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 must find its 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 website 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.

Contents of the article Components of Mega Lists The relationship between Mega

Menu and user experience Use it when it is expected Use it when it supports the aesthetic appearance of the site When do you avoid using mega menus? Using Mega Menu in WordPress Creating a Mega Menu with the Max Mega Menu Plugin Creating a Mega Menu with Elementor The Best Plugins for Creating a Mega Menu in WordPress 1.

Add UberMenu 2.

Adding WP Mega Menu 3. Adding Mega Main Menu 4. Other alternatives Compatibility of Mega Menu with smartphones Adding WP Responsive Menu Adding WP Mobile Menu Adding QuadMenu WordPress templates that support Mega Menu The most important questions related to mega menus What is meant by site navigation?

What are dropdown menus? Drop-down menus and mega-menus Why are mega-menus so popular and widespread?

What are the ways to add a Mega Menu?

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, etc., 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, the giant menus, Mega Menus, come in different and varied shapes and designs, and you can notice that the WordPress website in Arabic uses that type of menu as well. Try placing the mouse cursor on any of the sections indicated in the top menu! Components of mega menus: As we agreed, the forms of mega menus can vary greatly between each site and another, but the main principle behind this element requires that it contain all the contents to be displayed in an organized and interconnected 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 the Mega Menu and the 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 browsing it easier for visitors?” If your answer is no, then unfortunately you are not benefiting in any way from the menu you added, and you must improve and work on it in order to actually provide a better user experience. You should never add a 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 the Mega Menu on my site help in achieving the goals?” You must ask yourself this question before you make your decision to use the Mega Menu on your site, and asking it remains obligatory even when you review your site and its results from time to time. As for what is meant by goals, the following points provide an example: achieving and increasing sales. Users to stay longer on the site Prompting users to revisit your site (because the items within the Mega Menu were interesting, for example) Helping create a community of customers or readers Increasing 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 it is 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 it 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 includes huge and diverse content - as mentioned above - then this list 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 experience for members. Use it when it supports the aesthetic appearance of the site. We previously talked 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 website for a company or institution. 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 do not 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 Mega Menus will not be a documented option, and perhaps the English government website gives an example of this. There is no need to use huge menus 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 menus display dozens of links and cannot focus on a specific link. Do not use huge menus within the smartphone version of your site unless they are designed correctly and appropriately.

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 Menus 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, and you can use add-ons to create huge menus 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. Creating a Mega Menu via the Max Mega Menu plugin. The Max Mega Menu plugin is distinguished by being the best free plugin available for the WordPress platform, which 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 “Plugins” section and then “Add New.” Search for the Max Mega Menu plugin. 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 have to go directly to its settings, which appear under the box. Customized in the WordPress control panel, as follows: When you go to the main page of the plugin 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 that you would like to display the Mega Menu from among the menus that your site has, and you also need to activate the plugin: The plugin offers dozens of customization settings, and this is normal, but its default settings are suitable for most sites, but you may notice on the main page of the plugin settings that there are “Menu Themes” options through which you can customize Colors and shapes: You can notice that some important settings appear under 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 form 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 menus 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, and this 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 the 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 that huge menu, and here you can unleash your creativity, but paying attention to all the notes and details that we talked about above: From within the upper 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 called “Technology,” you are able to add a giant list that includes rows of prominent articles, and separate columns that include pictures of technology products that you sell. Read also: Learn about the CRM system to manage your WooCommerce store customers more professionally. Create a Mega Menu via the Elementor add-on. The Elementor add-on 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 deem appropriate 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 mega menus and adding them later is easier, especially in more complex templates: Therefore, we suggest using the first add-on, Max Mega Menu, since it is free, but if you are already an Elementor user, trying the second add-on remains 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.

The best plugins for creating Mega Menu in WordPress We talked about

We previously discussed 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 wide. 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 that, as we will now share with you the best plugins that allow creating Mega Menu menus on the WordPress platform: An article that may interest you: WooCommerce explanation for creating an integrated online store - step by step 1.

UberMenu add-on comes as a high-performance paid add-on. It is available at a price of $25 and its developers provide frequent discounts on it. This add-on - as you can infer - 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.

WP Mega Menu Add-on We return again to high-performance free plugins with the WP Mega Menu plugin, which is an add-on that allows you a number of features that you find exclusively in paid plugins, such as adding a custom logo, a 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.

Mega Main Menu Add-on This add-on is suitable for website owners who do not want to spend hours of their time customizing giant 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. 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 large group of alternative plugins available that aim for the same goals, with a difference in design or working mechanism of course. Of course, the highest performing plugins come at higher prices. We share with you the most important plugins as follows: Hero Menu WP Mega Menu Pro Sky Mega Menu Menu Management Enhancer Read also: The most important procedures for increasing the speed of your WordPress site | A comprehensive guide to what are Fly Menus. Fly Menus are referred to as the new “trend” in menu design, especially mega menus. 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 flying menu You can create a 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 in paid form and its price is around 20 US dollars. In an illustrative example, as in the previous image, the main page of the site is the yellow one that 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 additions 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, which is as follows: WP Responsive Menu add-on. This add-on allows you to create mega menus for smartphones, in addition to different 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 add-on platform.

WP Mobile Menu plugin is as its name suggests

This add-on specializes in creating lists for smartphones and tablets, and also provides required features such as sliding menus or adding rights, etc., and the add-on is available for a paid fee. The QuadMenu add-on is considered one of the important add-ons 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. Read also: The best WordPress templates for blogs or news sites and magazines Read also: What are WordPress templates, how do they work, and what is their optimal use?

A comprehensive explanation Read also: The best WordPress templates according to your site type (+50 templates) WordPress templates that support Mega Menu You can expect the Mega Menu feature to be available in the leading modern templates, and if you buy your templates 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 example above is From the template of paradise. There are no huge differences between supporting 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 themes 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 widgets 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 images. As for traditional drop-down menus, they are menus that drop down vertically to reveal a number of sections: The most important questions related to giant menus. 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, of course, are Mega Menus. 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 on 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 images or artistic elements in most cases.

Drop-down menus and mega-menus In contrast to drop-down menus, mega-menus allow adding any required elements, and they are also longer and wider, as we explained more than once within the contents of the article above. Why are huge menus so popular and widespread? There are many reasons why Mega Menus have become widespread in a large number of sites, whether Arab or foreign, and this is due to obvious reasons: The ease of creating and using them at the present time Their distinctive aesthetic appearance Coordinating elements while preserving page space without wasting They work - usually - on all screens and devices Makes all elements visible at the same time Coordinates information in a useful way Attractive graphic elements are used on the sites and platforms that most benefit from them There is no doubt that mega menus may be useful for all types of sites, as previously mentioned, but there are types of sites that need to use these menus in a way Permanent, including: Online stores, especially those that sell many products, clothing and fashion stores, large 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. Read also: The best way to get a WordPress template: hiring a developer, buying a ready-made template, or Arabizing a template?

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.