Navigation menus help customers find their way around your store. Good navigation makes products easy to discover and pages easy to find. CartOS lets you create multiple menus for different parts of your store—header, footer, sidebar, and more.
Accessing navigation
Go to Online Store › Navigation to manage your menus. You'll see your existing menus listed here, typically a main menu (header) and footer menu by default.
Understanding menus
A menu is a list of links organized hierarchically. Each link can point to a collection, product, page, blog, or external URL. Links can be nested to create dropdown submenus.
Your theme determines where menus appear. Most themes have designated spots for:
- Main menu – Primary navigation in the header
- Footer menu – Links in the footer area
- Mobile menu – Sometimes a separate menu for mobile navigation
Some themes support additional menu locations like sidebars or secondary headers. Check your theme settings to see what's available.
Editing a menu
Click on a menu name to edit it. You'll see the current structure with all links and their hierarchy.
Adding a menu item
Click Add Menu Item to create a new link. You'll need to provide:
- Name – The text that appears in the menu (e.g., "Shop All", "About Us")
- Link – Where the menu item goes when clicked
Link types
The link field offers several options:
- Collections – Link to any collection in your store
- Products – Link directly to a specific product
- Pages – Link to pages you've created (About, Contact, FAQ, etc.)
- Blogs – Link to your blog or a specific blog post
- Policies – Link to policy pages (Privacy, Returns, etc.)
- Search – Link to the search page
- External URL – Link to any URL, including external sites
Start typing to search for items, or browse by category.
Reordering items
Drag menu items up or down to change their order. Items at the top appear first (left side in horizontal menus, top in vertical menus).
Removing items
Click the trash icon next to any menu item to remove it. This only removes the link from the menu—it doesn't delete the underlying page or collection.
Creating dropdown menus
Dropdown menus (also called nested menus or submenus) let you organize related links under a parent item. When customers hover over or click the parent, the children appear.
Nesting items
To create a dropdown, drag a menu item slightly to the right, under another item. It will indent, showing it's now a child of the item above. You can nest multiple levels deep, though most themes support 2-3 levels maximum.
For example, a "Shop" parent might have children like "Women's", "Men's", "Kids", and "Sale".
Parent links that don't go anywhere
Sometimes you want a parent item that just opens a dropdown without linking anywhere itself. For the link, enter # (hash symbol). This creates a non-linking parent that only serves to reveal its children.
Alternatively, link the parent to a collection that shows all products in those subcategories, giving customers a way to see everything.
Creating a new menu
Click Add Menu to create a new menu from scratch. Give it a name (this is internal—customers don't see it) and start adding items.
New menus aren't automatically displayed. You'll need to assign the menu to a location in your theme settings. Go to the theme editor and look for menu settings in the header, footer, or relevant section.
Main menu best practices
Your main navigation is prime real estate. Keep it focused:
Limit top-level items
Aim for 5-7 top-level items maximum. More than that overwhelms visitors and makes each item less prominent. If you have many categories, use dropdowns to organize them under fewer parent items.
Lead with products
Put shopping-related links first. "Shop", "Collections", or your main product categories should be prominent. Save "About" and "Contact" for the end or footer.
Use clear labels
Use words customers understand. "Shop" is clearer than "Products". "New Arrivals" is clearer than "Latest". Avoid internal jargon.
Consider the mobile experience
On mobile, your menu collapses into a hamburger menu. Test how your navigation feels on a phone. Deep nesting that works on desktop can be cumbersome on mobile.
Footer menu best practices
The footer is for secondary navigation—pages customers need but don't browse constantly:
- About Us
- Contact
- FAQ / Help
- Shipping Information
- Returns & Exchanges
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
Some stores also include quick links to popular collections or a "Shop" section in the footer for visitors who scroll all the way down.
Mega menus
Mega menus are large dropdown panels that show many links at once, often with images. They're useful for stores with large catalogs where a simple dropdown would be too long.
Not all themes support mega menus. If yours does, you'll typically configure it in the theme editor rather than just the navigation settings. Look for mega menu options in your header settings.
Mega menus often let you add featured collections, promotional images, or highlighted products alongside the navigation links.
Seasonal and promotional links
Add temporary menu items for sales and seasons:
- "Sale" or "Clearance" linking to a sale collection
- "Gift Guide" during holiday season
- "New Arrivals" for fresh inventory
- "Back to School" or other seasonal campaigns
Remember to remove or update these when they're no longer relevant. An outdated "Summer Sale" link in October looks neglected.
Multiple menus for different purposes
You might create several menus:
- Main menu – Primary header navigation
- Footer menu – Policies and secondary pages
- Footer shop menu – Quick links to collections (if your theme supports multiple footer menus)
- Mobile menu – Simplified navigation for small screens
- Sidebar menu – Collection or blog sidebar navigation
What menus you can use depends on your theme. Check theme settings to see available menu locations.
Linking to filtered collections
You can link to a collection with filters pre-applied. This is useful for creating menu items like "Red Dresses" that link to the Dresses collection filtered to red.
To do this, visit the collection on your store, apply the filters you want, and copy the URL from your browser. Use that full URL (including the filter parameters) as the link for your menu item.
External links
Link to external sites when relevant—your Instagram, a partner site, or a separate booking system. For external links, consider having them open in a new tab so customers don't leave your store entirely.
To open in a new tab, you'll typically need to configure this in the theme settings for external links, or add custom code.
Testing your navigation
After setting up your menus:
- Click every link to make sure it goes where expected
- Test dropdowns on desktop—do they appear smoothly?
- Test on mobile—is the menu easy to use on a small screen?
- Have someone unfamiliar with your store try to find a product. Watch where they struggle.
Navigation problems are a top cause of lost sales. If customers can't find what they want, they leave.
Common navigation structures
Small catalog (under 50 products)
Shop All | About | Contact
Simple and direct. Maybe add a "New" or "Sale" link if relevant.
Medium catalog with categories
Shop (dropdown: Women, Men, Kids, Sale) | Collections | About | Contact
Product categories in a dropdown, with secondary pages after.
Large catalog
Women (mega menu) | Men (mega menu) | Kids | Sale | About
Each major category gets prominent placement with rich dropdowns showing subcategories.
Single product type
Shop | How It Works | Our Story | FAQ
When you sell one thing, focus on education and story alongside shopping.
Updating menus
Navigation isn't set-and-forget. Update your menus when you:
- Add new collections or categories
- Run sales or promotions
- Create important new pages
- Discontinue product lines
- Notice customers struggling to find things
Review your navigation quarterly to make sure it still reflects how customers actually shop.