Communications Toolkit

Menus

Navigation is how visitors move through your site and find what they need. It's the system of links and cues that help people understand where they are and how to get somewhere else. Good navigation feels natural and intuitive — visitors shouldn't have to stop and think about where to click next.

The Many Ways People Navigate

Your site offers several ways for visitors to move between pages. Together, these create a complete navigation system:

  • Menus: Show your site's main sections, usually at the top or side of a page
  • Breadcrumbs: A short trail near the top that shows where the page fits in your site (for example, Home > About > Our History)
  • Search: Lets users find content directly by typing keywords
  • Links within pages: Inline links, buttons, or related content boxes that connect one page to another

Navigation and Site Structure

Navigation and site structure work hand in hand. Think of your site like a map:

  • The structure is where your content lives — the pages and how they're organized
  • Navigation is how visitors travel between those places — there are many routes to reach the same destination

For example, Los Angeles and San Francisco don't move, but you can reach them by many routes — Interstate 5, Highway 101, or a scenic coastal road. The same is true for your website: pages stay in one place, but visitors can reach them through menus, breadcrumbs, links, or search. A clear structure makes navigation feel effortless.

Your Site's Menu

Menus show visitors what's available and help them move around easily. Each site has a main menu that gives visitors a quick overview of your content. A good menu helps people understand your site at a glance and reach the topics they care about most.

Many editors worry about pages being too deep in the menu, but that's not always a problem. What matters most is that your structure makes sense. Visitors expect broad topics near the top and more specific information within those sections.

How Menus Work

  • Main menu items: The top-level categories of your site (for example, Home, About, Programs, Events, Resources). These are always visible in the menu.
  • Subpages: Pages that live under a main menu item. Subpages can appear as submenu items in a dropdown beneath their parent page (for example, "Mission and Vision" under "About").

Think of your site like a well-organized store. Store items (your subpages) are grouped into aisles by category (your main menu items). People expect to browse by category, not see every product at once.

Example: How It Looks vs. How It's Structured

How it looks

Screenshot of a vertical website navigation menu with the items: Home, About, Programs, Events, Resources, Contact Us
Example of a website navigation menu with links to Home, About, Programs, Events, Resources, Contact Us

How it's structured

  • About
    • Mission and Vision
    • Our History
  • Programs
    • 4-H
    • Master Gardeners
    • Nutrition Education
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Training and Workshops
  • Resources
    • Publications
    • Toolkits
    • Policies
  • Contact Us

Important: Do Not Use Submenu Items as Links

Drupal includes a feature called Remote Content that can turn a menu item into a link pointing to an internal or external site or resource. Do not use this feature except in extremely limited cases. If you believe you have a qualifying case, contact IT before using it.

Menu items are not for:

  • Linking to external websites
  • Linking directly to PDFs, Word files, or other documents

Your menu should reflect real subpages within your site. If you need to point visitors to external resources or documents, add the links in the body of your page where they have context. This keeps your main menu clean, predictable, and easy to use.

Do's and Don'ts of Navigation

Do

  • Keep your main menu to 5–7 items
  • Make sure every menu item links to real, useful content
  • Keep main menu labels short and clear (for example, "Events" instead of "Calendar of All Upcoming Events")
  • Put the most important main menu items first
  • Use title case for labels (for example, "Explore Our Programs")

Don't

  • Overload your main menu with too many items
  • Create blank holder pages with no content
  • Use vague labels like "Miscellaneous" or "More"
  • Use subpages as links to external sites, PDFs, or Word documents — put those links in the page content instead
  • Use all caps, exclamation points, or unnecessary punctuation in labels

Want to Learn More?

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative guide to navigation menus explains why accessible navigation matters and offers practical tips for building menus that work for everyone.