Add Categories to a Menu

As a blogger, it’s common to include categories in your menu so that readers can view posts for a specific topic on your blog. This guide will show you how to add links to your category pages to a menu.

In this guide

1. Categorize Your Posts
2. Add a Category to your Menu

Categorize Your Posts

The first step is to make sure you have published at least one blog post and assigned a category to it.

Learn how to:

• Create categories.
• Categorize your blog posts.

Add a Category to your Menu

Add a category to your menu so your visitors can easily navigate to specific categories of posts on your site. In this section you will learn how to add the categories you created to your menu.

To determine which section of this guide to follow, visit your dashboard and check under Appearance on the left side. If you see Editor, use the Site Editor section of this guide. Otherwise, use the WP Admin or Customizer instructions.

Select the appropriate tab for your design interface:

Site EditorWP-AdminCustomizer

In the Site Editor, your menu comes from the Navigation block. Follow these steps to add a category menu item:

1. Visit your dashboard.
2. Navigate to Appearance → Editor.
3. Select the Template or Template Part you want to edit, or click the preview of your site to open the Site Editor.
4. Open List View at the top-left corner of your screen (it’s the icon that looks like three horizontal lines above each other.)
5. Select the Navigation block, which may be nested inside other blocks like Header, Group, and Row.
6. Click the “+ Block Inserter” icon that now appears on the Navigation block.
7. Search for the name of your category and choose it from the list. The category label will appear next to the category name in the search result.
8. After adding a category to the menu, you can:
   • click on the text to customize what it says, if needed.
   • reorder the menu items, create dropdown menus, and do much more with the Navigation block.
9. Click the “Save” button to save your changes.

When visitors click on the category in your menu, they will be taken to a page that only shows posts with that category.

Video Tutorial

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On sites with classic themes, you can add categories using WP Admin by following these steps:

1. Visit your dashboard.
2. Go to Appearance → Menus.
3. Ensure the correct menu is selected at the top of the screen:

4. Under Add menu items, click on Categories:

5. Tick the boxes for each new category you wish to add to your menu.
6. Click the “Add to menu” button. Each category you selected in the previous step will be added to the menu.
7. If you wish to change the order the menu items appear in, click and drag each one to the desired spot. You can also create drop-down menus.
8. Click the “Save Menu” button at the bottom of the screen when you’re done:

On sites with classic themes, you can add category items using the Customizer by following these steps:

1. Visit your dashboard.
2. Go to Appearance → Customize → Menus.
3. Choose your menu.
4. Click on the “Add Items” button.
5. Expand the Categories section in the list.
6. Click the “+” icon next to the category or categories you want to add.
7. Click the “Save Changes” or “Publish” button.

Adding a Category Menu