Navigation menus are the paths customers follow to find products
A navigation menu in Shopify is the set of links that appears at the top (or sometimes side) of your store, guiding customers to collections, pages, and products. Without clear navigation, visitors land on your homepage and have no obvious way to browse what you sell. Shopify gives you two main places to build navigation: the header menu that appears on every page, and the footer menu below the content.
The process takes about 10 to 15 minutes and requires no coding. You create the menu structure in Shopify's admin panel, then assign it to appear in your theme's header or footer. Most themes come with a default menu already in place, so you are usually editing what exists rather than building from nothing.
Key Takeaways
- Navigation menus live in your Shopify admin under Online Store > Menus, where you can create new menus or edit existing ones.
- You can link to collections, products, pages, external websites, or other parts of your store — each link type serves a different purpose in guiding customers.
- Most Shopify themes have a header menu and a footer menu; you assign which menu appears where by editing your theme settings.
- Nested menus (submenus that appear when you hover over a main link) work in most themes but not all — check your theme documentation to confirm.
- Changes to your menu appear on your live store when ready; you do not need to publish or save separately.
Where to find and create menus in your Shopify admin
Log into your Shopify admin and go to Online Store in the left sidebar. Click Menus. You will see a list of any menus already in your store — typically "Main menu" and "Footer menu" if you are using a standard theme.
To create a new menu, click the Create menu button in the top right. Give it a name (for example, "Seasonal" or "Help"), then click Create menu. You now have an empty menu ready to add links to. If you want to edit an existing menu instead, click its name in the list.
Adding links to your menu and organizing them
Once you are inside a menu, you see an Add menu item button. Click it to add your first link. A form appears asking what you want to link to. The dropdown menu shows your options: Collection, Product, Page, Catalog, or Link.
Choose Collection if you want the link to show a group of products — for example, "Shirts" or "Sale Items". Choose Product to link directly to a single item. Choose Page to link to a page you created in your store, such as "About Us" or "Contact". Choose Link to point to an external website or a custom URL. Catalog links to your entire product list.
After you select the type, a second field appears. For collections and products, you pick from a list of what exists in your store. For pages, you choose from pages you have already created. For links, you type the full web address (starting with https://).
To reorder menu items, click and drag them up or down. The order you arrange them here is the order they appear on your store.
Creating submenus that appear on hover
A submenu is a second level of links that appears when a customer hovers over or clicks a main menu item. For example, a "Shop" link might have submenus for "Men," "Women," and "Accessories."
To create a submenu, add your main menu item first (for example, "Shop"). Then click Add menu item again, but this time, before you save it, look for an indentation option or a field that says "Parent item." Select the main menu item you just created. This nests the new link under it, making it a submenu.
Not all Shopify themes support submenus. Check your theme's documentation or contact the theme creator to confirm. If your theme does not support them, the submenu links will appear as regular items in your main menu instead.
Assigning your menu to your store's header or footer
Creating a menu is only half the work. You also need to tell Shopify where to display it. Go to Online Store in the left sidebar and click Themes. Find your current theme and click Customize. This opens the theme editor.
Look for a section called Header or Navigation (the exact name varies by theme). Inside, you will see a dropdown or setting that says something like "Menu" or "Header menu." Click it and select the menu you want to display. Do the same for the footer if your theme has a footer menu section.
As soon as you make the change, your menu appears on your live store. You do not need to publish or save — Shopify updates it when ready.
Editing menu items after you have created them
To change a link's label, go back to Online Store > Menus, click the menu name, and click the menu item you want to edit. Change the text in the label field and click Save. The change appears on your store right away.
To change what a link points to, click the menu item, change the collection, product, page, or URL in the dropdown, and save. To delete a menu item, click it and look for a Delete button (usually at the bottom of the form). To move a menu item to a different menu, you have to delete it from the current menu and add it to the new one.
Common navigation patterns that work well
Most successful stores organize their main menu in one of a few ways. The simplest is by product type: "Shirts," "Pants," "Accessories." This works when your products fall into clear categories. Another pattern is by use case: "For Work," "For Home," "For Travel." This helps customers think about what they need rather than what you have.
A third pattern combines both: a main "Shop" link with submenus for each category. A fourth adds utility links at the end: "About," "Contact," "Returns." Many stores put utility links in the footer menu instead, keeping the header focused on shopping.
Test your navigation by asking yourself: if I had never seen this store before, could I find what I am looking for in three clicks? If the answer is no, your menu probably needs simplification or reorganization.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have different menus on different pages?
No. Shopify assigns one menu to your header and one to your footer across your entire store. Every page shows the same navigation. If you need different links on different pages, use your footer menu or add links within your page content instead.
What happens if I delete a collection but leave it in my menu?
The link breaks and shows a 404 error when customers click it. Before you delete a collection, remove it from your menus first. If you accidentally delete a collection, you can restore it from your Shopify trash within 30 days, then remove it from the menu properly.
Can I add a menu item that does not link anywhere?
Not directly. Every menu item must link to something. If you want a label that does not link (like a section header), some themes allow you to link it to a dummy page or use a workaround, but this is not standard. Check your theme documentation or consider using a different visual approach.
How many menu items can I add?
Technically, you can add as many as you want, but practically, menus with more than 7 to 10 main items become hard to scan. Customers get overwhelmed and take longer to find what they need. Keep your main menu focused and move less important links to the footer.
Do I need to rebuild my menu if I switch themes?
Your menus stay in your Shopify admin and do not disappear when you switch themes. However, the new theme may display them differently or in different locations. You may need to reassign which menu appears in the header or footer of your new theme, but the menu content itself remains intact.