Edit a Menu
A sidebar menu is a block used to navigate across one section of a website.
Interactive Walkthrough
Instructions
A "_menu" block is located in each department folder.
This block affects the sidebar menu of every page in the folder, including pages in subfolders. If a subfolder contains its own "_menu" block, it will override the sidebar menu for that folder.
To edit a sidebar menu:
- In Cascade, click on the "_menu" block you want to edit
- In the page menu, click "Edit"
This will open the editor, where you can add items to the menu list.
Add a Single Menu Item
To add a single menu item:
- In the menu block, create a new bullet point
- Highlight the text of the bullet point, then click "Insert/edit link"
- Add an internal link and click "Ok"
Add a Dropdown Submenu
To add a dropdown submenu:
- In the menu block, create a new bullet point
- Highlight the text of the bullet point, then click "Insert/edit link"
- Enter only the "Text to display", then click "Ok"
This will create an empty link, which will serve as the toggle for the submenu. From there, you can add links to the list nested under your submenu toggle.
Publish a Menu
To publish a menu:
- In the sidebar, right-click on the folder containing the menu block
- In the dropdown, click "Publish"
- In the modal, click "Publish" to confirm
This will publish all pages in the folder, updating the menu in the process.
Best Practices
Avoid External Links
The sidebar menu is intended for navigating between pages in the current section of the website. It should not be used for linking to pages outside of the university website.
While links to other department pages in the sidebar menu are sometimes necessary, it can be confusing for users to navigate and should be avoided.
Organize the Menu
The ideal size for sidebar menus is five to seven items. Menus with many items should be organized with dropdown submenus.
When using submenus:
- Group relevant links together
- Mirror the website layout
For example, all of the pages under the "cms-training/editing" folder are located in the sidebar menu under a dropdown called "Using the Editor".
Coming up Next
Learn how to edit the callout contact. This section covers how to publish callout contacts and best practices for writing contact information.
To get started, see How to Edit a Callout Contact