August 12, 2024

Best WordPress Menu Plugins

Admin · 13 minute read

Beyond aesthetics, the primary goal of a website is to provide a source of information. A well-structured website attracts both new and returning visitors. It should be easy to explore and navigate through various pages without any need for advanced knowledge.

At the core of any website, the menu serves as its map. Whether the visitor is looking for a specific piece of information or exploring the site, a well-designed menu prevents one from getting lost. This is especially important if you have a multi-page website.

Site visitors have a very short attention span, that is why even sophisticated search functions are not enough. A menu will allow anyone to see an overview of the website and its page structure. It helps create a “big picture” view, which is essential to figuring out a path towards a specific page.

Aside from practical functions, your website’s menu is the first area that any visitor sees. Because it is located in the header area, or somewhere near, it occupies a prime real estate. It is responsible for giving off that very important first impression. A visually striking menu will surely catch the attention of any new visitor and will compel them to stay longer on your website.

WordPress fully supports menu creation and customization. While this allows you to complete control, it also requires sufficient technical skills to execute correctly.

Luckily, it is quite easy to install a menu on WordPress. With hundreds of menu plugins out there, you are sure to pick the best one that will perfectly fit your site structure and style. This also makes choosing the right menu plugin tough and daunting.

Worry not!

We have carefully tested various menu plugins to help you figure out the best one. In this article, we list and review the best premium and free menu plugins. Read on!

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Groovy Mega Menu takes a simple menu to another level. Design the best mega menu that will complement the rest of your website. The plugin offers superb customizability so you can create the mega menu, horizontal menu, or vertical menu that best fits the aesthetics of your site. It is completely flexible through its built-in menu editor that is both easy to use and very intuitive.

If you do not have the time to develop a menu from scratch, you can download any of the predefined layouts available. You can preview any of the online presets from the Groovy Menu library before you add it to your site. Also, you can make further adjustments to make it more personal.

Groove Mega Menu is a flexible solution to all of your menu needs that fits practically any website.
It comes with 12 header layout options such as Standard Menu, One-Page Menu, Minimalist Menu, Sticky Menu, and more!
You can customize any aspect of the menu, such as logo, hover styles, transparency, image background, etc.
Add distraction-free sidebar menus, a sidebar with icons, and a sidebar slide menu to highlight your content.
Enhance your mega menu by using WPBakery Builder’s drag-and-drop editing function.

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Responsive Menu, much like its name, is an amazing menu plugin that looks good on both desktop and mobile devices. It is highly customizable, so you can change the overall color palette, fonts, spaces, and buttons. Personalizing the menu is quite easy using its intuitive editor.

Elevate your boring menu bar to an eye-catching header bar. You can add your personal touch using the more than 20 button animations designed by Jon Suh. Add more flair using more than 600 font icons from FontAwesome and Glyphicon sets. You can set an individual icon for each menu item, which means you have full control of your menu.

Responsive menu is a fully customizable mega menu plugin that will allow you to create stunning menus.
Develop an eye-catching header bar that is sure to attract visitors to your website.
You can add a touch gestures and keyboard commands for enhanced accessibility that will surely impress anyone.
The menu is also multilingual ready, which means it is compatible with WPML and Polylang.

QuadMenu

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QuadMenu is fairly new compared to the rest of the menu plugins in this list. However, it is also one of the most functional menu options around. Also, it is quite flexible as you can create tabbed menus, mega menus, and even carousel menus. It is truly an all-in-one menu solution.

Customizing the menu is blazing fast and intuitive with the built-in drag-and-drop admin panel. QuadMenu allows you to create stunning horizontal and vertical mega menus. You can even add full-width accordions and panels that are both touch and mobile-friendly.

QuadMenu aims to be an all-rounder menu plugin that fits perfectly with any website.
The integrated drag and drop builder allows you to customize various aspects of the menu area.
You can activate various integrated widgets to add interactive elements.
There are endless customizations available with various font icons, Google icons, color settings, and layout settings.

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Max Mega Menu converts your otherwise average menu area to a stunning mega menu. You can make your menu area touch-friendly and accessible with this easy-to-install plugin. It features a wide range of customization options starting with fonts, colors, logos, sizes, and more.

