Overview
A department site's menu appears on each page underneath the department name. On larger screens, the menu appears as a full horizontal bar, while on smaller screens, it appears as a simplified horizontal bar that expands into a vertical list when clicked. This guide explains how to add and remove menu items, and create submenus. You can use either the default view or the Live Preview menu editor.
Where to edit the menu
Quick guide
- In the left menu, select Appearance and then select Menus.
- The menu editing page appears. The first time that you navigate to this page, make sure that Main Menu is selected.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- In the left menu, select Appearance and then select Menus.
- The menu editing page appears. The first time that you navigate to this page, make sure that Main Menu is selected.
Unable to access this page?
If you are unable to see Appearance > Menus in your left menu in WordPress, you might not have administrator access. You can directly contact the department website administrators to request that they change your role, or email webproject@dornsife.usc.edu.
Menu and submenu guidelines
Top-level menu items
The number of items (or links) that you can fit on the horizontal menu depends on the title length of each menu item. As a general rule, the horizontal menu can fit up to six menu items comfortably at the top level. The longer the item titles are, or the more items you add, the more crowded the menu bar will appear.
Submenus
Each top-level menu item can nest its own submenus, which WordPress refers to as sub items. The submenu appears as a vertical list, so there isn't a limit on how many items you can add. Only top-level menu items can have a submenu: the sub items cannot themselves have submenus.
Editing the menu (default view)
Any changes that you make to the menu in the default editor view will automatically update your website once you click Save Menu. If you want the ability to preview your changes, you may want to instead follow the steps in the Editing the menu (Live Preview) section.
Add items to the menu
Use the left side to select items to add to the menu. Once you add an item, it appears at the bottom of the menu structure on the right and can be moved or edited. Be aware that there is no autosave: You must manually click Save Menu to save your edits.
Add website pages to the menu
Select a page title, and click Add to Menu. You can select any published page in the list. If you do not see a page, click the View All or Search tab. If the page still does not appear, double-check that you published the page: unpublished drafts cannot be added to the menu.
Add external links to the menu
Click Custom Link. Fill in the fields, and click Add to Menu.
Add top-level items to the menu
What if you want to add a menu item that functions as a label rather than a link? For example, you might want to add a top-level item that doesn't take users to a separate page but rather opens a submenu. You can create a label using Custom Link as a workaround. Be aware that if a website visitor clicks on this label, the browser will jump to the top of the page.
Quick guide
- Click Custom Links.
- Fill in the fields, and click Add to Menu:
-
URL: #
-
Link Text: Type your label title
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Click Custom Links.
- Fill in the fields, and click Add to Menu:
-
URL: #
-
Link Text: Type your label title
Edit the menu structure and menu items
Modify the existing menu (reorder, rename, and remove items)
To reorder the menu, drag a menu item up or down the list, and drop it in your preferred location.
To modify a menu item, click the Expand 
icon beside its title. Then, edit any of the following fields:
- Navigation Label: Edit the item title (this allows you to change the name from the title of the page you're linking to)
- Menu Parent: Refer to "Create and edit submenus" below
- Menu Order: Reorder the item in the menu; an alternative to the drag-and-drop method
- Remove: Remove the item from the menu
To save your changes, click Save Menu at the bottom.
Create and edit submenus
Top-level menu items can have submenus. These are nested menus that appear when a website visitor hovers over or select a top-level menu item. The items within these submenus are known as sub items.
To convert a menu item into a sub item:
- First, make sure the item appears underneath the item you want to nest it under.
- Click and drag the item horizontally to the right until it automatically indents. Once you release the item, the label "sub item" is added next to its title.
Another way to convert a menu item into a sub item is to click the Expand icon beside its title. Then, make a selection under Menu Parent. Be aware that, although WordPress will list all your menu items, you should not select another sub item.
To save your changes, click Save Menu at the bottom.
Save and view the updated menu
The menu editing page does not have an autosave feature. To save your changes, click Save Menu at the bottom. Then, to view the updated menu, visit any of your website pages and refresh the page.
Editing the menu (Live Preview)
Another way to edit the menu is through the Live Preview feature. This allows you to preview your changes prior to saving the edited menu:
Quick guide
- At the top, select Manage with Live Preview.
- The Live Preview opens. In the left panel, select Menus > Main Menu.
- You can now edit the menu. After making changes, click any menu link in the preview (on the right) to view the updated menu.
- To save your changes, click Publish in the upper left.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- At the top, select Manage with Live Preview.
- The Live Preview opens. In the left panel, select Menus > Main Menu.
- You can now edit the menu. After making changes, click any menu link in the preview (on the right) to view the updated menu.
- To save your changes, click Publish in the upper left.
