Now that you have your content, you will need to determine how to organize it all within your menu structure.

Your Main Menu is the navigation bar just below your agency name on every page of your site. It is designed to show up to 7 top-level menu items, and when you hover your mouse over one of these items, that section’s second-level items will show. You can actually organize your site to use up to 4 levels of menu items, as in the example below:

About Us

Office Locations

Cobb County

Fulton County

Alpharetta

Atlanta

Board of Directors

News and Events

Programs and Services

Forms

Contact Us

But, as with your content, we recommend keeping the navigation as simple as possible. If you can get all your information across in just 2 or 3 levels of navigation, that’s great!

You should also be sure to use simple phrases for menu items —1 or 2 words — for menu items to allow for quick scanability.

Finally, keep in mind that your navigation menu is for linking to pages within your website. Don’t plan on linking to an external website or PDF document from your navigation menu.

If you have just a few pages of content for your site, you will have a pretty easy time planning your menu structure. But if you have a larger site, you may want to look into an online tool such as Optimal Workshop to help you and your group organize your content. You can also consult with Digital Services Georgia for suggestions — that’s what we’re here for!