The best way to set up your website’s menu

Why is the organization of your main menu important?

First and foremost, you want the user on the other side of the screen to have a positive experience on your site. This includes being able to find what they’re looking for easily. Additionally, it boosts your SEO to have a logical, clean, simple navigation.

Scroll to the end to see my favorite menu layout and the one I recommend to most of my clients.

1) As a general rule of thumb, stick to 5 (or fewer) main menu items.

Keep your main menu short, sweet, and generic. Then, when you need to add something, add dropdown items underneath those broad categories rather than new menu items. This eliminates visual clutter and makes it easier for users to make their first click.

2) Longer pages are better than additional pages.

For example, instead of a page for each classroom in your school, group all your classrooms onto one page with a clickable navigation near the top that will scroll the user down to the selected classroom.

This will not only boost your SEO, but also make information easier to find by removing visual clutter.

3) Don’t get too creative with the actual words you use for menu items.

I see some people getting creative with their menu items and theming them around their values or mission statement.

I’m looking at you: Gather, Grow, Go. 👀

Although this feels like good branding, unless someone has already been educated on these terms, this is only going to cause confusion. Although it may feel bland, stick with menu items that people expect and understand how to navigate.

4) Consider using icons instead of words for certain menu items to save space.

Use a magnifying glass instead of “Search”. Use social media icons instead of “Facebook” and “YouTube”. Consider using a heart or coin instead of “Donate.”

5) Make your logo clickable to your home page.

People expect this to be functional and it’s an easy upgrade to make.

My very favorite way to lay out a menu:

HOME (Self-explanatory)

ABOUT US

Anything about YOU: Meet the pastor/staff, church history, what we believe, mission & values, accreditation, etc.

SERVING YOU

Anything done for THE READER: Worship, education, events, children’s ministry, after school care, extracurriculars, etc.

CONTACT (Self-explanatory)

GIVE (if church) // BOOK A TOUR (if school)

​

Feel free to play with the verbiage slightly to make it your own. But, in general, shoot for a menu item focused on you 🫵, a menu item focused on them 👨‍👩‍👧, as well as the usual home/contact/give items.