Your comprehensive guide to using mega menus in WordPress and the correct places for it

The elements of the user experience and ease of browsing have become among the most important elements that distinguish one site from another. There is no doubt that visitors to your site or online store deserve for you to provide them with an attractive user experience. There is also no doubt that a design element such as the integrated Mega Menu should find His way to your site.

Through Mega Menu, you can greatly improve the experience of using your site, as it allows visitors to access dozens of items from one place in an organized manner as well. These menus are also known as one of the browsing elements as well, whether you have a live site or are planning to build a new site. You must pay attention to every little thing in the user experience, because this is what distinguishes you from others.A

What are Mega Menus?

You may have been exposed to giant lists dozens of times before without realizing it, as they are an essential element in electronic stores, shopping sites, electronic magazines, and others, because they are usually present on any site that includes a huge amount of content, or complex content that must be linked to each other. .

If we try to define this element easily, we are able to describe it as a ( navigation and browsing menu ) used to access a large number of items at the same time easily, and the contents are usually divided horizontally or vertically.

We can take an example of this from the “Noon” shopping platform, which shows you a giant menu once you place the mouse cursor near any of the sections indicated in the top menu:

Like any artistic or design element, mega menus come in different shapes and designs, and you can notice that the WordPress website in Arabic also uses that type of menu. Try placing your mouse cursor on any of the sections indicated in the top menu!

Components of mega menus

As we agreed, the formats of mega menus can vary greatly from one site to another, but the main principle behind this element requires that it contain all the contents to be displayed in an organized and interwoven manner.

That is, to create a huge list to display the contents of the “Technology” section in your electronic magazine, you need to make all the subsections visible in an organized manner, along with the most important articles of the section, and perhaps also the editors’ choices, and others.

One of the golden rules for large lists is that there is no need to move them, meaning that the user should see all the contents from the moment he opens the list, and does not need to scroll or move. Although these rules are easy to implement and logical, they are not mandatory, and the site owner reserves his freedom to apply them, but the user experience must be taken into account to the greatest extent possible.

The relationship between Mega Menu and user experience

We now live in an era full of competition. Whatever the field of your site, there are dozens of sites competing with it! Therefore, attention to the user experience and aesthetic design has become mandatory, not optional, and the user in our modern era is also looking for sites and stores that provide an excellent user experience, especially since he is exposed to hundreds of sites to choose from.

Very simply, and without complexity, the intersection between User Experience (UX) and Mega Menus appears in the answer to one very important question:

“Does using the Mega Menu on my site make it easier for visitors to navigate?”

If your answer is no, then unfortunately you do not benefit in any way from the menu that you added, and you must improve it and work on it in order to actually provide a better user experience. You should never add the Mega Menu just because everyone is adding it. It is not a fad or a passing event as much as it is. A useful element that must be exploited properly.

The “ test ” of your site does not end with the previous question. Rather, there is another question that must be answered with “yes,” which is:

“Will using Mega Menu on my site help achieve goals?”

You must ask yourself this question before you make your decision to use Mega Menu on your site, and asking it remains obligatory even when reviewing your site and its results from time to time. As for what is meant by objectives, the following points provide an example:

Achieving and increasing sales
Make users stay longer on the site
Get users to revisit your site
(e.g. because items within the Mega Menu were interesting)
Help create a community of customers or readers
Increase the number of pages visited by each user
And others depending on the field of your site…

An article that may interest you : Designing an animated product bar inside a WooCommerce store to increase store sales

When should you use Mega Menus?

In the previous points, we explained what Mega Menus are, along with the basic points about them. Below we explain some of the correct cases for using Mega Menus, as we have indicated their actual importance, but we have also indicated that there is no need to use them even though there is no need for them.

Use it when expected

Some users expect the presence of Mega Menus by default on some sites, especially online stores, of course. Therefore, if your site offers complex and complex content, then including this type of menu is a wise decision.

As an example of this, we find a shopping site that displays huge numbers of items within a giant list, and we notice that it follows the conditions discussed above:

Use them when traditional menus are not appropriate

We are accustomed to using traditional drop-down menus on our sites, which are Drop-Down Menu, and if your site contains huge and diverse content – as mentioned above – this menu will be much longer than necessary.

If they reach an unacceptable length, this will clearly ruin the user experience. According to a study conducted by specialized bodies, long menus generally negatively affect the user experience, while giant, organized menus improve them.

You may be interested in reading: Customizing the design of the WordPress login page for a better member experience

Use them when they support the aesthetics of the site

We talked previously about the importance of the aesthetic appearance of any WordPress site, whether it is a site for written content, an online store, or even a site for a company or institution, and there is no doubt that using giant menus in light of their support for the design and aesthetics of the site is a good choice for any site manager.

