In today’s smartphone era, an increasing number of people are using mobile devices like smartphones and tablets to access the internet.
They spend most of their online time on smartphones rather than desktop computers. That’s why it’s really important to make sure your website’s navigation menu works well and looks good on mobile devices.
Before proceeding, pause for a moment to gain insight into the mobile responsive WordPress navigation menu and its significance.
What Is Mobile Responsive WordPress Menu And Why We Need It?
This, in turn, can affect your ability to achieve critical goals such as increased sales, and business expansion.
Furthermore, there are several other compelling reasons for crafting a mobile-responsive menu.
First of all, it makes your website user-friendly and matches the needs of mobile visitors.
Furthermore, it helps in conserving valuable screen space on mobile devices, as the menu occupies less space compared to a standard menu.
What’s more, it can significantly boost your search engine optimization efforts (SEO), as mobile users will be more likely to click on links that are easily visible and navigable.
Apart from this, a mobile-responsive menu tends to keep visitors on your site for longer durations as they find it easy to navigate. This further results in reduced bounce rates.
Now let’s quickly explore the way how to create a mobile responsive navigation menu in WordPress.
How to Create Mobile-responsive Navigation Menu in WordPress?
There are different methods for creating a mobile-responsive navigation menu. Let’s delve into each of them step by step.
1. Create A Responsive Slide Panel Menu In WordPress Using A Plugin
It’s a smart way to keep the menu easily accessible on small screens without eating up much space. This is important for mobile devices where screen space is limited.
One of the easiest and recommended approaches for beginners to create a mobile-responsive navigation menu in WordPress is using a plugin- Responsive Menu. The best part about this method is that it can be implemented without coding.
To proceed, install and activate the plugin- “Responsive Menu”. If you find any difficulty during the plugin installation and activation process, you can seek professional support.
Once the plugin is active, you’ll notice a new menu item labeled “Responsive Menu” in the WordPress Admin Bar.
Click on this menu item, and it will take you to the plugin’s settings page. Here, you can select the menu you’d like to use for your responsive navigation.
If you haven’t created a menu yet, you can easily do so by navigating to “Appearance” and then “Menu.”One crucial option on this page is to assign a CSS class to your existing non-responsive menu. This class will allow the plugin to hide the non-responsive menu on smaller screens. Remember to save your settings by clicking the “Update Options” button.
Now, visit your website and adjust the browser’s screen size to witness the responsive menu in action. If you wish to fine-tune the appearance and behavior of your responsive menu, you can explore these options on the plugin’s settings page and customize them to suit your preferences.
2. Creating Fullscreen Mobile-ready Navigation Menu
For this purpose, a user-friendly plugin such as FullScreen Menu can be employed.
After installing and activating this plugin, click on the “FullScreen Menu Options” in the WordPress menu and enable the “Activate Animated Fullscreen Menu” option. You can also choose to restrict menu visibility to admin users only until it’s ready for the public.
You can customize the menu’s appearance by changing colors, fonts, and animation settings. However, be cautious while adding fonts, as it can affect performance, particularly on mobile devices with limited processing power and slower internet connections.
After this scroll down to the “Animation Settings” section which allows you to select the animation type when the menu expands upon clicking the toggle icon. Once the setup is done, proceed to add content by selecting the menu you wish to display in fullscreen.
Additional content or custom HTML can be incorporated into the menu, along with a link to your privacy policy page. For added convenience, you can also include social media icons at the menu’s bottom.
To improve site navigation, consider adding a WordPress search bar, with the option to customize the placeholder text.
Once you are done with configuring the menu to your liking, save the changes. Now visit your website on a mobile device or use the WordPress theme customizer to preview the mobile version and witness the mobile-responsive fullscreen menu in action.
This is how you can create a mobile responsive navigation menu in WordPress and offer a seamless user experience to your site visitors.
