Learn how to add a drop down menu on WordPress site with this step-by-step guide. Improve navigation, user experience and website organization easily!
How To Add a Drop down Menu on WordPress? 6 Simple Steps by Steps Method
If you are building a WordPress website, properly structuring your menu is invaluable so your visitors can find what they are looking for. One of the best ways to keep your site nice and clean and truly looking professional is with a dropdown menu, which will naturally give you better navigation. Creating a dropdown menu in WordPress is easy, even if it is your first time doing it. This guide will take you through it in easy-to-follow terms. Read on to learn more.
What is a Dropdown Menu?
Navigation tool that provides additional menu items to be displayed when user hovers on or click on parent menu item. For instance, if ‘Products’ is a tab on your site, a drop-down menu under this tab can be named like ‘Electronics’, ‘Clothing’ and ‘Books’. This structure is useful when organizing content and makes for a more pleasant user experience.
Why Add a Dropdown Menu?
Having a drop-down menu on your website provides some benefits that can make your website both functional and user-friendly. It also lets you have several pages grouped together under one main menu item to organize things and make your site more structured and easier to navigate. With this improved navigation the visitors can locate what they are looking for without the need to scroll too much or search for it.
In addition, a well-designed dropdown menu helps your website look professional and polished which is a great impression to the eyes of users. Also, modern dropdown menus are perfectly accessible on mobile devices when browsing through all the existing devices. This is why dropdown menus are an essential feature for any website that has a well-designed website.
Step-by-Step Guide to Remove a URL from Google Search
Once you see the benefits of a dropdown menu, it’s time you add one to your WordPress site, of course. Here are a few simple steps to follow.
1. Log into Your WordPress Dashboard: First of all, login into your WordPress admin dashboard. You can access it by typing yourwebsite.com/wp-admin in your browser. Use your username and password to log in.
2. Go to the Menu Settings: Go to the dashboard > Appearance > Menus. If you haven’t created your menu yet, then click Create a new Menu, name it (like ‘Main Menu’) then click Create Menu.
3. Add Menu Items: On the left side, you’ll find the option to add pages, posts, categories or custom links.
Click Add to Menu and select the items you want in your menu. They come on the right side under your menu structure.
4. Create the Dropdown Menu: Menu items are dragged and dropped just slightly to the right underneath a parent item. For instance, if ‘Products‘ is your parent menu item, take dragging ‘Electronics‘ and ‘Clothing‘ below and slightly offset them beneath it. The indented items will automatically become part of a dropdown menu.
5. Save Your Menu: After arranging your menu items, press Save Menu. This ensures that your changes are applied. Do not forget to save.
6. Assign the Menu to a Location: From the Menu Settings section, select a location for your menu. Mostly, these themes have options labeled “Primary Menu” or “Header Menu.” Pick the best correct place and then click Save Changes.
Customizing Your Dropdown Menu
The default WordPress settings work fine, but you might want to customize your dropdown menu to fit with your website’s design. Here’s how:
1. Use a WordPress Theme with Built-in Dropdown Support:
Many WordPress themes have dropdown menus built right in. Make sure that your theme is supported. Check its documentation to know if it’s compatible. If your theme doesn’t allow dropdown menus, you’ll have to swap to a theme that does.
2. Add Styling with CSS:
You can apply custom CSS to make your dropdown menu look more eye-pleasing. Add your CSS code on Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS. This means you can change the background color, the font size or even the hover effects.
3. Use Plugins for Advanced Features:
f you need more control or advanced features, consider using a plugin like:
- Max Mega Menu: Offers advanced styling options and allows for multi-column dropdowns.
- WP Mega Menu: Great for professional and responsive menus.
- Responsive Menu: Focuses on the navigation specific to mobile prominence.
Many of these plugins have built-in drag-and-drop builders that allow you to customize your menu without touching code.
Avoid These Dropdown Menu Mistakes
The good news is that adding a dropdown menu is not that hard, but there are a couple common mistakes made. Otherwise, you’re overcrowding your menu which will confuse people and can overwhelm them, as well, if you have too much selection and it’s not clean. Always run your menu on mobile devices so it works right since a bad mobile experience will drive users away.
A second common oversight is not realizing that your edits are not saved and clicking the ‘Save Menu’ button will update them. Finally, make sure your WordPress theme supports drop-down menus as an incompatible theme might limit that functionality. When you solve this problem, you’ll have a clean and user-friendly dropdown menu.
How Academic Broadcasting Platform Can Help?
Building out a functional website can be tough, but you shouldn’t have to go at it alone. We are Academic Broadcasting Platform provide tutorials, tools, and resources to help you master WordPress and other web management skills. It doesn’t matter if you are building up a dropdown menu, optimizing for SEO or managing content our platform is what you will need.
Summary:
You can easily do it on your WordPress site and make your website navigation even better with some great additions. All that being said, with just a few steps you will have a professional and organized menu and it will work on both desktop and mobile devices. Are you ready to give your website a little upgrade? Resources and guidance from an expert are available by visiting Academic Broadcasting Platform. Start today building your perfect website.