Introduction to Menus

In this article:

• Accessing Menu Builder
• Using the Sample Menu
• Creating a Menu
• Menus and User Permissions
• Managing Menus
• Assigning a Menu
• Designating Public and Private Menus

Accessing Menu Builder

Menu Builder allows you to create and manage the top-level navigation for your brand center, which members use to navigate through the content on your site. In the Pages and My Site sections, you create the content. Here, you’ll decide if, and where, that content is used within your site.

To access this area, select Menus from the Tool bar when logged into the CMS.

When you arrive in Menus, you’ll see a landing page listing all available menus. From here, you can edit an existing menu or create a new one. 

Using the Sample Menu

Your Experience Portal will come automatically loaded with a default menu. This menu can serve as a helpful starting point for site administrators as it features the type of navigation we see used most often with brand centers:

• Who We Are (brand strategy, history, etc.)
• How We Look (visual guidelines)
• How We Sound (verbal guidelines)
• Sample Resources (FAQs)
• Sample External Link

You can choose to use this menu as-is, edit it, or duplicate it to use as a template, however it can’t be deleted.

Creating a Menu

To create a new menu, start by selecting the + Create menu button on the Menus landing page. Once you’ve named your menu and clicked Continue, that menu will appear in your menus list. 

Note: Once created, menu names can't be edited.

Open your new menu and start by clicking + Add menu item to open the Add panel. Click and drag a menu item into the center of the screen to begin building. 
 

Using Folders, Pages, and External Links

Folders, pages, and external links are the building blocks of menus. These menu items house all the content you’ll use to populate your site. Here’s how they work:

External links connect members to an external URL. These are often used to link out to external DAMs, photo libraries, or other resources located outside your site. External links can be a standalone menu item or live within folders. However, they cannot have folders, other external links, or pages nested beneath. 

Tip: As a best practice, we recommend ticking the Open in new tab checkbox for external links. This ensures the user has an easy way to return to your site when opening external links.

Folders act as “parent” menu items. They house pages, other folders, and external links, but they cannot house content themselves or function as landing pages. Within a dropdown menu, folders are not themselves “clickable.”

Pages hold text, media, and links – all the content related to your site. Pages can be a standalone menu item or live within folders. However, they cannot have folders, external links, or other pages nested beneath.

Note: Folders are only visible to permissioned users if they contain a published (live) and permissioned menu item. Folders left empty will be hidden from users on the front end.  

Editing Menu Items

Once added to a menu, any menu item can be clicked on to open its properties window. Here, you can change what the item is called within the menu and, for pages and external links, where the item goes. Page labels can be customized for each menu and do not need to match the page’s original name within Pages. Be sure to click Save after each change.

Note: Page and folder labels can host a maximum of 35 characters. If you're having trouble saving a new page or folder, check the number of characters in the Label field.

Structuring Your Menu

Any menu item type can be placed in the top-level navigation, but only folders can nest additional menu items. Top-level navigation items can hold an unlimited number of folders, pages, and external links but nest to a maximum of five levels deep. 

To nest menu items, select an item from the Add panel and drag it over a folder until the item indents. Nested items will then snap into place. To move an item, simply click and drag it to a new location within the menu.

As you add content to your menu, menu items will stack vertically within Menu Builder. This vertical structure translates to a left-to-right navigation on the live site. 

You can preview what this structure will look like on both desktop and mobile by clicking the Preview button in the upper left corner. (Note: Folders will only appear if they have a published page nested within them.) To return to the menu editor, click the Preview button again.

Tip: We recommend keeping your site structure clean, concise, and clear. This means limiting the number of top-level navigation items to between five and six; keeping the “levels” of your menu to no more than three clicks deep; and using terminology your users will understand. 

Additional Menu Building Tips

Use the Collapse folders toggle to show or hide all nested items. This is useful to get a bird’s eye view of your top-level menu structure.

Use the Show all toggle to view all pages assigned to the menu, including those still in draft mode or scheduled to publish or expire later. When toggled off, Show all shows only pages that have been published.

Be sure to Save your menu after every change and before you exit. Once complete, click the Back to Menus arrow in the top left to return to the menus landing page.

Tip: Published pages don’t need to be added to a menu to be accessible. Published pages that are not added to a menu still have active URLs and can be accessed by users with permission and the link. These linked pages are especially useful for one-off needs like campaign landing pages or event sign-ups. 

Menus and User Permissions

Page access can be limited to certain user groups. To users outside of those groups, permissioned pages will not appear within the menu and will not be accessible, even with a direct URL. 

To permission pages, go to Pages and click Manage page settings. Under the Visibility tab, select the user groups you want to have access to the page. User groups are managed in Settings under the Groups tab.

Note: Folders and external links can’t be permissioned to specific user groups. 

Managing Menus

Menus can be managed from the Menus landing page:

1. To edit the contents of a menu, select the pencil icon.
   • Note that menus cannot be renamed once created.
2. To duplicate a menu and all of its content, select the duplicate icon.
3. To delete a menu permanently, select the trashcan icon. 
   • Some menus, like sample menus, can't be deleted.
   • When a menu is deleted, the pages assigned to it are unaffected and remain in your Pages list.

Assigning a Menu

Menus can be assigned from any content page. Within My Site, toggle the page from Preview to Edit and select the menu component at the top of the page. Click Edit and, in the window that opens on the right, choose the menu you want to apply under the Content tab. Save your changes to apply the menu.

Note: Selecting a new menu will apply that menu to your entire site. Only one menu can be assigned to a site at a time.

Designating Public and Private Menus

You can control which menu appears to your site’s public (non‑logged‑in) users and which appears to authenticated (logged‑in) users. This allows you to customize the experience—for example, offering a simplified public landing experience or including a Login button for visitors.

How Public and Private Menus Work

• Private menus are shown to users who are logged in.
• Public menus are shown to visitors who are not logged in.
• Each site can have only one private menu, but you can permission individual pages within that menu to different user groups.

Assigning a Public and Private Menu

1. In My Site, open the Menu component. Navigate to the Content tab. 
2. Toggle on Assign public menu.
3. From the Private menu dropdown, select the menu that should appear across the site for authenticated users.
4. From the Public menu dropdown, select the menu that should appear for unauthenticated users.
5. Click Save.

Tips & Best Practices for Public vs. Private Menus

• Include a link to the login page in the public menu. This menu item should be linked to the login page and provides credentialed visitors easy access to the authentication process.
• Keep public menus simple. Public visitors often need quick access to high‑level information like About, Contact, or Login.
• Use private menus to surface deeper content. Since private menus display only to logged‑in users, you can include pages that are restricted or personalized.
• Remember page‑level permissions still apply. Even if a private menu item is visible, users will only access pages they have permission to view.