Creating navigation menus

You can create as many navigation menus as you like.  Each menu can contain one or more individual links to specific pages.  Once you have created the menus, you will assign each menu to one of your permanent navigation buttons.

Simply click the Manage Navigation Menus link in admin to get started.  From this page, you can create a new navigation menu by clicking the Add New Menu link in the upper right corner.  You can also edit an existing navigation menu by clicking the name of the menu (assuming you have created at least one menu).

Each navigation menu you create will most likely contain several links.  That way, when you assign the menu to a button, rolling over that button will bring up all the links.

For example, let's say you have an About Us main navigation button on your site, and you wish it to have a navigation menu with three links: Mission/Vision, Board of Directors, and Staff.  Below are examples of what the flyout might look like on the front end, and how you would create it on the back end.

Navigation menu sample:

How to create the navigation menu on the back end:

Creating a new navigation menu

To create a new navigation menu, click on Add New Menu from the Manage Navigation Menus page.  From there, follow these steps.

1. In the Menu Name field, give your menu a name.  This will not be displayed on the front end of the site, but rather it allows you to identify the menu.

   HINT: Give each menu the same name as the navigation button it will be attached to.  This will make it easier to assign your menus to buttons later.  In the example above, the menu is named About Us to match the navigation button it will be assigned to.

2. Click the button on the left to add a new link to this menu.

3. Under the Label Name field, type in the name of the first link you would like in the navigation menu.  For example, if you are creating a navigation menu for your About Us button, and you want the first link to go to your Mission/Vision subpage, you can type Mission/Vision as the label name for this first link.

4. Under the URL field, type in or paste in the link you wish this item to go to.  For example, to link this menu item to a sub page, paste in the sub page link (displaycommon...).  You may want to open a second browser window on your computer to find the link URL for a subpage or form without leaving your navigation menu admin page.

   You can also put a link to a different website if you wish - for example, http://www.yahoo.com.  Make sure that, if you do link to an external page like this, you include the "http://" at the beginning.

5. The Target field on the right can be left blank for links to pages within your site.  If you are making an http:// link to a page outside your site, you will probably want to type _blank in the target field.  That will make the link open up in a new window when someone clicks it from your navigation menu.

6. To add another link, you can click the button on the bottom left.  You can also click the link next to any of your existing links to insert a new menu item above it.

7. To remove one of your menu items, click to the right of the item.

8. When you are finished creating all the menu items and links, click Save Menu at the bottom.  Do not forget this step!  Your options do not automatically save, so you must click the button to avoid losing your work.

Editing or deleting an existing navigation menu

To edit a navigation menu on your Manage Navigation Menus page, click on the name of the menu from the list of menus.  That will bring up the menu and all its menu items.  From there, you can rename, add, or delete menu items using the same techniques that you did to create the navigation menu.

If you need to move one or more items, you will have to create a new menu item by clicking  or .  Then cut and paste a Label and URL into that space to move it there.  Continue cutting and pasting until your menu items are in the order you like.

Remember to click Save Menu when finished; otherwise, you will lose your changes.

To delete one or more existing menus, make sure you are on the Manage Navigation Menus page.  Then check off the menu or menus you wish to delete.  Finally, click Delete Checked at the bottom.  You will be asked to confirm your decision, since deletion cannot be undone.