How to edit your navigation menu
Step-by-step instructions for adding, removing, and reordering links in your WordPress navigation menu using the Customizer or the Site Editor.
- Time
- 5–10 minutes
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- You’ll need
- Administrator access
Your navigation menu is the row of links at the top of your website. It helps visitors find what they're looking for — and keeping it up to date is one of the most common tasks in WordPress.
Quick summary
How you edit your menu depends on your theme. Classic themes use Appearance → Menus or Appearance → Customize → Menus. Block themes (the newer kind) use Appearance → Editor and let you edit the navigation block directly. If you're unsure which type you have, look at the Appearance menu in your dashboard: Editor appears there only with a block theme, and Menus usually appears only with a classic theme.
What you'll need
- Administrator access to your WordPress site. By default, the Editor role can't open Appearance → Menus or the Site Editor. If you're an Editor, ask us or your site's administrator.
- To know which pages you want to add or remove
Which method do you need?
Classic themes are the traditional kind of WordPress theme, from before block themes existed. They use the traditional menu screen.
In your dashboard, go to Appearance → Menus. If you see a menu builder with drag-and-drop, you're on a classic theme. Follow the steps below.
Editing menus on a classic theme
Step 1: Open the menu screen
Go to Appearance → Menus in your dashboard sidebar.
Select the menu you want to edit from the Select a menu to edit dropdown at the top of the screen. (Some sites have more than one menu, such as a main menu and a footer menu. If your site has only one, it opens straight away and there's no dropdown, so skip to Step 2.)
Click "Select." The menu's current structure loads under Menu structure.
Step 2: Add a link to the menu
Find the "Add menu items" panel on the left. It has sections for Pages, Posts, Custom Links, and Categories. (You can show more, such as Tags, under Screen Options at the top of the screen.)
To add a page: Open the "Pages" section, check the box next to the page you want (click View All to see every published page), and click "Add to Menu." It appears at the bottom of the menu structure.
To add a custom link (for example, to an external site): Open "Custom Links," enter the address in URL and the text you want to display in Link Text, then click "Add to Menu."
Step 3: Reorder and nest menu items
All menu items appear as draggable boxes under Menu structure.
- To reorder: Drag an item up or down to change its position in the menu.
- To create a dropdown: Drag an item slightly to the right, beneath another item. It becomes a sub-item (shown as a dropdown under the parent link).
- To remove a sub-level: Drag the item back to the left.
Step 4: Remove a menu item
Click the arrow on the right side of the menu item box to expand it.
Click "Remove." The item disappears from the menu.
Step 5: Save your changes
Click "Save Menu." Your changes go live immediately.
Visit your site to confirm the menu looks correct. Refresh the page (Ctrl+R or Cmd+R) if the change doesn't appear right away.
Editing menus in the Customizer (alternative)
Some classic themes let you edit menus via Appearance → Customize → Menus. This gives you a live preview of your changes as you make them.
Go to Appearance → Customize. The Customizer opens, with its options on the left and a live preview of your site beside them.
Click "Menus." If you don't see this option, use Appearance → Menus instead if your dashboard has it, or contact us.
Click the menu name to open it and make your changes.
Click "Publish" to save. Changes go live when you click Publish.
Editing menus on a block theme
If your site uses a block theme, menus are edited as Navigation blocks inside the Site Editor. See using the WordPress site editor for a full walkthrough.
In brief:
Go to Appearance → Editor.
Open your header for editing. One way: choose Patterns, find your Header template part, and click the pencil (edit) icon.
Click the Navigation block — the block containing your menu links.
Add or remove links. To add a link, click the + (Add block) button inside the Navigation block and search for a page or enter an address. To remove a link, select it, open the Options menu (⋮) in the block toolbar, and choose Delete (on older versions, Remove followed by the link's name).
Click Save to publish your changes. Header changes apply to every page that uses that header.
Dropdown menus work differently in block themes
In block themes, you create a dropdown by adding a submenu inside the Navigation block: select a link and click Add submenu in the block toolbar. If you're struggling with dropdowns, reach out and we'll walk you through it.
Common questions
I don't see Appearance → Menus in my dashboard. What do I do?
If you're on a block theme, this option won't appear by default — use Appearance → Editor instead. If you're on a classic theme but still don't see it, your user role may not have access (Editors can't open it by default), or your theme may not support menus. Contact us for help.
I added a page to the menu but it's not showing on the site.
Make sure you clicked "Save Menu" after adding the item — changes aren't saved automatically. Also confirm that the page is published (not a draft). Drafts don't appear to visitors. If the whole menu is missing, check that it's assigned to a location: tick a box under Menu Settings → Menu location, then click Save Menu.
How do I create a menu item that doesn't link anywhere (just a label for a dropdown)?
Use a Custom Link, set the URL to # (a hash sign), and type your label as the Link Text. The item then works as a heading for its dropdown sub-items rather than a link to another page.
Can I have different menus in the header and footer?
Yes, if your theme offers more than one menu location. Go to Appearance → Menus, then use the "Manage Locations" tab to assign different menus to your theme's locations. Their names depend on the theme (for example, Primary or Footer). See editing your footer & widget areas for footer-specific guidance.
My menu item label is wrong. How do I change it?
Click the arrow on the menu item to expand it. You'll see a "Navigation Label" field — type your preferred label there, then click Save Menu. This changes how it appears in the menu without affecting the page title or URL.
Related guides
- Editing your footer & widget areas
- Changing your logo, site title & favicon
- Using the WordPress site editor
- WordPress themes explained
- A tour of the WordPress dashboard
- How to create a new page
- My changes aren't showing up
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