Most WordPress blogs have a menu, and most of those menus are wrong. They list every page that exists. They include “Privacy Policy” alongside the main blog categories. They have 11 top-level items. They don’t get tested on mobile. This post is how to build navigation that helps readers instead of cluttering the header.

Short answer: Limit primary menu to 4–7 top-level items. Lead with what matters to readers — categories, About, Start Here, Contact. Hide legal pages in the footer. Keep mobile menus simple. Don’t try to list every page; let readers find them through clear paths.
A blog header showing a clean primary menu with four main sections

The principles

1. Less is more

Menus with 4–7 items get clicked more than menus with 10+. Choice overload reduces engagement.

2. Lead with what readers care about

Not what you care about. Readers care about content (your categories), authority (About), and contact (Contact). Lead with those.

3. Hide secondary stuff

Privacy Policy, Terms, Disclaimer, Affiliate Disclosure — these need to exist but don’t deserve menu real estate. Footer.

4. Mobile-first

Most blog traffic is mobile. The menu collapses to a hamburger icon. Make sure that experience works.

Where WordPress menus live

WordPress menus are managed in Appearance → Menus (in classic themes) or via the Navigation block (in block themes).

Each theme defines “menu locations.” Common ones:

  • Primary menu — the main header navigation.
  • Footer menu — links at the bottom of the site.
  • Mobile menu — sometimes separate from primary.
  • Secondary / top bar menu — some themes have an additional menu above the primary.

You create a menu, then assign it to one or more locations.

Building the primary menu

What to include

For a typical blog:

  • Blog (or “Articles,” “Posts” — links to the main blog index).
  • Categories (your top 3–5 categories, either as separate items or as a dropdown under “Topics”).
  • About (your About page).
  • Start Here (a curated starting-point page for new readers — optional but high-value).
  • Contact (a contact page or link to email/form).

That’s 5–7 items. Enough.

What NOT to include

  • Privacy Policy, Terms, Disclaimer.
  • Author archives unless the blog is single-author with a dedicated page.
  • Tags (let readers find via content).
  • Tag clouds.
  • Login / Register (unless your site is membership-based).
  • Random pages you created and forgot about.

Categories in the menu

Two ways to expose categories:

1. Separate top-level items

Each category is its own menu item. Works for blogs with 3–5 categories.

Pros: visible at a glance.

Cons: takes up menu real estate.

2. Single “Topics” dropdown

One menu item (“Topics” or “Browse”) with categories underneath as a dropdown.

Pros: saves space.

Cons: less discoverable; dropdowns are an extra click.

For most blogs with 4+ categories, the dropdown approach is cleaner.

Building a footer menu

The footer menu holds the secondary links:

  • Privacy Policy.
  • Terms of Service.
  • Cookie Policy.
  • Affiliate Disclosure.
  • Sitemap (HTML version, not the XML one).
  • Copyright info (sometimes via theme settings).

Visitors who want these will look in the footer. They don’t need to be in the header.

A footer menu showing privacy, terms, disclosure, and other secondary links

Mobile menu considerations

On phones, the primary menu collapses to a hamburger icon. Tapping it opens a vertical list.

Issues to watch

  • Tap targets too small. Make sure menu items are easy to tap.
  • Submenus that are hard to expand on mobile. Some themes handle dropdowns poorly on touch.
  • Menu items that wrap to multiple lines. Long menu item names look bad on mobile.
  • Hard to dismiss. Make sure the menu closes when an item is tapped or when tapping outside.

Test on a real phone, not just desktop responsive preview.

Aurora’s menu locations

If you’re using Aurora (or similar blog-focused themes), check the theme’s menu locations specifically. Some themes offer dedicated locations for header social, footer social, mobile drawer, etc., separate from the primary menu.

Knowing which location does what saves time fighting the theme.

Setting up a menu (step by step)

For classic themes

  1. Appearance → Menus.
  2. Create new menu. Name it (e.g., “Primary”).
  3. Add items from the left sidebar: Pages, Posts, Custom Links, Categories, Tags.
  4. Drag to reorder.
  5. Indent items to create submenus (drag right to nest).
  6. Assign to a menu location (Display Location section).
  7. Save Menu.

For block themes

  1. Edit site / Appearance → Editor.
  2. Open the template where the navigation lives (usually Header).
  3. Click the Navigation block.
  4. Add or remove items via the block toolbar.
  5. Save.

Dropdowns and submenus

Most themes support 2 levels of nesting (top item with submenu). A few support 3 levels but going deeper is usually a bad idea.

When dropdowns work

  • You have 4+ categories.
  • You have a “Resources” parent with multiple resource pages underneath.
  • You want to keep the top-level menu short while exposing more.

When dropdowns hurt

  • You only have 2–3 items under the dropdown. Just put them in the main menu.
  • You’re trying to fit 15 items in a “More” dropdown. That’s not a menu; that’s a list.

“Custom Links” for non-page menu items

Some menu items should link to things that aren’t pages or posts:

  • An external URL (your YouTube channel, a specific tag archive).
  • A scroll-to-section anchor on the homepage.
  • A protocol link (mailto:, tel:).

Use the “Custom Links” option in the menu builder. Specify the URL and the label.

Active menu states

Most themes highlight the current page in the menu. Useful for orientation.

If your theme doesn’t do this, you can add CSS:

.current-menu-item a {
  color: #yourcolor;
  font-weight: bold;
}

Adding a CTA button to the menu

Some themes let you mark one menu item as a “button” — visually distinct, designed to draw attention.

Useful for:

  • “Subscribe” CTA.
  • “Hire Me” if you offer services.
  • “Shop” if you have a store.

One button max. More than one and they stop standing out.

Mega menus

Some themes or plugins support mega menus — large dropdowns with multiple columns, images, etc.

For blogs, usually overkill. Mega menus work for large content sites with deep hierarchies (news sites, e-commerce). A blog with 5 categories doesn’t need a mega menu.

Search in the menu

Many themes include a search icon in the header. Worth having — search is one of the most-used features on content-heavy blogs.

Configure via theme settings if available, or add a Search block manually.

The honest summary

Limit primary menus to 4–7 items. Lead with content categories, About, Contact, and Start Here. Hide legal pages in the footer. Use dropdowns sparingly. Test mobile. Add a search icon. One CTA button max. Don’t try to expose every page — let readers find what they need through clear paths instead of a cluttered menu.