Mega navigation

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Theme retirement Ira is no longer available on the Shopify theme store. Theme support and updates for current users will end after May 18, 2024. Learn more here.

Update | New mega navigations blocks were added to v4.0 on April 27 2022. See our changelog and theme update guide to learn more.

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.

Note | If you have multiple languages enabled, you need to add separate mega nav blocks for each language. After adding a mega nav block in your default language, set up Multi-lingual mega navs by using translated link names for the Dropdown parent link.

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 the Ira Active demo as an example:

In the Ira Active demo, the top-level link is "Shop" with three nested sub-menus. Clicking the Shop link opens the mega navigation menu.

The 2nd-level links ("Womens", “Mens”, "Limited edition"…) display as titles for each column and contains the 3rd-level links to collections.

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: "Footwear") 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 Ira demo, the second-level links are "Womens", "Mens", "Limited Edition", and "Collections".

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

  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.

Note | If you have multiple languages enabled, you need to add separate mega nav blocks for each language. After adding a mega nav block in your default language, set up Multi-lingual mega navs by using translated link names for the Dropdown parent link.

The Two-column dropdown mega nav displays a column of 2nd-level links next to a featured image. When collection links are hovered over, the collection image will appear automatically.

STEPS

In your theme editor (Customize):

  1. Click the (+) Add block button.

  2. Select the Two-column dropdown and click on the block to open the settings.

  3. Enter the exact name of the top-level link (e.g. "Shop") 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 below.

  4. (Optional.) Select a Featured image to display inside the mega navigation menu. (Desktop only).

    When a collection link is hovered over, that collection's featured image will appear automatically.

    To add a collection image, go to Products > Collections in your Shopify Admin.

  5. Click Save.

5-column mega navs

The five-column navigation displays five columns of links with a featured image, caption text, and featured link.

STEPS

In your theme editor (Customize):

  1. Click the (+) Add block button.

  2. Select the 5-column navigation block and click on the block to open the settings.

  3. Enter the exact name of the top-level link (e.g. "Shop") 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.

  4. (Optional.) Select a Featured image to display inside the mega navigation menu. (Desktop only).

  5. (Optional.) Underneath the featured image, add a Featured image caption.

  6. Add a Featured image link and link text to display below the feature image.

  7. To make your images a uniform shape and size, select the Image aspect ratio to crop your images to Square, Landscape, or Portrait.

    The default Natural setting will display the original orientation of each image.

  8. Select the Image focal point to choose which section of the image to keep centered within the slide.

    This setting ensures the key part of your image appears when cropping occurs.

  9. Click Save.

5-column mega navs w/ images

The five-column navigation displays five columns of links with a featured image for each column.

STEPS

In your theme editor (Customize):

  1. Click the (+) Add block button.

  2. Select the 5-column navigation w/ images block and click on the block to open the settings.

  3. Enter the exact name of the top-level link (e.g. "Shop") 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.

  4. (Optional.) Select a Column image to display above each column of links.

  5. To make your images a uniform shape and size, select the Image aspect ratio to crop your images to Square, Landscape, or Portrait.

    The default Natural setting will display the original orientation of each image.

  6. Select the Image focal point to choose which section of the image to keep centered within the slide.

    This setting ensures the key part of your image appears when cropping occurs.

  7. Click Save.

Add multi-lingual mega navs

If your store has multiple languages, you need to add separate mega nav blocks for each language, and enter the translated link name for the Dropdown parent link.

For example, if your store has 2 languages (English and German), you will need 2 mega nav blocks. For the first mega nav block, use the default language for the Dropdown parent link (e.g. "Shoes"). For the second mega nav block, use the translated link name for the Dropdown parent link (e.g. "Schuhe" for German).

STEPS

In your theme editor (Customize):

  1. Click the arrow beside the Header section.

  2. Click on the mega nav block that uses the default language.

  3. Click More ... at the top of the block settings, and select Duplicate.

    The duplicated block settings will open after you click Duplicate.

  4. Enter the translation of the top-level link name in the Dropdown parent link field.

    For example, if the default link name is "Shoes", enter the translated link name "Schuhe" for German.

    You can check the exact word for the translated link by using the language selector in the theme editor preview.

  5. If your mega nav block has promotional text, add translations in the block setting or in your translation app.

  6. Click Save.

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