---
title: Editing the site menus
excerpt: Change links in the mega menus, footer and header sub-navigation strip, and know which changes are safe to make yourself.
tags: [menus, navigation, footer, header]
target: client:brentwood
---

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<p>This is an advanced guide. The site's navigation — the nine mega menus, the footer, and the header sub-navigation strip — is built from several linked pieces rather than one simple menu. Changing a link's text or web address is quick and safe. Restructuring a menu (moving sections around, changing its layout) takes more care and isn't covered here — go slowly, and check the live site after every change.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What are the site menus, and where do I edit them?</h2>
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<p>The navigation is built from two kinds of screen that work together:</p>
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<!-- BWG-SHOT id="menus-elements-list" path="/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=kadence_element" region="the Elements list table" caption="The eleven navigation elements: nine mega menus, the header sub-nav, and the footer." -->

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<p><code>Appearance → Elements</code> — the eleven building blocks of the site's navigation: the nine mega menu panels, <strong>Header: Inner Subnav</strong>, and <strong>Footer</strong>. Each one controls layout — background images, columns, headings. This guide doesn't cover changing layout.</p>
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<!-- BWG-SHOT id="menus-navigations-list" path="/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=kadence_navigation" region="the Navigations list table under the Kadence menu" caption="Open a navigation here to edit the links inside a mega menu or footer column." -->

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<p><code>Kadence → Navigations</code> — its own item in the left-hand menu — holds the actual lists of links shown inside most mega menus and the two footer columns. This is where almost all everyday menu edits happen.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>Menu</th><th>Where its links live</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Mega Menu: Academics, Admissions, Arts, Athletics, Brentwood Family, Giving, Student Life, Why Brentwood</td><td>Open the matching name under <code>Kadence → Navigations</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>Mega Menu: Regatta</td><td>It's a single promotional link on its element, not a list — edit it under <code>Appearance → Elements</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>Footer's two link columns</td><td>Open <em>Footer Menu 1</em> or <em>Footer Menu 2</em> under <code>Kadence → Navigations</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>Footer's icon buttons</td><td>Edit them directly on the <strong>Footer</strong> element, under <code>Appearance → Elements</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>Header sub-navigation strip</td><td>Not an element or a navigation — see below.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>
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<div class="wp-block-group bw-callout"><!-- wp:paragraph {"className":"bw-callout-label"} -->
<p class="bw-callout-label">Note</p>
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<p>An element and a navigation can share the same name — for example there's both an element and a navigation called <strong>Mega Menu: Academics</strong>. The element is the outer panel; the navigation is the list of links inside it. For a link change, you only ever need the navigation.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How do I change a menu link or its text?</h2>
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<p>Most links live in a navigation.</p>
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<!-- BWG-SHOT id="menus-edit-link" path="/wp-admin/post.php?post=22231&action=edit" region="a link block selected in the editor, showing its text and the link toolbar" caption="Click a link, then use the link icon in its toolbar to change where it goes." -->

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<ol class="wp-block-list bw-steps"><!-- wp:list-item -->
<li>Go to <code>Kadence → Navigations</code> in the left-hand menu.</li>
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<li>Open the one you want — for example <strong>Mega Menu: Academics</strong> or <strong>Footer Menu 1</strong>.</li>
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<li>Click directly on the link's text and type to change it.</li>
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<li>Click the link icon in the small toolbar above it, replace the web address, and press Enter.</li>
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<li>Click <strong>Update</strong>.</li>
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<div class="wp-block-group bw-callout"><!-- wp:paragraph {"className":"bw-callout-label"} -->
<p class="bw-callout-label">Note</p>
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<p><strong>Mega Menu: Regatta</strong> and the footer's icon buttons aren't navigations — they're single links set directly on their element. Open them under <code>Appearance → Elements</code>, then click the linked text or icon and use the same link icon to change it.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How do I add a link to a menu?</h2>
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<p>The easiest way to add a link is to copy one that's already there, so it keeps the same style and spacing.</p>
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<li>Open the navigation under <code>Kadence → Navigations</code> (see <a href="#bw-how-do-i-change-a-menu-link-or-its-text">How do I change a menu link or its text?</a>).</li>
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<li>Click the link most like the one you want to add.</li>
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<li>Open its <strong>Options</strong> menu (the ⋮ icon) and choose <strong>Duplicate</strong>.</li>
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<li>Click the new copy and change its text and web address.</li>
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<li>Drag it into position using the handle on the left of the block.</li>
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<li>Click <strong>Update</strong>.</li>
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<p>To remove a link instead, click it, open the same <strong>Options</strong> menu, and choose <strong>Delete</strong>.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How do I change what shows in the header sub-navigation bar?</h2>
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<p>Some pages show a strip of section links just under the header. Unlike the mega menus, this strip isn't set on an element — it's chosen per page.</p>
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<!-- BWG-SHOT id="menus-subnav-box" path="/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=page" region="the Sub Nav box in the right-hand sidebar" caption="Choose which menu shows as the sub-navigation strip on this page, and whether it carries down to its child pages." -->

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<li>Open the page — or landing page — you want to change, under <code>Pages</code> or <code>Landing Pages</code>.</li>
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<li>In the <strong>Sub Nav</strong> box in the right-hand sidebar, set <strong>Sub nav on this page</strong> to the menu you want — or choose <strong>Hide</strong> to show nothing, or <strong>Breadcrumb</strong> to show a trail of parent pages instead of a menu.</li>
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<li>To make every page underneath this one show the same strip automatically, set <strong>Sub nav for child pages</strong> to that menu too — do this once, on the top page of the section.</li>
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<li>Click <strong>Update</strong>.</li>
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<p>The links inside each of these menus (for example <strong>Why Brentwood Sub Nav</strong>) are ordinary WordPress menus. To change them, go to <code>Appearance → Menus</code>, choose the menu from the dropdown at the top, and add, remove or reorder items as usual. Only the top-level items show in the strip — indented (nested) items are ignored.</p>
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<div class="wp-block-group bw-callout bw-callout-warning"><!-- wp:paragraph {"className":"bw-callout-label"} -->
<p class="bw-callout-label">Important</p>
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<p>The mega menus and footer appear on every page of the site; the header sub-navigation strip appears across a whole section. A navigation or element saves live as soon as you click <strong>Update</strong> — there's no draft or preview step there — so double-check the text and web address before you save, then check the live site afterward. For anything bigger than a link change, take it slowly and test as you go.</p>
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