classic-theme-navigation-menus

Classic Theme Navigation Menus

Use this when adding or reviewing classic theme menus, header navigation, footer navigation, social/menu locations, mobile menu toggles, menu filters, or custom walkers.

When to Use This Skill

• Registering menu locations in a classic theme.
• Rendering wp_nav_menu() in header.php, footer.php, or a template part.
• Adding a mobile menu toggle.
• Preventing WordPress from silently falling back to page lists.
• Adding classes/attributes to menu links.
• Reviewing custom Walker_Nav_Menu code.

Register Menu Locations

Register locations on after_setup_theme.

add_action( 'after_setup_theme', 'mytheme_register_menus' );

function mytheme_register_menus() {
	register_nav_menus(
		array(
			'primary' => __( 'Primary menu', 'textdomain' ),
			'footer'  => __( 'Footer menu', 'textdomain' ),
		)
	);
}

Rules:

• Location keys must be strings.
• Prefix unusual location keys if they might collide in shared code.
• register_nav_menus() automatically adds theme support for menus.
• Do not register menu locations from template files.

Render a Menu

Use wp_nav_menu() with an explicit location and fallback behavior.

if ( has_nav_menu( 'primary' ) ) :
	?>
	<button
		class="menu-toggle"
		type="button"
		aria-controls="primary-menu"
		aria-expanded="false"
	>
		<?php esc_html_e( 'Menu', 'textdomain' ); ?>
	</button>

	<?php
	wp_nav_menu(
		array(
			'theme_location'       => 'primary',
			'container'            => 'nav',
			'container_id'         => 'site-navigation',
			'container_class'      => 'main-navigation',
			'container_aria_label' => __( 'Primary menu', 'textdomain' ),
			'menu_id'              => 'primary-menu',
			'menu_class'           => 'primary-menu',
			'fallback_cb'          => false,
			'depth'                => 3,
		)
	);
endif;

Rules:

• Use theme_location; do not render an arbitrary first menu by accident.
• Use fallback_cb => false unless a page-list fallback is a deliberate design decision.
• Use unique menu_id values. Duplicate IDs break toggles and accessibility.
• Use container => 'nav' plus container_aria_label for landmark clarity.
• If there is no assigned menu, render nothing or a deliberate setup/help state for administrators only.