With this mega menu plugin, you can easily create complex menu sections without having to learn complicated custom codes. You can add interactive elements such as maps, contact forms, sign-up forms, calendars, and more. The menu easily accommodates most WordPress plugins.

Max Mega Menu is an amazing menu plugin that takes your menu bar to the next level.
It includes a built-in drag-and-drop editing function, which means customization is a breeze.
You can add interactive elements such as calendars, maps, and forms as it can accommodate other WordPress widgets.
It is a perfect partner for WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, as the menu can handle AJAX-enabled cart indicators right in the menu bar.

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WP Mega Menu is another popular menu plugin that enhances your header section with amazing menu functions. It comes with a flexible drag-and-drop function so you can easily build your own menu structure. Also, you can modify the look and feel of the menu right on the same builder.

This plugin aims to be your all-around menu, as you can create beautiful horizontal and vertical menus. With unlimited style options, you can forgo the default menu option that comes with your WordPress theme and choose a more powerful and function header section with WP Mega Menu.

WP Mega Menu allows you to add a fully responsive and stunning menu on your website.
You can practically unlimited styling and functional options with its drag-and-drop builder.
Add advanced functions with the dedicated WPMM widgets.
The menu can also integrate shortcodes, which means you can extend its functionality even further.

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WP Mobile Menu aims to capitalize on the ever-growing market of mobile users. With countless innovations in mobile computing, there is a huge chance that a large part of your web traffic is from mobile users. This plugin creates a menu that specifically targets mobile devices without sacrificing its usability in desktops and bigger screens.

With this mobile menu plugin, you can create websites that are easy to navigate. You can even develop alternative menus per page to create a truly personalized experience. It also includes functionality for both the header and footer menu.

WP Mobile Menu is a perfect menu plugin that enhances your website’s mobile experience while maintaining its appeal on biggers screens.
You can personalize the user experience on each page with alternative menus.
If you have membership services, you can even create menus that are only available to logged-in members.
Enhance the overall appeal of your website through the use of various icons in the menu from FontAwesome, Iconic, Entypo, Typicons, and Fontelicon.

UberMenu

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UberMenu is a stunning menu plugin that lets you fully customize its elements. It is a perfect menu solution if you wish to create dynamic content right on the header area. Also, it fully integrated with the WordPress 3+ menu system so it can be easily customized right in the admin panel.

You can configure the mega menu to feature blog posts and various content, such as featured images on grids. UberMenu can accommodate third-party widgets that add interactive functionality to an otherwise average menu. The menu is fully responsive, which means it looks good in both large and small screens.

UberMenu is a functional and beautiful menu plugin that is perfect if you want to add a complex menu area without having to learn to code.
You can easily add blog posts and other content in a nice grid.
Enhance the functionality of your menu by adding third-party widgets and shortcodes.
The menu plugin includes an intuitive customizer where you can change background colors, fonts styles, font colors, spacing, and more.

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Nextend Accordion Menu is a perfect menu plugin that you can use on its own or enhance the existing menu function of your website. The accordion-style menu can accommodate various themes to fit any type of WordPress theme with five styles available.

You can easily create various instances of the menu which you can add on different pages of your site. Enhance the functionality of your menu using widgets and shortcodes. The menu can incorporate submenus, multiple animation effects, and more.

Nextend Accordion Menu is a perfect stand-alone menu solution or to enhance your existing menu.
The menu plugin is fully customizable with the built-in font and style manager so you can easily personalize various sections of your menu.
You can use various themes available, so you do not need to build it from scratch.
Take advantage of the accordion-style menu to improve your customers’ shopping experience with product and category menu that fully integrates with WooCommerce, VirtueMart, redSHOP, Tienda, HikaShop, and more.

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Mega Main Menu is a feature-packed menu plugin that is a perfect multi-purpose menu. You can use it on practically any type of website. Turn your menu bar into a functional dashboard by adding icons, logos. Search function, sticky menu, and dropdowns. There are unlimited background options, such as flat colors, gradients, and even background images.

You can easily turn drop downs into an amazing mega menu. Add various content, such as links, texts, and images. You can even add dynamic content using widgets and shortcodes. The Mega Main Menu is fully responsive, so it looks good on both desktop and mobile screens.

