Recently one of our users asked us if there was a way to add titles in WordPress menu without adding a link. By default, WordPress menu requires each menu item linked to a page or custom link. However when creating a drop down menu, you may you want to add a title for sub-menus without linking it to a specific page. For example, you can have a categories dropdown where you want to have the text categories be the title of the menu. In this article, we will show you how to add titles in WordPress menu without linking to a page.
First thing you need to do is add a new menu item in your menu. You can do that by going to Appearance » Menus. You want to add a custom link so give it the label you want. In the URL field, enter the # sign. Once done, click on the Add to Menu button. Save your menu once this custom link is added to the menu.
Now click on the drop down arrow next to this custom link to edit this menu item. Go ahead and remove the pound sign from the URL field and save your menu. If you go to your live website, then you will see a menu item without link. You can add sub menus to this menu item and link them to any page or custom link you want.
We hope that this article helped you add titles in WordPress menu without linking to a page or any URL. If you have any feedback or questions, then please leave a comment below.
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Hello,
I created a custom menu item in which I want to function as a label only, so I deleted the URL from that item, but it still shows a different color on mouse-over as if it was a link. How do I disable that hover effect from that item?
You can see it here: and the item is the ‘Written About Braunstein’s:’ in the menu below the logo.
Thanks
great work mate
I didn’t understand this … are there any more images that maybe show the finished product?
Thanks, it is brilliant and works!!!!
Thank you, it works like a charm.
Using Appearance>Menus,create a Custom Links item with the URL as
javascript: void(0);
This is the a great way of solving that problem
This has bugged my for a while but never did anything about it. Googled and bingo, sorted. So simple thank you.
Worked Perfect! So easy to follow! Thank you!
can you make a custom link, added to the primary navigation, open in a new window?
Thanks – really helpful!
Hi, How do I modify the styling of custom links? I want to separate two sets of menu items with separate non-clickable headings.
Thanks
Cheers for that. We were really stuck. Knew it could be done, but didn’t know how…until now. Yer a star
Thank you!! This is exactly what I needed to do and it has worked a treat.
Rosie
So simple! Just what I needed. Thank you.
Thank you! Exactly what I needed!
Thanks … but I do not want the words “Menu Item” to be in the menu … Can I change the name “Menu Items” ?
exactly what I needed to know! thank you!!
I was using categories to do this but this is much better. There is one problem that you might be able to help me with.
If a viewer was to click on the custom link the custom menu link will remain high lighted until you click on a sub item or some where else on the page. It is a minor thing but if it could be rectified it would make this fix for the menu even better. Is it possible to make this custom link menu button non-clickable using CSS??
Cheers! Works like a charm.
Oddly this doesn’t work on the iPad. Before the submenu can appear, it asks if you want to save the image? Works perfectly well when the drop down button has a normal page link, i.e, the menu item is drawn from ‘Pages’.
This is great – it works. However, the title of my drop-down menu has changed colour – from white to blue. Can anyone explain how I can correct this in wordpress?
Thanks for this, but wouldn’t it result in invalid HTML as I see you end up with an anchor/link element which has no href attribute. It would also be semantically incorrect to use and anchor/link element if the item isn’t actually a link. Is there a better way?
This didn’t work in my case :/ Have “converted” a menu which was a ul list of links into a registered wp_nav_menu and now the categories which where listed as wp_list_categories do NOT appear under the custom link as they used to. Somehow wp_list_categories has to be added still into the wp_nav_menu , and it’s not at all that simple as this post suggests. :/
except this is not working
followed exactly what you’ve written, added two categories us subpages, but submenu is not showing.
there must be some wp_list_categories thingy messing up my wp_nav_menu …
I love wpbeginner! Thanks for this tweak, cheers
Just what I am looking for. But when I place some pages as sub items under the new blank menu item it looks great until I save the menu and then those pages autmatically revert to the main menu! In other words WP 3.7.1 is not allowing me to save any sub menus to the new item. Can someone help me?
I did this on my extensive training website. However, I ran out of custom links, meaning I reached WordPress’s custom link limit. Going past this limit, the navigation menu no longer saves. So how do bypass this custom link limit? Is there a plugin? If so, I can’t find it.
Any help would be much, much appreciated.
You’ve probably solved this by now but, for anyone else reading this:
http://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-the-custom-menu-items-limit-in-wordpress/
Thanx dude it’s helpful for me
this is what i looking for to edit category dropdown menu in my website resellerhunter.com, thanks for helping.
I want to do something reverse. I want to add pages but not let them appear in menus. I have around 20 pages and do not want 20 sub links in my menu. help is appreciated.
Go to the menus and uncheck the “Automatically add new top-level pages” Now if you want any page to appear at menu you will have to add by yourself.
Thank you! I’ve always wondered how to do this.:)
That’s some nice tut, really, thanks so much.
Is there any way when we left the mouse on that menu item who hasent got any link, not to change the mouse cursor? Practicaly the browser not to understand as a link?
Thanks.
You could just target the element in CSS with:
cursor:crosshair;
Nice tut, i never know this is possible.
Thank you for this post! Is it just me but does anyone else have trouble getting the drop down arrows on the menu screen to open up? When I click on the arrow, it simply moves the menu item down on the menu. I have to repeatedly do this until, finally, it will open. Any tips?
How would accomplish (change) the same thing on a web site WP v3 with already existing Menus?
Thanks
Thanks for the tip. I was trying to figure out how to do that. I just linked things back to home if I didn’t have a url. This works great!
what if you have already established a large menu bar? can you go back and change the first menu bar title to not connect to a page?
Yes, you can always adjust the menus. This technique is particularly helpful if you want to add dropdown items in your long menu bar.