How to Setup Your Website Menu in WordPress

 

Everyone sets up their website menu a little differently, and how you choose to set up your menu will depend on your own niche and the goals for your website.

 

But I’m going to give you a general overview of how to set up your website menu anyway!

 

In order to set up your menu, you’ll need to create some pages and some categories.

 

To create a page, you’ll go into your WordPress dashboard, hit Pages, and then hit ‘Add New’.

This will bring you to your main page editor, where you can create your page. 

 

Start with a page title, then add your page content (you can add text, images, symbols, or design the page with HTML code). 

 

The image below is for the classic WordPress editor. Your screen might look a little different if you’re using the Guternberg editor.

Alternatively, you can use an awesome FREE plugin called Elementor to design your pages. 

 

To do this, you’ll go to Plugins in your dashboard, search for Elementor, and download it.

 

After you do this, your page editor will include a blue button that says ‘Edit with Elementor’. Elementor has many design elements that will help your pages stand out!

 

Pro tip: Only use Elementor for designing website PAGES, never for individual blog posts.

 

After you design your pages, you’ll hit the Publish button and they’ll be ready to organize into your menu.

 

What pages should you create for your site first?

 

 

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THE MAIN PAGES YOU NEED ON YOUR SITE

 

Let’s start by laying out the most important pages for your website, and then we’ll organize them on your menu bar!

 

YOUR STATIC HOMEPAGE.

 

Your homepage is the first page people see when they enter your website URL or click on your blog link.

 

The static homepage has two main purposes:

 

1. To show your reader what your site is about and help them navigate where they want to go.
2. To show search engines what your site is about and help them crawl your site and rank your content.

 

You can either choose a static homepage that you design, or choose to show your latest blog posts on the homepage. The second option is called your ‘blog roll’ because it’s just a rolling list of your latest blog posts.

 

A static homepage with clear navigation is best for user experience and for search engine optimization.

 

Although every static homepage will be (and should be) unique and different, here is a good example of what you might include on your static homepage.

 

• Your blog name
• Your navigation menu
• A catchy tagline or irresistible offer for your readers
• Links to your top 2-3 blog topics
• Some pictures or a headshot of the blog owner
• Your popular posts
• A footer with important legal info

 

Remember: you can design your own static homepage using a free plugin called Elementor or you can hire someone to do this for you!

 

The following graphic is a simple example of a static homepage that is easy to understand and navigate. Of course, you’ll want to choose colors, fonts, and topics that fit with your message, vision, and branding.

 

 

 

The ultimate goal for your static homepage is to make it super easy for your readers to figure out what your site is about and where they should go when they land here.

 

If you want help designing your static homepage to perfection, you can hire someone to do this for you! I didn’t know this was a service until I needed it for myself and went hunting. I used Everyday She’s Sparkling’s Mini Makeover for my site and she did an amazing job!

 

YOUR ABOUT PAGE.

 

Another important page for your menu is the ABOUT page.

 

This page helps your reader get to know everything they need to know about you, your site, your credibility, and what they should expect from you.

 

Here is an easy guide to creating the ABOUT page for your new site.

 

YOUR CONTACT PAGE.

 

Your readers need an easy way to contact you through your site. 

 

First, create a new page in your WordPress dashboard like we showed above.

 

Your best option is to create a simple greeting that invites the reader to get in touch with you, and then provide contact information. You can either use a contact form or type out your contact email address. 

 

Keep it simple, don’t overthink this one!

 

YOUR SERVICES PAGE.

 

If you’re going to offer services through your site, you’ll need a services page.

 

Your service page should include:

 

• Description of your ideal client

• Description of the solutions you provide

• List of services offered

• Why the client should work with you

• Proof of results or testimonials

• Pricing and packages (optional)

• A clear call-to-action

 

A service page is not an essential for every blogger. If you don’t offer services, then skip this one!

 

YOUR LEGAL PAGES.

 

Every website is required to have certain legal pages that let your readers know how their information is being used, how your site is to be used, and other important legal disclosures.

 

The main three legal pages that every blog must have:

 

• Privacy Policy

• Disclaimer

• Terms and Conditions

 

You can get detailed, ready-to-use legal templates that have been drafted by a lawyer in this Legal Bundle here. 

 

At this point, your list of published posts will probably look something like this:

 

• Homepage

• About page

• Contact page

• Services page

• Privacy Policy

• Disclaimer

• Terms

 

And now that we’ve got some pages published, we’re ready to organize these babies on your menu!

 

You’ll login to your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance, and go to Menus.

 

Simply drag your pages of choice under the Main Menu and hit save. When you do this, those pages will be listed on your navigation menu on your website!

 

 

You can also organize categories on your main menu.

 

HOW TO CREATE CATEGORIES FOR YOUR MENU

 

Let’s say that you have a mom blog and one section of your blog is focused on Pregnancy. 

 

If you wanted to organize your pregnancy section into sub-categories for the first trimester, second trimester, third trimester, and fourth trimester, you could create categories for each of those.

 

Just go into WordPress, click on Posts, click on Categories, and click on ‘Add New’.

 

 

You’ll name your category, set a slug for the category, choose a parent category (if you want one), set a basic description, and then save your category.

 

 

To place that category under your Pregnancy page (or under your pregnancy category), you’ll head back to the Menu and edit it. 

 

Click on the categories you want to add under your Pregnancy section, and hit ‘Add to Menu’. 

 

 

In our example, this would be the categories first trimester, second trimester, third trimester, and fourth trimester. These categories will now be listed under your main menu. You can drag and drop them anywhere you want on the menu.

 

Drop them under the Pregnancy Section on your menu, and all of these categories will appear as drop down options under that tab!

 

Once your main menu and categories are organized, the navigation bar and dropdown menu will look something like this:

 

 

In the above example, ‘Home Hacks’ is the main category on the navigation menu, and the three options below are staggered under it. Here is what the menu looks like on the back end when it’s being edited.

 

 

Don’t forget to hit SAVE after organizing your menu!

 

Keep in mind: we’ll be reorganizing, improving, and updating our menus all the time!

 

This is just a simple example of how to create pages and publish them on your menu (don’t be afraid to dig into your WordPress account, watch lots of tutorials, and get familiar with your options).

 

Now that your site is set up and your menu is set, we’re ready to install Google Analytics and get to writing!

 

We’ll cover this in the final part of this 10-part starter guide: Setting Up Your Google Analytics in 5 Minutes or Less

 

Previous sections in this 10-step guide:

 

1: Defining Your Blogging Goals

2: Choosing Your Blogging Niche

3: Choosing Your Domain Name

4: Choosing Your Website Hosting

5: Pointing Your Domain to Your Host 

6: Downloading WordPress 

7: Choosing Your WordPress Theme

8. Customizing Your WordPress Theme

9. Setting Up Your Menu and Main Pages