Using WordPress ‘register_nav_menus()’ PHP function

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The register_nav_menus() WordPress PHP function registers navigation menu locations for a theme.

Usage

register_nav_menus( array(
    'primary_menu' => __( 'Primary Menu', 'text_domain' ),
    'footer_menu' => __( 'Footer Menu', 'text_domain' ),
) );

Parameters

  • $locations string[] (Optional): Associative array of menu location identifiers (like a slug) and descriptive text. Default: array()

More information

See WordPress Developer Resources: register_nav_menus()

Examples

Registers a primary and footer menu for a theme.

function mytheme_register_nav_menu() {
    register_nav_menus( array(
        'primary_menu' => __( 'Primary Menu', 'text_domain' ),
        'footer_menu' => __( 'Footer Menu', 'text_domain' ),
    ) );
}
add_action( 'after_setup_theme', 'mytheme_register_nav_menu', 0 );

Registers a PluginBuddy Mobile Navigation menu and a custom Footer menu.

register_nav_menus( array(
    'pluginbuddy_mobile' => 'PluginBuddy Mobile Navigation Menu',
    'footer_menu' => 'My Custom Footer Menu',
) );

Create menus from custom taxonomies

Creates menus for each term in the ‘country-category’ taxonomy.

$tax = 'country-category';
$terms = get_terms( $tax, [ 'hide_empty' => false, ] );
$args = array(
    'primary' => __( 'Primary Menu', 'khoipro' ),
    'secondary' => __( 'Secondary Menu', 'khoipro' )
);

foreach ( $terms as $term ) {
    $args[ $term->slug ] = $term->name;
}
register_nav_menus( $args );

Refactor menu slugs

Update menu location after renaming the slug in register_nav_menu().

function cebbi_update_menu_location() {
    $nav_menu_locations = get_theme_mod('nav_menu_locations');

    if (isset($nav_menu_locations['old-slug'])) {
        if (!isset($nav_menu_locations['new-slug']) || $nav_menu_locations['new-slug'] === 0) {
            $nav_menu_locations['new-slug'] = $nav_menu_locations['old-slug'];
            unset($nav_menu_locations['old-slug']);
            set_theme_mod('nav_menu_locations', $nav_menu_locations);
        }
    }
}
add_action('after_setup_theme', 'cebbi_update_menu_location');

Register a sidebar menu

Registers a sidebar menu for a theme.

function mytheme_register_sidebar_menu() {
    register_nav_menus( array(
        'sidebar_menu' => __( 'Sidebar Menu', 'text_domain' ),
    ) );
}
add_action( 'after_setup_theme', 'mytheme_register_sidebar_menu', 0 );