Also, using them beautifully, and relying on some simple psychological tricks, specifically consumer behavior , these steps may increase sales. An example of this is that online stores that add pictures of their products to huge lists have greater chances of sales, or even visits to product pages. .

When should you avoid using mega menus ?

Things here are really simpler, you should not use Mega Menus only if the previous conditions, and the points we discussed, do not apply to your site in any way, and we can summarize this in simple points:

When you don’t have a lot of content, sections, or even links
When the images and elements on your site are few, then adding dozens of links within the huge list will not be a reliable option. Perhaps the English government website gives an example of this.
There is no need to use huge lists if you aim to direct the largest possible number of visitors to a specific page, such as landing pages directed at marketing and selling a specific product, because these lists display dozens of links and cannot focus on a specific link.
Do not use mega menus within the smartphone version of your site unless they are properly and appropriately designed.

In general, and to confirm the information that you must have, it is correct to use huge lists on most types of websites, as well as in online stores, but if you do not apply them correctly, they may be of no benefit, and may even be harmful! We share with you examples in the following image:

Using Mega Menu in WordPress

We previously talked about the importance of Mega Menus and their most important uses, and now we are talking about how to add them to your WordPress site, and here – as usual with this platform – we can find dozens of methods and tools that allow us to do that.

Mega Menu menus are added either by relying on specialized add-ons for that, or through the template that your site uses. Naturally, we are not able to cover all the available templates, so we recommend browsing the guide for using your template , but if you prefer to take the add-on route, we will explain that. In detail, you can use plugins to create huge lists even if your template supports adding them.

It is noteworthy that the default modes in the WordPress platform only allow the inclusion of traditional drop-down menus, not giant menus.

Configure Mega Menu by adding Max Mega Menu

The Max Mega Menu plugin is considered one of the best free plugins available for the WordPress platform that allows adding Mega Menu menus very easily. Naturally, our first step is to install the plugin.

The easiest way to install plugins is always to search for them directly through the plugins section in WordPress instead of downloading and uploading them again. You can follow these steps:

Go to your WordPress site’s control panel
Go to the “ Add-ons ” section and then “ Add New ”
Look for the Max Mega Menu add-on

Now, after installing the plugin, do not forget to activate it, as it is not activated by default after installation. Once you install it, you now have it, and you must go directly to its settings, which appear under a dedicated box in the WordPress control panel, as follows:

When you go to the main page of the add-on settings, by clicking on “ Mega Menu ” within the side menu, you will be directed directly to the general settings, and from there you must first select the menu in which you would like to display the Mega Menu from among the menus that your site has, and you also need to Activate the extension:

You can notice that some important settings appear below the “ Menu Bar ” field, as follows:

Within the options you will find the “ Menu Height ” option, which allows you to control the height of the menu, in addition to the “ Menu Background ” option, which is also very important, since it allows you to modify the menu background colors to match your template.

Within the extension, you can notice that there are dozens – and perhaps hundreds – of modifications that can be implemented, but the default appearance of the menu remains appropriate, and you can navigate the modifications as you wish.

After adjusting the settings appropriately for your site, the add-on becomes ready for use. The add-on is not used through its settings page, but rather through the menu engine built into WordPress itself, and you can access it by going to the “ Appearance ” section, and then the “ Menus ” section.

Now you find that you still have a number of options and modifications that you can implement as well, which is undoubtedly one of the most important features of WordPress! But in order for things to be completely correct, you have to make sure again that the extension is activated and that you are working on the appropriate menu.

Now move your mouse cursor towards the item where you want to insert your mega menu, and then you will notice the Mega Menu option appear as in the following image:

By clicking on this option, a pop-up window will appear allowing you to add all the items and widgets within this huge list. Here you can unleash your creativity, but paying attention to all the notes and details that we talked about above:

From the top drop-down menu you can choose from more than one shape and design for the giant menu, and here we chose Mega Menu – Grid Layout, then using the + Column button you can add a column, and using the +Row button you can add a row.

In an illustrative and simplified example, if you have an item in the main menu with the name “Technology,” you are able to add a giant list that includes rows of prominent articles, and separate columns that include pictures of technical products that you sell.

Create a Mega Menu via Elementor plugin

The Elementor plugin is known for its great capabilities in creating and coordinating components within WordPress sites, and it allows you – with some small additions – to create a giant custom menu and format it in the way you see fit for your site and its design trends.

The Elementor plugin allows you to create various elements within your WordPress site without programming experience, and only by dragging and dropping. In order to create giant menus on WordPress based on this plugin, you need to add JetMenu from Crocoblock , which can be considered as a custom plugin for the Elementor platform itself. However, it is a paid add-on .