Mega Main Menu is a multi-use menu that is packed with amazing features.
You can add various elements such as dropdowns, icons, logos, fonts, and animations.
Turn your dropdowns into an interactive mega menu by adding widgets and shortcodes.
The entire menu plugin is approved by the WPML team, which means it is configurable to accept multiple languages.

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Superfly takes advantage of the real estate offered by the vertical space on the browser window to create stunning navigation. You can use the side menu on its own or as a complement to your main menu. The plugin also offers a fullscreen mode to create a focused and distraction-free experience.

It comes with its own live editor, where you can preview your creations in real-time. Additionally, you can enhance the vertical navigation with various background options such as solid colors, transparency options, images, and even videos. You can also add eye-catching icons so visitors can easily identify various parts of your website.

Superfly is a vertical menu plugin that allows you to create unique navigation that will complement your website.
It is available in various menu modes such as a static menu, slide-in menu, skewed panel, compact icon navigation bar, and fullscreen mode.
You can also customize how the menu is enabled on various instances such as show or hide on mobile and desktop screens, show only for logged in users, show only on specific pages, and more.
It is fully responsive, and it will enhance the overall navigation experience on most mobile devices.

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Sky Mega Menu is perfect for websites with a clean and sophisticated look and feel. Its strength is its unlimited number of submenu levels that will never clutter your screen. Additionally, the menu plugin comes with three mobile versions so you can tailor-fit its look on small screens.

There are four animations available created using CSS3 such as slide, scale, tile, and fade. You can further customize the menu area with its nine color schemes that look modern. Also, you can choose from over 300 vector icons from Font Awesome to enhance the accessibility of your navigation.

Sky Mega Menu is a perfect option if you want a clean yet impactful menu on your website.
Its responsive design ensures that your visitors can easily navigate through your website, whether they are on a desktop computer or a smartphone.
If you do not want to create your stylish menu from scratch, you can use one of the 33 predesigned menu examples and start from there.
The menu plugin has been tested on most modern browsers to ensure consistent performance.

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Hero Menu allows you to create anything from the simplest menu bar to the most complex mega menu that will complement your hero section in just minutes. It includes an intuitive user interface so you can make adjustments right away. For further customizations, take advantage of the drag and drop menu builder so you can focus on creating the rest of your website.

The menu plugin offers endless possibilities with 60 color presets that were exclusively created by the in-house graphic designers. Additionally, your menu will always be responsive, so it looks good on practically any website.

Hero Menu is an amazing menu solution that you can add to any of your websites.
It includes various backend control functions such as an intuitive interface, drag and drop menu customizer, and even a mega menu builder.
The menu plugin package already includes 270 stunning icons created by Elegant Themes.
It is tested with various WordPress themes such as Salient, Divi, Karma, BeTheme, Enfold, Mobius, and more.

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Float Menu is a free WordPress plugin that provides a distraction-free menu solution that looks good on any type of website. Its unique style and placement on the browser window ensure that it is noticeable without diverting the attention of the visitors. It moves along with the rest of the page, which makes it perfect if you want to feature a list of content on an infinite feed.

This menu plugin increases the convenience and accessibility of your website. Additionally, you can make unlimited menu sets, which means you can take advantage of various areas of your website, specifically the left and the right side of the browser window.

Float Menu is a free menu plugin with a unique look and layout.
It is perfect for site navigation, contact block, additional menu, and even main menu.
You can customize each item on the menu with labels and icons.
You can choose from over 1,400 font styles from Font Awesome.

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AP Mega Menu is a free mega menu plugin that will allow you to achieve premium menu features without spending a penny. It is customizable using the integrated drag-and-drop editor, which means editing is blazing fast. You can create both a horizontal and a vertical style menu that will perfectly fit with any WordPress theme.

The menu plugin can enhance a simple menu bar into an entire header area. You can add dynamic functionality with various widgets that you can incorporate in just a few clicks. If you are not keen on starting from scratch, you can download various pre-designed skins and templates.

AP Mega Menu is a free WordPress menu plugin with premium features.
It supports flyout or mega menu styles of submenu.
You can quickly create your own mega menu with the integrated visual builder that includes a drag and drop function.
Add interactive content from product lists to blog feeds using widgets.

