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.

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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.

In this guide

1. Categorize Your Posts
2. Add a Category to Your Menu in the Site Editor
   1. Video Tutorial
3. Add a Category to Your Menu in WP Admin
4. Add a Category to Your Menu in the Customizer

Categorize Your Posts

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

1. Click on Posts in your WordPress.com dashboard.
2. Click Add New Post to create a new post, or choose an existing post to edit.
3. Under the Post Settings on the right, expand the Categories option.
4. Check the box next to a category to assign it to the post. If you have no categories yet, click Add New Category to create your first category.
5. You can press Update when you’re done to save your changes.

Learn more about categories.

Add a Category to Your Menu in the Site Editor

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

1. Visit your dashboard and go to Appearance → Editor.
2. Click on the right side of the screen to open up the editing area.
   • Alternatively, select Patterns and choose the header or other template part containing your menu.
3. Open List View at the top-left corner of your screen (it’s the icon that looks like three horizontal lines above each other.)
4. Select the Navigation block, which may be nested inside other blocks like Header, Group, and Row.
5. Click the + Block Inserter that now appears on the Navigation block.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Click Save 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

Slow down or speed up the video using the controls in the lower right corner after clicking Play

Add a Category to Your Menu in WP Admin

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 Add to menu. 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 Save Menu at the bottom of the screen when you’re done:

Add a Category to Your Menu in the Customizer

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 Add Items.
5. Select Categories.
6. Click the + icon next to the category or categories you want to add.
7. Click Save Changes.

Adding a Category Menu