University of Wisconsin–Madison

Creating header and footer menus

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UW Theme 2.0 uses WordPress’s built-in Menus system to manage header and footer menus, not the newer Navigation block you may see in WordPress documentation.

This means you assign menus to specific locations in the theme, such as the primary header navigation or individual footer columns, from the WordPress admin rather than the block editor.

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How to create a menu in the UW Theme

WordPress often recommends building menus with the Navigation block in newer versions of WordPress. The Navigation block is not enabled in UW Theme 2.0.

Instead, you create and manage menus in the Appearance > Menus screen in the WordPress dashboard. Use the official WordPress Menu User Guide for detailed steps to:

  • Create a menu
  • Add, remove, and reorder items
  • Create submenu items (dropdowns)
WordPress dashboard Menus screen under Appearance, showing the menu name field, Create menu button, and display location checkboxes for Main menu and Utility menu.
WordPress Menus screen under Appearance

UW Theme menu limitations

  • Two levels max: WordPress allows deeper nesting, but tertiary submenu items (third-level) won’t display in the Main Menu or Utility Menu.
  • Top-level items become dropdown toggles: If a menu item has submenu items, UW Theme treats the top-level item as a dropdown toggle, not a link.
    • Think of the top-level item as a label for the section, such as About, Students, or Programs.
    • If you need a landing page for that section, add it as the first submenu item. For example: All services, All programs, or All faculty and staff.
  • Footer menus are flat: Footer menus only display top-level links from a menu (no dropdowns/submenus allowed).
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Display header menus

After you create a Main menu or Utility menu, add your new menu to one of the two Theme Locations in the Appearance > Menus screen:

  1. Find Display location option under Menu Settings at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Click the checkbox for the location where you want your menu to appear: Main Menu or Utility Menu
  3. Click Save Menu once you’ve made your selection.
Display Location check boxes under Menu Settings on the Menus screen.

Alternatively, you can select display locations under the Manage Locations tab. Always save changes to apply them to your site.

Main Menu and Utility Menu display location options under the Manage Location tab.

Reverse menu colors

You can swap the background colors (from red to white and vice versa) used for the Main Menu and Utility Menu. Go to the Colors tab in Theme Settings to reverse these colors.

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Best practices

Content guidelines

  • Use clear, scannable labels (avoid internal jargon).
  • Make labels as short as possible to convey the necessary information, but don’t be wordy.
  • Choose descriptive labels over generic ones. For example, “Student Services” instead of “Services.”
  • Avoid overly conversational labels in attempt to be friendly and approachable.
  • Avoid having the navigation break on multiple lines.
  • Avoid trying to “fix” a long menu by hiding critical items; keep what users need visible and understandable.
  • Order items by importance and what users need most (not automatically alphabetical).
  • Avoid long dropdowns that require scrolling.
  • Do not use uppercase text for your Main Menu and Footer labels to ensure your content is readable and accessible; this design is used only in the Utility Menu as part of the UW Brand and to reinforce their secondary hierarchy in relation to your main menu.

Utility Menu (secondary navigation)

Keep utility menus short (about 3–6 links) and task-focused (secondary actions/tools) like Directory, Contact, Give, Apply, etc.

Footer Menus

  • Use 4–8 items per column for easy scanning as a general guide.
  • Treat the footer as a legitimate navigation area: it’s common, expected, and useful, but it should be structured (not a dumping ground).
  • Avoid turning the footer into a full site map if it becomes unwieldy; keep it readable and purposeful.
  • Ensure your footer menus are clearly labeled so the footer is easy to scan (Resources, Quick Links, Partners, etc).

Quick menu validation

To quickly validate your menus, ask someone to find a common page using only the menu. If they hesitate, adjust labels/grouping before adding more links. 3-5 people is best to find consistent themes, but if you’re low on time, some data is always better than none.

Additional resources

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