The preparation and implementation steps remain simple, as they begin by installing both Elementor and JetMenu in the aforementioned manner, and then go again to the “ Menus ” section under the “ Appearance ” section within the WordPress control panel.

We note that the user experience does not differ much from the aforementioned add-on, at least in terms of settings and method of use, but since the add-on is part of the Elementor platform, controlling large menus and adding them later is easier, especially in more complex templates:

Therefore, we suggest using the first plugin, Max Mega Menu, since it is free, but if you are already an Elementor user, trying the second plugin is still an excellent option.

Important note : The ElementsKit alternative plugin is available through the WordPress plugin platform and is currently free to download, and remains suitable for Elementor users.

Best Mega Menu Creator Plugins in WordPress

We previously talked about the importance of giant menus and their impact on the user experience and arrangement of content on any website or online store. We also talked about how to add them using the most famous Max Mega Menu add-on or even via the Elementor engine, but the WordPress space remains vast.

This is because dozens of other add-ons come to serve the same goal, and as is always the case, some of these add-ons provide a better user experience or features than others, and you can sometimes rely on two add-ons at the same time.

Whether your aspirations are high, or the previous methods were not suitable, or even you would like to try more than one option, you can do so, as we will now share with you the best plugins that allow creating Mega Menu on the WordPress platform:

An article that may interest you : WooCommerce explanation for creating an integrated online store – step by step

1. Add UberMenu

UberMenu is a high-performance paid add-on. It is available for $25 and its developers offer frequent discounts. As you can infer, this add-on allows you to add huge menus.

The menus that are created based on this add-on are characterized by being as responsive as possible, in addition to allowing a huge amount of modifications and customizations. Therefore, if you are looking for an add-on that does the job quickly, this may not be suitable, and in this case we advise you to stay with the free add-ons. .

2. Add WP Mega Menu

We return again to high-performance free plugins with the WP Mega Menu plugin, which is a plugin that gives you a number of features that you find exclusively in paid plugins, such as adding a custom logo, search box, etc.

Like all highly customizable plugins, it offers hundreds of features, but its final user experience remains excellent. It is available within the official WordPress plugin platform, and you can download it by searching for it also through the control panel, as mentioned above.

3. Add Mega Main Menu

This add-on is suitable for website owners who do not want to spend hours of their time customizing Mega Menus, as it comes with a very easy user experience. The add-on comes with 10 pre-set designs and formats to use from, and it also gives you more than 1,600 icons to choose from. Between them.

Different types of giant lists can be created through this add-on, but it is not free, but on the other hand, it is cheaper than the paid add-on mentioned above, and it is available through Code Canyon .

4. Other alternatives

There is a wide range of alternative add-ons available that aim for the same goals, with a difference in design or working mechanism of course. Of course, the highest-performing add-ons come at higher prices. We share with you the most important add-ons as follows:

What are Fly Menus?

Fly Menus are referred to as the new “trend” in menu design, especially mega menus, and as for their user experience, they are “hidden” until the user presses the menu button.

For example, when the user presses the “hamburger” menu button, the menu is pulled out, filling part of the screen as if it were emerging from the void, specifically from the right or left side, as if it was being dragged.

These menus are most useful if the site is aimed at mobile or touch screen users, but they work perfectly on any platform or device, and Fly Menus plugins usually allow the creation of traditional Mega Menus.

How to create a plane menu

You can create the flying menu by relying on add-ons as usual, and perhaps one of the most famous add-ons ever in this regard is the Superfly add-on , which is available as a paid package and its price is around $20.

In an illustrative example, as in the previous image, the main site page is the yellow one, which includes the Superfly logo. As for the left menu and its submenu, they are all airplane menus that appeared when the user pressed the menu button.

Mega Menu is compatible with smartphones

Most, if not all, of the aforementioned add-ons are fully integrated with smartphones. This means that the menus you created via Max Mega Menu, Elementor, etc. will appear on smartphones naturally, with the same design.

But if designing mobile menus is your biggest concern, then there are add-ons that are more dedicated to designing Mega Menu menus for mobile, including the aforementioned Superfly add-on, by the way, and they are as follows:

Add WP Responsive Menu

This add-on allows the creation of Mega Menu for smartphones, in addition to various forms of other menus, whether static or animated. The add-on is available in a free version and a paid version. It also integrates with WooCommerce, and you can download it from the WordPress plugin platform .

Add WP Mobile Menu

As its name indicates, this add-on specializes in creating lists for smartphones and tablets, and also provides required features such as sliding menus, adding rights, etc. The add-on is available for a paid fee .

