Wix Menu Setup: A Complete Guide to Building Your Site Navigation
Your website navigation menu is the roadmap that guides visitors through your site. A well-organised, intuitive menu ensures every visitor can find what they are looking for within two clicks — which reduces frustration, lowers bounce rates, and increases the likelihood of conversions. This guide walks you through every aspect of setting up and customising your Wix navigation menu.
Step-by-Step: How to Set Up Your Wix Menu
Step 1: Access the Menu Manager
Open your site in the Wix Editor. Click on the navigation menu element in your header to select it. Click Manage Menu in the toolbar. The Menu Manager will open, showing a list of all your current menu items. Here you can add, remove, rename, reorder, and organise your navigation structure.
Step 2: Add, Remove, and Rename Menu Items
In the Menu Manager, click Add Item to add a new menu link. You can link each item to a page on your site, an external URL, an anchor on the page, or an email address. To rename an item, click on it and type the new label. To remove an item, click the trash icon next to it. Items can be reordered by clicking and dragging them up or down the list.
Step 3: Create Dropdown Submenus
If you have a large number of pages, organise them into parent and sub-menu items using dropdown navigation. In the Menu Manager, drag a menu item slightly to the right beneath a parent item to make it a sub-item. When a visitor hovers over the parent item on the site, a dropdown will appear showing the sub-items. For example, a 'Services' parent item might have sub-items for each individual service.
Step 4: Set Menu Item Visibility
You can show or hide specific pages from the navigation menu without deleting them. In Pages & Menu (left panel), click the three-dot menu next to any page and toggle Show in Menu on or off. Pages that are hidden from the menu can still be accessed by direct URL or internal link — this is useful for thank you pages, landing pages, or draft pages.
Step 5: Add a Menu to the Footer
In addition to your header navigation, consider adding a secondary menu in the footer. Click within the footer area, then click Add Elements (+) and go to Menu & Anchor. Select a horizontal or vertical menu type and add it to the footer. You can link this footer menu to a different set of pages than your header menu — for example, including legal pages (Privacy Policy, Terms) and utility pages that do not belong in the main navigation.
Step 6: Customise the Menu Design
Click on the menu element in the Editor and select Design. Customise the font, text size, colour, text spacing, hover state (how menu items change when hovered over), and active state (how the current page's menu item is highlighted). Ensure menu text has sufficient contrast against the header background to be easily readable.
Step 7: Check the Mobile Menu
Switch to the Mobile Editor and click on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) to review the mobile navigation. Ensure all menu items are visible, correctly ordered, and easy to tap. Adjust the spacing between menu items if they are too close together for comfortable touch navigation.
Step 8: Preview and Publish
Use Preview mode to test every menu item on both desktop and mobile. Confirm all links navigate to the correct pages and that dropdown menus appear and function correctly. Once satisfied, click Publish.
SEO Best Practices for Wix Navigation
Your navigation structure helps search engines understand your site's hierarchy and the relative importance of different pages. Keep your most important pages in the top-level navigation so they receive the most crawl priority. Use descriptive, keyword-aware menu labels (e.g., 'Web Design Services' rather than simply 'Services'). Ensure every important page is accessible from the navigation or from an internal link on the homepage.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Too many top-level menu items — A menu with more than 7 items is confusing. Group related pages under dropdown submenus to keep the top level clean.
Vague menu labels — Labels like 'Info' or 'Stuff' tell visitors nothing about what to expect. Use clear, descriptive labels.
Not testing links — Always click every menu link in Preview mode to confirm it navigates correctly.
Ignoring the mobile menu — The mobile hamburger menu is a critical navigation element for the majority of your visitors. Always check it works correctly.
Wix Menu Setup Checklist
☑ All key pages added to the navigation menu
☑ Menu items labelled clearly and descriptively
☑ Dropdown submenus created for page groups (if applicable)
☑ Pages that should not be in the menu are hidden
☑ Footer menu added with legal and utility pages
☑ Menu design customised to match brand
☑ Mobile hamburger menu tested and working
☑ All menu links tested in Preview mode
☑ Site published after completing menu setup
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I have different menus on different pages in Wix?
The main header navigation is a global element that appears on all pages by default. However, you can hide it on specific pages and use separate menu elements added directly to those page layouts for a custom navigation experience. This is particularly useful for landing pages or campaign pages.
2. How many menu items should I have?
Research suggests that 5 to 7 top-level navigation items is the optimal range for most websites. More than 7 items can overwhelm visitors and make the menu difficult to scan quickly. Use dropdowns or subpages to organise additional content without cluttering the top-level navigation.
3. Can I link a menu item to an external website?
Yes. When adding or editing a menu item in the Menu Manager, choose External URL as the link type and enter the full URL of the external site. You can also choose whether the link opens in the same tab or in a new tab (the latter is recommended for external links).
4. Can I highlight the current page in the navigation menu?
Yes. Wix menus support an active state style, which visually highlights the menu item corresponding to the page the visitor is currently viewing. Configure the active state colour and style under the menu's Design settings. This helps visitors understand where they are in the site structure.
5. Can I add icons or images to menu items?
The standard Wix navigation menu supports text-only menu items. For icon-based navigation menus, you would need to create a custom layout using buttons or images with links rather than the standard menu element. This gives you complete design freedom but requires more manual setup.