Menus?

In version 3.0 WordPress introduced the Custom Menu feature which provides an easy way to show a customized menu on our site. The easiest way to show the menu is by using the widget but it also can be placed on any place within the theme by inserting some code. WordPress Custom Menus can have Posts, Pages and custom links and also provides leveling support.

How to use WordPress Custom Menus

Most themes out there are custom menu ready, so we will just dive in. First open the Custom Menu management screen located in the WordPress admin area in the menu under Appearance -> Menus. If you didn’t create a new menu there the only thing you can do is to create one. In the middle of the screen there is an input box. Write the name of your new menu in there (doesn’t really matter what, just choose a name) and hit the Create Menu button. Now you have to assign your menu to a menu locations. This is done by selecting the menu you created a minute ago in the very first box on the left side of the page and hit save. We are already good to go – the menu is set up and is awaiting items to hold.

Adding a Custom Link to your Custom Menu

A custom link is a link which can go anywhere on your site or even to a very different site. To create one locate the box titled Custom Links on the left side of the custom menu manager page, enter a URL (eg. http://www.example.com), give it a Label and hit Add to Menu. You now will notice the menu entry with your chosen Label name is added to the menu on the right. When you click on it it will expand an area where you can change the URL, the Navigation Label and the Title Attribute where the Navigation Label will be the text of the link. When done be aware to always hit the Save Menubutton so your changes take affect.

Adding Pages and Categories to the Custom Menu

Adding Pages and Categories is the very same, so I will only write it down once. On the left side where you just added your Custom Link to the menu there are two other boxes titled Pages and Categories. To add Pages or Categories to the menu simply select all the Pages/Categories you want to add and hit Add to Menu. They will again appear on the right in your menu and you can edit the Navigation Label and the Title Attribute.

Rearranging the menu items

WordPress makes rearranging the menu items quite simple. By clicking and holding the title bar of the menu item in the manager you can drag it up and down to bring your items in the desired order. By moving it to the right you can order them as a second level item to a different item. This also works the same way for third level items. Don’t forget to hit Save Menu when you are done making your menu.

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