Add QuadMenu

The QuadMenu plugin is considered one of the important plugins in the field of creating WordPress menus in general, and smartphone menus in particular. Fortunately, it is available in a free version that includes a number of important options, and you can try it now .

WordPress themes that support Mega Menu

You can expect the Mega Menu feature to be available in leading modern themes, and if you purchase your themes through the Theme Forest platform, this feature appears among the supported features, as in the following image:

You can discover this very simply by searching within the content of the template description page on Theme Forest and writing the word Mega Menu as in the previous example, to see whether the developer has mentioned anything about it or not, and the above example is from the Jannah template.

There are no huge differences between supporting the Mega Menu in the template by default or obtaining it through an add-on, but some users prefer not to use add-ons as long as it is possible to get the feature by default within the template. Also note that some template developers use add-ons and integrate them into their templates.

Here we come to the conclusion that there is no difference between running giant menus based on the template or the extension. Below we share with you a short list of some templates that support Mega Menu features by default:

CyberWire – WooCommerce Mega Menu WordPress Theme
Aspero – Business Mega Menu WordPress Theme
Hitron – Creative Multipurpose Mega-Menu WordPress Theme
Digiqole – News and Magazine Elementor WordPress Theme
SolidBox – Modern Business Mega-Menu WordPress Theme
NeSOS – Multipurpose WooCommerce WordPress Theme
Digitech – Technology eCommerce Mega Menu WordPress Theme
Stimutus – Creative Elementor Mega Menu WordPress Theme
Pearl – Multi-Purpose Business Mega Menu WordPress Theme
Subway – WordPress Mega Menu Theme

Do plugins and tools conflict with each other?

As we noticed while trying to create a giant menu ourselves based on the Max Mega Menu above, the mechanism of how add-ons work depends on the menu itself, as the add-on links to a menu and then begins making changes to it.
Therefore, it is unlikely that a conflict or incompatibility will occur between different menu add-ons, as long as you do not use more than one add-on on the same menu . It is also unlikely that a conflict will occur between the add-on and the properties of the giant menus in the template, if any.

What is the difference between megalists and dropdown lists?

Mega Menus are comprehensive menus that usually consist of more than one description column, and in each of their parts different forms of content can be included, including links.

Or pictures.

As for the traditional drop-down menus, they are menus that drop down vertically to show a number of sections:

The most important questions related to giant lists

Users may have many questions about this type of menu, and this situation is understandable. It is known that giant menus are not new and have been in use for years, but their huge spread is relatively recent.

What is site navigation?

The term navigation is a very common term when we talk about website design and front-end development. Navigation is a design element that helps visitors navigate between pages and sections of your site easily. Therefore, it has a very significant impact on the user experience, and the better the navigation, the better the performance.

Menus are relied upon to provide balanced navigation elements, and among those menus are Mega Menus, of course.

What are dropdown menus?

As its name indicates, and as we explained previously, drop-down menus are simple menus that expand themselves down by simply clicking or marking with the mouse cursor at their place. Despite their popularity and frequent use, they are very limited compared to huge menus, and are only suitable for enumerating 5-10 pages or links. But without pictures or artistic elements in most cases.

Drop-down menus and mega menus

In contrast to drop-down menus, mega menus allow adding any desired elements, and they are also longer and wider, as we explained more than once in the contents of the article above.

Why are huge menus so popular and widespread?

There are many reasons why Mega Menus have become widespread on a large number of websites, whether Arab or foreign, and this is due to clear reasons:

Easy to create and use now
Its distinctive aesthetic appearance
Format items while conserving page space without wasting it
It usually works on all screens and devices
Makes all items visible at the same time
Coordinates information in a useful way
Uses attractive graphic elements

The sites and platforms that most benefit from them

There is no doubt that huge lists may be useful for all types of sites, as mentioned above, but there are types of sites that need to use these lists permanently, including:

Online stores, especially those that sell a lot of products
Clothing and fashion stores
Massive magazines and blogs
Websites of major companies

What are the ways to add a Mega Menu?

As we talked about in the body of the article previously, obtaining a giant list can be done in more than one way. For example, you can add it yourself if you are aware of how to design websites.

You can also hire a specialized designer to create it for you, but this solution is still expensive. The simplest solution is to use add-ons, especially Max Mega Menu. There is still an excellent solution, which is to purchase a template that supports this type of menu in advance.

Conclusion

Your site visitors deserve to have an excellent user experience on all devices and platforms, and you must ensure that this is implemented properly, as an excellent user experience may prompt the user to spend more time on your site.

Start now to choose the type of menus that are appropriate for your site, and if you have chosen mega menus, start adding them in a proper and elegant way.