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WP Floating Menu is a 2-in-1 menu plugin. This dual-purpose menu functions as both a one-page navigation menu and a standard sticky menu. Its simple yet sophisticated design means it perfectly fits any WordPress theme. You have five templates to choose from so you can make it as striking or as plain as you want.

Much like any floating menus, you can place it on either left or right of the browser window. Also, it looks good on mobile devices. Creating your own menu is as simple as sorting the items in just a few clicks.

WP Floating Menu is a dual-purpose plugin that can serve as a standard sticky menu or a one-page navigation menu.
You can choose from five templates and three different icon sets to achieve any look that you want.
If you want to extend the look and feel of the menu, you can create a custom template to perfectly match your WordPress website.
The free version of the plugin comes with email and forum support.

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Advanced Sidebar Menu is a perfect complement to your existing web design. It can generate a menu of pages based on the parent-child structure of your website. That means you do not need complicated installation steps to get started.

Additionally, the menu retains a clean and simple style so you can easily add it to your website. You can set the order of the items on the menu by their date, title, and page order. You can even set the menu to display the high-level parent pages only.

Advanced Sidebar Menu is a perfect companion to your main menu without distracting from your content.
It can display pages and categories based on the structure of your website.
You can change the order of the menu items by page order, date, and title.
Easily add a title to the widget for better accessibility.

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Bellows Accordion Menu Lite is a perfect option if you want a sidebar menu that is a step above simplistic. The fully functional menu plugin incorporates an accordion-style structure enhanced by a smooth animation. You can add multiple submenu levels so you can showcase various pages of your website.

The free menu plugin includes an intuitive Bellows Control Panel that will allow you to customize various parts of the widget. In case you do not want to start from scratch, you have three skin presets that you can use in just a few clicks.

Bellows Accordion Menu Lite is a perfect sidebar menu to enhance the functionality and navigation of your website.
It features a fully functional accordion menu with smooth animation.
You can set the entire menu to allow single-folding or multi-folding functionality.
It is easy to add the accordion menu on any part of your website using the integration shortcode.

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WPB Accordion Menu is a fully-featured accordion menu that is a perfect complement to any main menu header. You can use the menu plugin as additional navigation to some of your webpages or as category access. The entire plugin itself is very lightweight, which means you can add various accordion menus on different areas of your website.

Additionally, it supports the shortcode system so you can use the menu on practically any page, post, or widget. Aside from menu accordion, it is also compatible with WooCommerce and other popular e-commerce plugins so you can showcase various product categories in an organized way.

WPB Accordion Menu is a fully-featured accordion menu that serves as perfect sidebar navigation or category menu.
It is very easy to use and customize with a builder that is fully integrated with the WordPress environment.
The menu plugin works with most WordPress themes.
If you are a developer, you can easily write custom code to extend its functionality.

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Mobile Menu Builder for WordPress is a little different from the rest of the menu plugins in this list. The free plugin was developed with mobile websites it mind. It mimics the common menu layout and style of mobile applications. The menu items are easily accessible using the thumbs.

The menu is lightweight, which means it does not have any effects on the loading time of the pages. It is fully responsive, which means it will perfectly fit any screen size. If you do not want to start from scratch, you can easily install one of the pre-designed themes.

Mobile Menu Builder for WordPress is specially designed to enhance the mobile experience of any website.
The menu plugin allows full control of its customization, so ensure that it fits your website perfectly.
While the default location of the menu is at the bottom of the screen, you can also place it on the top of the window, just like a standard menu.
You can enable the scroll animation, which allows you to hide or show the menu bar.

Conclusion

A website is only as good as its navigation. Even with one-page sites, the easier it is to locate sections and information, the better it performs. At its backbone, the good old menu ensures that your visitors are never lost.

Nowadays, the menu has evolved into different forms. It gave birth to various mega menu variations that can be considered mini pages themselves. You can add blog feeds, multimedia, forms, maps, and other content that are handled by widgets and shortcodes.

While it is easy to rely on the default menu that comes with your WordPress theme, installing a separate menu plugin will take your otherwise typical menu bar to an entire header section. It will enhance the experience of your visitors and encourage returning users.

Whether you have a free or premium WordPress theme, you can definitely find the perfect menu plugin from the list of well-tested extensions above.

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