Skip to main content
Menus provide navigation for your site, helping visitors discover your content. Halo allows you to create multiple menus and customize their structure and appearance.

​
Understanding menus in Halo

Menus in Halo consist of:
  • Menus: Named collections of menu items (e.g., “Primary Navigation”, “Footer Menu”)
  • Menu Items: Individual links within a menu that can point to posts, pages, categories, tags, or custom URLs
  • Hierarchical structure: Menu items can have children, creating dropdown or nested navigation
Your theme determines how menus are displayed and where they appear. Some themes support multiple menu locations (header, footer, sidebar), while others may support only one primary menu.

​
Creating a menu

1

Navigate to menus

From the admin dashboard, click on Menus in the sidebar to access menu management.
2

Create new menu

Click the New Menu button to create a new menu.
3

Enter menu details

Fill in the required information:
  • Name: Internal identifier for the menu (e.g., “primary-menu”)
  • Display Name: Human-readable name shown in the admin panel (e.g., “Primary Navigation”)
4

Save the menu

Click Save to create the empty menu. You can now add menu items to it.

​
Adding menu items

Once you’ve created a menu, you can add items to it:
1

Open the menu

Navigate to Menus and click on the menu you want to edit.
2

Add new item

Click the Add Item button to create a new menu item.
3

Configure the menu item

Fill in the menu item details:
  • Display Name: The text shown in the menu (e.g., “Home”, “About Us”)
  • Link Type: Choose how this item should link:
    • Custom URL: Enter any URL manually
    • Target Reference: Link to existing content (post, page, category, or tag)
  • URL/Target: Depending on link type:
    • For custom URLs: Enter the full URL (e.g., “https://example.com” or “/about”)
    • For target references: Select the content to link to
  • Target: Choose how the link opens:
    • _self: Open in the same window (default)
    • _blank: Open in a new tab
    • _parent: Open in the parent frame
    • _top: Open in the full browser window
  • Priority: Controls the display order (higher numbers appear first)
4

Save the item

Click Save to add the menu item to your menu.
Use target references instead of custom URLs when linking to your own content. This ensures links remain valid even if you change the post or page slug.

​
Creating nested menu items

To create dropdown or nested navigation:
1

Create parent item

Add a menu item that will serve as the parent (e.g., “Products”).
2

Create child item

Add another menu item that will be the child (e.g., “Product 1”).
3

Set parent relationship

Edit the child menu item and select the parent item from the Parent Item dropdown.
4

Save changes

Click Save to establish the parent-child relationship.
How nested menu items are displayed depends on your theme. Most themes show child items in dropdown menus when hovering over or clicking the parent item.

​
Reordering menu items

To change the order in which menu items appear:
1

Open the menu

Navigate to Menus and click on the menu you want to reorder.
2

Adjust priorities

Edit each menu item and change its Priority value. Items with higher priority values appear first.
3

Drag and drop

Alternatively, if your admin interface supports it, drag and drop menu items to reorder them visually.
4

Save changes

Ensure all changes are saved. The new order will be reflected on your site.

​
Editing menu items

To modify an existing menu item:
1

Find the menu item

Navigate to Menus, open the menu, and locate the item you want to edit.
2

Open the editor

Click on the menu item or the Edit button.
3

Make changes

Update the display name, URL, target, priority, or parent relationship.
4

Save changes

Click Update to apply your changes.

​
Deleting menu items

To remove an item from a menu:
1

Locate the item

Navigate to Menus, open the menu, and find the item you want to delete.
2

Delete the item

Click the Delete button next to the menu item.
3

Confirm deletion

Confirm the action when prompted. The item will be removed from the menu.
If you delete a menu item that has children, the child items will become orphaned. You may need to reassign them to a new parent or delete them as well.

​
Assigning menus to theme locations

After creating and configuring your menu, you need to assign it to a location in your theme:
1

Navigate to theme settings

Go to Themes in the sidebar and click on your active theme.
2

Access menu settings

Look for a Menus or Navigation section in your theme settings.
3

Assign menu

Select your menu from the dropdown for each available menu location (e.g., “Primary Menu”, “Footer Menu”).
4

Save changes

Click Save to apply the menu assignment. Your menu will now appear on your site.
Available menu locations are defined by your theme. Check your theme’s documentation to understand what menu locations are supported and how they’re displayed.
When creating menu items using target references, you can link to:
  • Posts: Link to a specific blog post
  • Pages: Link to a standalone page
  • Categories: Link to a category archive showing all posts in that category
  • Tags: Link to a tag archive showing all posts with that tag
1

Select reference type

When adding or editing a menu item, choose Target Reference as the link type.
2

Choose reference kind

Select the type of content you want to link to (Post, Page, Category, or Tag).
3

Select content

Search for and select the specific post, page, category, or tag.
4

Save

Click Save to create the menu item with the target reference.
Target references automatically stay up-to-date. If you change the permalink of a referenced post or page, the menu item will automatically point to the new URL.

​
Using custom URLs

For linking to external sites or custom pages:
1

Select custom URL

When adding or editing a menu item, choose Custom URL as the link type.
2

Enter URL

Type the full URL, including the protocol:
  • External: https://example.com
  • Internal: /custom-page
  • Anchor: #section
3

Set target

For external links, set the target to _blank to open in a new tab.
4

Save

Click Save to create the menu item.

​
Deleting a menu

To remove an entire menu:
1

Unassign from theme

First, go to your theme settings and unassign the menu from any theme locations.
2

Navigate to menus

Go to Menus in the admin dashboard.
3

Delete the menu

Click the Delete button next to the menu name.
4

Confirm deletion

Confirm the action. The menu and all its items will be permanently removed.
Deleting a menu that’s assigned to theme locations will cause those locations to be empty. Make sure to assign a different menu or update your theme settings first.

​
Best practices for menus

  • Keep menus simple: Limit top-level items to 5-7 for better usability
  • Use descriptive names: Menu item labels should clearly indicate where they lead
  • Group related items: Use nested menus to organize related content
  • Test on mobile: Ensure your menus work well on small screens
  • Use target references: Link to internal content using references instead of URLs
  • Consider user journey: Organize menu items in the order users are likely to need them
  • Update regularly: Review and update menus when you add or remove important content

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us