Mega navigation

Header

A Mega navigation menu displays menu links in multiple columns so customers can browse large catalogs quickly and easily. Add multiple sub-menus along with a featured image, text, and links to customize your mega nav.

Why is the mega nav not working in other languages?

If you've translated your store using an app, make sure the "Parent dropdown link" name is not translated, as this will break the mega nav. See instructions below for fixing translated mega navigations.

Mega nav with collection images

Watch video tutorial

Watch the tutorial video below for a step-by-step walkthrough to set up your mega nav menus.

1. Create nested menu list

The mega navigation menu uses the Main menu selected in the Header section settings. For the mega navigation, you first need to create a nested menu with 3 levels of links.

We will look at our Cornerstone Artisan demo as an example:

In the Artisan demo, the top-level link is "Shop" with four nested sub-menus.

The 2nd-level links ("Shop by type", "Shop by occasion", etc.) display as titles for each column and contains the 3rd-level links.

Here's what the Main menu looks like for the Artisan demo in the Shopify admin with the three nested link levels:

STEPS

In your Shopify admin:

1. Click Navigation under Online Store in the admin panel.

   
2. Select the Main menu or the menu you want to edit.

3. Add a top-level link (for example: "Shop") in your Main menu that will open the mega nav and contain the nested sub-menus.

4. Add your 2nd-level menu links and use the drag handles ⋮⋮ to move them under the top-level link.

   

   In the Artisan demo, the 2nd-level links are "Shop by type", "Shop by occasion", "Shop by style", and "Shop by color".

5. Add your 3rd-level menu links and use the drag handles ⋮⋮ to move them under the 2nd-level links.

   In the Artisan demo, the 3rd level links are collection pages.

6. Click Save.

2. Add mega nav menus

Once you have created your nested menus, you can now add mega nav blocks to your Header in the theme editor.

There are 5 available mega nav blocks with different styles and features.

Default	Display a basic mega nav with a custom header and navigation layout.
Promotions	Display multiple promo areas with featured images and links to your products, collections, or other pages.
Collection images	Display collection images in the mega nav when visitors hover over collection links.
Promoted products	Display and link to selected products with their details and thumbnail image.
Promoted collections	Display and link to selected collections with their title and image.

STEPS

In your theme editor (Customize):

1. Click the arrow beside the Header section.

2. Click (+) Add block and choose either the Compact mega menu or Full width mega menu.

3. Enter the exact name of the top-level link (e.g. "Shoes") in the Dropdown parent link field.

   

   If you have multiple languages enabled, you need to add separate mega nav blocks for each language. Duplicate the first mega nav block and enter the translated name of the top-level link for the Dropdown parent link. For step-by-step instructions, refer to Multi-lingual mega navs steps.

4. Use the Column count display your menu lists in 1, 2, 3, or 4 columns.

5. (For Compact menu.) Use the Total column width slider to expand the total width of the mega nav and the space between the menu lists and image.

6. Choose whether to show Column dividers.

7. Click Save.

Translating mega navigations

When translating your theme, make sure the "Dropdown parent link" text from the mega nav settings is not translated.

If you've auto-translated your theme, the parent link text may have been translated, which will break the mega nav for other languages.

If you're using the Translate & Adapt app ↗, go to Section groups > Header Group. In the default language column, find the name used for the dropdown parent link. Delete all translations for the parent link and click Save.

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Related links

Header Layout and style Logo Transparent header Mobile menu Search bar