How to Add a Mega Menu on Your WordPress Site Step by Step (2023)

A mega menu allows site owners to expand their navigation menus to feature multiple sub-levels, columns, widgets, and rich media.

According to WordPress experts Nate Shivar [1]:

"Mega Menus are essential for sites with information-dense structures. They allow site owners to expose deep content hierarchies to users and make global navigation intuitive."

In this up-to-date guide for 2023, we’ll show you how to properly install, customize, and optimize a WordPress mega menu using expert techniques:

Why Website Owners Should Consider Adding Mega Menus

Here are the top reasons to use mega menus on your WordPress site:

• Organize Complex Navigation Menus – Display hundreds of custom content items, pages, posts, products in an easy-to-browse layout. Over 87% of users prefer hierarchical mega menus over flat navigation according to UI data experts Malcolm Kesson [2].
• Drive More Internal Traffic – Encourage visitors to explore more of your site content with eye-catching mega menu widgets and labeling. Web mega menus can boost internal navigation clicks by 12-18% [3].
• Showcase Visual Media – Use images, icon graphics, videos, and galleries to showcase content to site visitors and influence their navigation behavior.
• Enhance Mobile User Experience – Adjust mega menu layout responsively across devices to improve small-screen navigation. Over 68% of WordPress users access sites on mobile.
• Match Site Aesthetics – Customize columns, colors, borders and typography to seamlessly match your overall site design and branding.

Expert Tips for Mega Menus Success:

• Place critical navigation links above the fold so they are visible immediately without needing to scroll on initial page load.
• Use capped mega menu columns (2-5 max recommended) to avoid overloading users with excessive choices [4].
• Add meaningful menu icons to allow visual scanning of options instead of just text labels.

Step 1 – Installing and Activating Max Mega Menu Plugin

The easiest way to add WordPress mega menus is by using a dedicated plugin. The most popular free choice is Max Mega Menu with over 200,000 active installs.

Created by megamenu.com, this plugin provides extensive features to customize responsive mega menus on WordPress sites.

Benefits:

• Drag and drop builder menu interface
• Standard + grid layout options
• Custom widgets like images, videos, maps, HTML
• Theme integration menu styles
• CSS and animation effects

To install:

1. Login to your WordPress dashboard
2. Go to the main Plugins section
3. Search for "Max Mega Menu"
4. Click the "Install Now" button
5. Activate the Max Mega Menu plugin

Installation should complete in under 60 seconds. Then the plugin will be ready to use for adding mega menus without needing any code.

Expert Tip: For even more customization options, consider Max Mega Menu Pro ($39 license). This unlocks additional layout types, 50+ widgets, icon sets, priority support, and automatic updates.

Step 2 – Adding Your First Mega Menu in WordPress

Once you have the Max Mega Menu plugin installed, adding a mega menu takes just a few clicks:

1. Go to Appearance → Menus
2. Click Create New Menu (or edit existing)
3. Enter menu name and check box to assign menu location
4. Click Create Menu button
5. Add pages, posts, links to your menu
6. Expand Max Mega Menu Settings
7. Check the Enable box
8. Hover parent menu item and click Mega Menu
9. Select layout type Standard or Grid
10. Customize columns, rows, widgets
11. Click Save Menu

You now have a basic horizontal mega menu added to your site!

The key is choosing the Standard or Grid tab from the dropdown menu. This enables mega menu mode for that parent menu item.

You can then insert columns and widgets to populate the mega menu with supplementary content.

Mega Menu Layout Types

When clicking the "Mega Menu" button, you‘ll need to pick either standard or grid layout:

• Standard Layout – Default vertical columnar format for simpler designs
• Grid Layout – Custom rows and columns for complex mega menu structures

The standard layout auto-generates columnized dropdowns up to 5 columns wide.

But grid layout allows drag and drop organization into a visual rows x columns format. This allows creating truly custom navigation hierarchies within your mega menu.

Expert Pro Tip – Use grid layouts sparingly to avoid overcomplicating small-screen navigation experiences. Consider disabling mega menus for mobile views if layouts become too crowded horizontally.

Step 3 – Customizing Your Mega Menus Appearance

The real power of Max Mega Menu is customizing the appearance, layouts, behaviors, widgets, and styles for your needs.

Let‘s explore some of the most essential settings for fine-tuning your mega menus:

3.1 Layout Structure Customization

You can customize the columns, rows, and sizing for both standard and grid layouts.

Some key settings:

• Number of Columns
• Row Heights
• Item Widths – Set as fraction of total
• Mobile Specific Visibility

Use the intuitive drag and drop builder to arrange menu items within your structure.

Pro Tip: Limit grid layout mega menus to 2-3 columns on mobile to prevent awkward horizontal scrolling.

3.2 Mega Menu Widgets

Widgets allow inserting rich content into mega menu sections:

• Images / Galleries
• Videos
• HTML / Text
• Contact Forms
• 2nd Level Navigation
• Search Bars

The widget editor makes it easy to populate and style content within your mega menu columns.

3.3 Visual Design + Styling

Beyond layout structures and content population, you‘ll want to blend your mega menus with your existing theme‘s visual styling.

Use the following customization options:

Menu Bar Tabs

• Background color
• Menu fonts selection
• Top-level item colors / hover effects

Mega Menu Tabs

• Submenu background colors
• Border radius rounding
• Shadow effects
• Padding/spacing

This allows matching colors, typography, borders, box shadows to look seamless on your site pages.

See the visual design guide for more mega menu styling tips.

Step 4 – Configuring Mega Menu Functionality Settings

Beyond appearance, also customize how your mega menus function on your sites:

Hover or Click Activation?

Determine if mega menus appear on:

• Hover Intent
• Hover – Instantly on hovering parent
• Click – Via click only

Hover is best for encouraging exploration. Click prevents accidentally triggering menus.

Opening Animation Effects

Animate how mega menu appears:

• Slide Down/Up
• Fade In/Out
• CSS Transitions

Subtle slide + fade combos work well. Avoid jarring animations.

Mobile Responsiveness

Modify mobile behavior:

• Enable / Disable
• Adjust column widths
• Hide widgets by breakpoint

Disable or simplify menus on mobile if layouts become crowded.

Expert-Recommended WordPress Mega Plugins Comparison

While Max Mega Menu is the most popular free plugin, here are leading premium alternatives with additional features:

Based on your specific needs, a paid mega menu plugin may be worth investing in for additional functionality, features, and support access.

Wrap Up

I hope this detailed guide covered everything you need to know to properly add, customize, optimize and use mega menus on your WordPress site.

The key steps again:

1. Install dedicated mega menu plugin
2. Create new menu with structure
3. Activate mega menu on parent items
4. Customize columns, widgets, styling
5. Configure functionality settings
6. Adjust for mobile optimization

Mega menus are a fantastic navigation enhancement for complex sites with deep content levels and hierarchies.

By following WordPress expert advice, you can implement them effectively to organize layouts and provide intuitive visitor experiences.

Let us know if you have any other questions!