How to Create a WordPress Dropdown Menu without Plugins

Have a look at how you can create a WordPress dropdown menu without the need for any extra plugins. A quick and easy guide by WPLearningLab to improve your navigation instantly.

Grasping the Basics of WordPress Dropdown Menus

A dropdown menu in WordPress is a feature that allows you to hide additional navigation links within your main menu. When a user hovers over a menu item, a list of additional links ‘drops down’, hence the name ‘dropdown menu’.

But that’s not all. WordPress also allows you to create multiple levels within your dropdown menu. This means you can have a dropdown within a dropdown, providing even more navigation options for your users.

The Process of Creating a WordPress Dropdown Menu

Creating a dropdown menu in WordPress is a straightforward process. Here’s how you do it:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Navigate to ‘Appearance’ and then click on ‘Menus’.
3. Ensure the correct menu is loaded in the dashboard. You can confirm this by checking if it has the same items as your website’s menu.
4. Now, let’s say you want to add a dropdown menu to a menu item named ‘Exercise’. To do this, select the category (or post or page) you want to add from the left-hand side. For instance, let’s choose ‘Healthy Eating’.
5. Click on ‘Add to Menu’.
6. Drag the newly added item below ‘Exercise’ and make sure it’s indented. This makes ‘Healthy Eating’ a child of ‘Exercise’, creating a dropdown menu.

Remember to hit ‘Save Menu’ once you’re done. Now, if you hover over ‘Exercise’ on your website, you should see ‘Healthy Eating’ in a dropdown menu.

Adding More Links to the Dropdown Menu

Adding more links to your dropdown menu is a great way to provide more navigation options to your users. Here’s how you can do it:

1. In the same ‘Menus’ section, select another category (or post or page) to add to your dropdown menu. Let’s choose a post this time.
2. Click on ‘Add to Menu’.
3. Drag the newly added post below ‘Healthy Eating’ and make sure it’s indented.
4. If the link text is too long, you can change it by clicking on the dropdown menu item and editing the ‘Navigation Label’.

Don’t forget to hit ‘Save Menu’ when you’re done. Now, when you hover over ‘Exercise’ and then ‘Healthy Eating’, you should see your post in a second-level dropdown menu.

Creating Submenus within the Dropdown Menu

Creating submenus within your dropdown menu is another way to provide more navigation options to your users. Here’s how you can create one:

1. In the ‘Menus’ section, drag an item below another item in your dropdown menu.
2. Make sure it’s indented to make it a child of the item above it.
3. Hit ‘Save Menu’ when you’re done.

Now, when you hover over your dropdown menu on your website, you should see your submenu. Remember, while it’s possible to create multiple levels of submenus, it’s best to stick to one or two levels for the sake of user experience.

Editing the Dropdown Menu in the Dashboard

If you want to make changes to your dropdown menu, you can easily do so in the dashboard. Here’s how:

1. Navigate to ‘Appearance’ and then click on ‘Customize’.
2. Click on ‘Menus’ and then select the appropriate menu.
3. You can click and drag the menu items to rearrange them or change their parent-child relationships.
4. Remember to hit ‘Publish’ to save your changes.

You’ve just learned how to create a WordPress dropdown menu without any plugins. Remember, practice makes perfect, so don’t be afraid to experiment with creating different types of menus. Happy WordPress-ing!