WordPress introduced custom menu since version 3.0. This helps beginner to arrange and organize their menu more effectively and easier. This built in WordPress custom menu allows you to create your very own set of menu and associate it with different menu location (provided your theme has a few menu location: such as top and bottom).
Although WordPress custom menu contain pages, categories, custom link, categories and etc. A lot of beginner rush to get their menu up but forgot to walk around the menu and check out those functions.
Let’s look at some of the “Screen Options” features that you may have missed.
The Screen Options
So there are some input hidden on the default setting. Each of them has a specific usage and how to use it.
The inputs
Now you have more option to each of your menu link, you:
- Can open your menu link in a new window/tab
- Add your own menu style CSS. Note: This is a class in <li>
- Add a link relationship to the link, this is for SEO purpose
- Menu description. It only show if the theme designed to have link description.
The result from Screen Options
That is how the overall information placed in your menu once you edited them. Mote that Menu Description depend on theme, majority theme comes without menu description.
More menu link options
On the same Screen Options, you get to choose what you can choose to place on your menu. The default are: Pages, Posts, Links and Categories. Now you can get Tags, Format (Post format) as well.
Note that Post format depend on theme as well. Some theme comes with only 1 post format, so there will be no option for it.
Getting your menu link
All the options will be on your sidebar. Note that only one option is open each time. You can click on the arrow to open the next option.
All the options works almos the same steps:
- Click “Arrow” to open the options
- Choose your menu
- Check the exact link you want
- Click on “Add to Menu”
Only one option is different than other is the Links (Normally refer to custom link). With this, you can pratically create a menu and link it to any URL you prefered.
Menu locations
A little hidden on top of the menu. This is where you can organize your menus quickly if your theme have a few menu location.
Hope this give you an idea of how powerful WordPress menu is. However, note that some of the features can only be show with theme that allows it (such as menu description), so don’t go all panic when you can’t see certain option on your theme.