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How to Change Menus and Navigation in WordPress

Using Joomla instead? See How to Change Menus and Navigation in Joomla.

How you edit menus in WordPress depends on your theme:

  • Block themes use the Navigation block in the Site Editor.
  • Classic themes use Appearance > Menus.

Not sure which you have? If you see Appearance > Editor, you're using a block theme. If you see Appearance > Menus, it's a classic theme. Some sites use a page builder or theme that has its own menu tools.

Block themes: the Navigation block

Open your menu

  1. Go to Appearance > Editor.
  2. Click Navigation to see your menus, or open the template part (usually the Header) and click the menu.

If you see a page list

A new Navigation block often starts as a Page List, which shows all your published pages automatically. To change items, select the Page List, click Edit in the block toolbar, then Edit again in the dialog. Note that new pages are no longer added automatically after that.

Add, change, and remove items

  • Add a page: click + (Add page) in the menu, then search for the page.
  • Add a custom link: click +, then Add block, choose Custom Link, and enter the URL.
  • Change a label or link: select the item and edit Text or Link to in the settings sidebar.
  • Reorder: select an item and use Move up / Move down in the toolbar, or drag it in List View.
  • Add a submenu: select an item and click Add submenu in the toolbar, or drag an item under another and slightly to the right in List View.
  • Remove: select the item, open Options (three dots) in the toolbar, and choose Delete. This doesn't delete the page itself.

Mobile menu

In the Navigation block's settings, Overlay controls when the menu collapses into a menu icon (Off, Mobile, or Always).

Click Save when you're done.

Classic themes: Appearance > Menus

  1. Go to Appearance > Menus and pick the menu from Select a menu to edit.
  2. Add items: in the Pages, Posts, Custom Links, or Categories panes on the left, tick what you want and click Add to Menu. (Use Screen Options at the top to show more panes.)
  3. Reorder: drag items up or down.
  4. Make a submenu: drag an item under another and slightly to the right.
  5. Edit an item: click the arrow on the item to change its Navigation Label, or click Remove.
  6. Choose where it shows: under Menu Settings > Display location, tick the location.
  7. Click Save Menu.

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