Managing the Navigation menu

With Sitebuilder, you can have anything from simple navigation to a complex hierarchy of pages and subpages. This tutorial tells you how to customize your navigation items and assign various actions to  them.

Navigation menu options

All templates come with a Navigation menu enabled in the Header block. To hide the Navigation menu from the Header, follow this tutorial. 

In the beginning, you only have one page on your website and in the navigation menu – the Home page.

When you create more pages, they are automatically added to the navigation menu unless you untick the Add to navigation checkbox. In this case, you will not see this page’s name in the list of items, but you can add it manually.  

In the Navigation settings window, you can:

• Add a new item  to the Navigation menu by clicking the (+) Plus button
• Delete a page from the Navigation menu
• Change the Navigation menu items’ order 
• Change menu items’ click actions
• Change menu items’ names

Note: You can’t add new pages from the Navigation settings window. To do this, use Page manager. 

Accessing the Navigation menu

To access Navigation settings, click the Navigation button in the Topbar. 

Alternatively, click the Navigation menu itself, and then click the folder tree icon.

Let’s explore managing the Navigation menu items in detail.

Editing the Navigation settings

In the Navigation settings window, you can perform three actions: 

• Change the navigation menu items order by dragging and dropping them to the place you like.
• Access the Item settings, which enables you to change the navigation item’s name and click action.
• Delete the item from the navigation menu (without deleting the page itself) by clicking the trash bin icon near the item’s name. 

You can access the navigation menu item’s settings by clicking the gear icon near its name.

In the Item settings window, you can name or rename your Navigation Menu item and set its click action. 

Click actions appear in the drop-down menu with the following options:

• Open a page: this link opens a page on your website.
• Make a phone call: this option allows visitors to make a phone call without leaving your website.
• Send an email: this option allows your visitors to instantly send you emails.
• Download a file: this link allows visitors to download a file.
• Scroll to a block: this link performs a scroll down to another block on the page.
• Open a web address: this link opens an external URL.

Once you have chosen the click action, enter the new item name in the Title field below. 

Let’s explore the click actions options in detail. 

Adding a link to your website page

If you’d like to add a link to an existing page of your site, follow these steps:

1. In the Item settings window, choose Open a page from the Click action drop-down menu.
2. Select the page you want to be opened by this click action.
   
   
3. Specify the page title in the respective field. 
4. Click Submit.

Make a phone call

This option allows users to call you without leaving your website. Here is how to enable this option:

1. In the Item settings window, choose Make a phone call from the Click action drop-down menu.
2. Enter your phone number in an international format.
   
   
   
3. Specify the title. For example, Call us.
4. Click Submit.

Once the changes have been saved, you will see the new item in your navigation menu.

Send an email

This option enables the mailto link, a link on a web page that points to an email address. When your website visitor clicks on one this mailto link, the default email client on the visitor’s computer opens and they can send a message to the email address you specify without having to type it in.

 Here is how to enable it:

1. In the Item settings window, choose Send an email from the Click action drop-down menu.
   
2. Enter your email address.
   
   
   
3. Specify the title in the respective field. For example, Email us.
4. Click Submit.

Once the changes have been saved, you will see the new item in your navigation.

Links to downloadable files

To add a downloadable file to your Navigation Menu, follow this tutorial.

Scroll to a block

You can add a link to scroll to a selected block on the current page, and here is how:

1. In the Item settings window, choose Scroll to a block from the Click action drop-down menu.
   
   
2. Type in the item’s title, for example, Photos, if you want to set up a scroll to the Gallery block.
3. Click Submit.

Once the changes have been saved, you will see the new item in your navigation.

Links to external websites

If you’d like to link an external website to your Navigation Menu, follow these steps:

1. In the Item settings window, choose Open a web address from the Click action drop-down menu.
2. Copy the URL of the page that you want to link and paste it to the click action field.
   
   
3. Tick the Open in a new tab and Add a Nofollow tag checkboxes if you need them.
4. Type in the item’s title. It depends on where you link to, but you can use the external site name if unsure.
5. Click Submit.

Once the changes have been saved, you will see your external website link in your site’s navigation.

Navigation alignment

It’s possible to align the navigation menu items as you prefer to create a perfect website header. Click the Navigation menu to enable its controls and choose the alignment you like. 

You can also manage navigation in your Footer block. Learn to do this in our Footer block: Footer navigation tutorial.

If you want to learn how to delete the navigation menu item, read this tutorial.