We are often asked by our users if there is a way to add titles to the WordPress menu without adding a link.
Over the years, we’ve helped thousands of users get started with WordPress. Setting up a menu is one of the most important things you can do when starting a new website.
However, when creating a dropdown menu, you may want to add a title for sub-menus without linking it to a specific page. This way, you’ll keep visitors on the same page.
In this article, we will show you how to add titles to the WordPress menu without linking to a page.
Why Add Menu Titles Without Linking to a Page?
WordPress offers multiple options for customizing your website, allowing you to reach your target audience and offer an exceptional user experience.
To provide a smooth user experience, your WordPress website must have a well-structured navigational menu. It makes it easy for users to find content and different pages on your site.
When you add menu titles, WordPress requires each menu to have a link to a page or a custom link by default. However, you may want to show a menu title but not link to a page under certain situations.
For example, you can have a categories dropdown where you want the title text to be ‘categories’ for the menu but don’t need to add a link. When users click on categories, it will simply open a sub-menu in the dropdown.
That being said, let’s look at how you can add a title to the WordPress menu without linking to a page.
Adding WordPress Menu Title Without Linking to a Page
The first thing you need to do is add a new menu item to your menu. You can do that by going to Appearance » Menus from your WordPress admin panel.
Note: If you don’t see the Appearance » Menus option, then you are using a block theme, and this tutorial won’t work for your theme.
Next, you want to add a custom link. You can see the ‘Custom Links’ options in the ‘Add menu items’ section.
If you don’t see Custom Links, then simply click the ‘Screen Options’ button on the top right corner of the screen. Next, check the box for ‘Custom Links’.
After that, you will need to enter a label or title for your menu item.
In the URL field, go ahead and enter the hashtag (#) symbol and click the ‘Add to Menu’ button.
Your menu item will now be added to the WordPress menu.
Next, you will need to click on the dropdown arrow next to this custom link to edit the menu item. Go ahead and remove the hashtag sign from the URL field and click the ‘Save Menu’ button.
You can add sub menus to this menu item and link them to any page or enter a custom link if you want.
If you need help adding the menu to your site, then please see our guide on how to add a navigation menu in WordPress.
Now, if you go to your WordPress blog, then you will see a menu item without a link.
We hope this article helped you learn how to add titles to the WordPress menu without linking to a page. You may also want to check out our guide on how to add social icons to WordPress menu and how to add a search bar to WordPress menu.
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Marit
Thank you! This was exactly the information I needed!
Ken
Just what I needed.
I was scratching my head wondering how I would be able to do this.
Then I came across this article, thank you very much.
Jon
This worked great, thanks!
Petur Kirke
One small thing missing in this article.
How to get rid of the hand (cursor: pointer), or is it only me, who have this problem ?
Scot
I’ve used this type of custom link in the top level of my primary menu, and it works great on the desktop. But on mobile devices, when I tap the custom link, it doesn’t open the sub menus below it, so none of those pages are available. Is there a way to fix that?
adnan
this was helpful thanks
Hamba Allah
thank you soo much :*
Luis Casanova
Thank you!
Just what I needed!
Steve
I added a title to my web site menu as you suggested using the # method but needed to remove it. I did so on Dashboard but it still shows on my site main menu and when opened it says “blank page” and that it is unsecure. How do it remove it.
WPBeginner Support
If you are using a caching plugin then please delete cached files. Also visit Menus screen to make sure that you have deleted the menu item. Don’t forget to click on the save menu item after removing or adding an item to the menu. Hope this helps.
Admin
Pam Hill
I have an existing menu that I need to remove page links from. How do I do that? I have 3 titles in the header that link to its own page. I do not want it to link to any page.
Danielle
OMG this was a life saver and I’d wish I found this about 6 mos ago….I’ve been trying to figure this out for the longest time. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Brendan Dunne
I used this method to solve my problem and it works great thanks.
However, the created menu header is not a page so when I go to map the sub pages, how do I structure them?
Marek
Hello,
I created a custom menu item in which I want to function as a label only, so I deleted the URL from that item, but it still shows a different color on mouse-over as if it was a link. How do I disable that hover effect from that item?
You can see it here: and the item is the ‘Written About Braunstein’s:’ in the menu below the logo.
Thanks
Susan Taunton
This is in response to Marek’s August 9th question about how to remove the hover effect from a non-linked menu title:
Marek,
You can use the browser development tool to identify that title’s menu-item-number and then use css to define the link, visited, hover, focus, active colors to all be the same and so remove the hover effect.
Example:
#menu-item-2036 a,
#menu-item-2036 a:link,
#menu-item-2036 a:visited,
#menu-item-2036 a:hover,
#menu-item-2036 a:focus,
#menu-item-2036 a:active {
color:#C1A45B;
}
Susan
Huzni Saud
great work mate
Penelope Whiteley
I didn’t understand this … are there any more images that maybe show the finished product?
Norbert
Thanks, it is brilliant and works!!!!
WILLIAM
Thank you, it works like a charm.
Rui
Using Appearance>Menus,create a Custom Links item with the URL as
javascript: void(0);
This is the a great way of solving that problem
Peter
This has bugged my for a while but never did anything about it. Googled and bingo, sorted. So simple thank you.
Annelisse Miller
Worked Perfect! So easy to follow! Thank you!
teri matelson
can you make a custom link, added to the primary navigation, open in a new window?
Matthias
Thanks – really helpful!
Rajit
Hi, How do I modify the styling of custom links? I want to separate two sets of menu items with separate non-clickable headings.
Thanks
Graham
Cheers for that. We were really stuck. Knew it could be done, but didn’t know how…until now. Yer a star
Rosie
Thank you!! This is exactly what I needed to do and it has worked a treat.
Rosie
Sanjay Nair
So simple! Just what I needed. Thank you.
Hayley
Thank you! Exactly what I needed!
Carol M. Smith
Thanks … but I do not want the words “Menu Item” to be in the menu … Can I change the name “Menu Items” ?
Leanne
exactly what I needed to know! thank you!!
Bob Varaleau
I was using categories to do this but this is much better. There is one problem that you might be able to help me with.
If a viewer was to click on the custom link the custom menu link will remain high lighted until you click on a sub item or some where else on the page. It is a minor thing but if it could be rectified it would make this fix for the menu even better. Is it possible to make this custom link menu button non-clickable using CSS??
Menno van der Krift
Cheers! Works like a charm.
Mike
Oddly this doesn’t work on the iPad. Before the submenu can appear, it asks if you want to save the image? Works perfectly well when the drop down button has a normal page link, i.e, the menu item is drawn from ‘Pages’.
George
This is great – it works. However, the title of my drop-down menu has changed colour – from white to blue. Can anyone explain how I can correct this in wordpress?
jhodgski
Thanks for this, but wouldn’t it result in invalid HTML as I see you end up with an anchor/link element which has no href attribute. It would also be semantically incorrect to use and anchor/link element if the item isn’t actually a link. Is there a better way?
viktoriana
This didn’t work in my case :/ Have “converted” a menu which was a ul list of links into a registered wp_nav_menu and now the categories which where listed as wp_list_categories do NOT appear under the custom link as they used to. Somehow wp_list_categories has to be added still into the wp_nav_menu , and it’s not at all that simple as this post suggests. :/
viktoriana
except this is not working
followed exactly what you’ve written, added two categories us subpages, but submenu is not showing.
there must be some wp_list_categories thingy messing up my wp_nav_menu …
bb
I love wpbeginner! Thanks for this tweak, cheers
Rob Lowndes
Just what I am looking for. But when I place some pages as sub items under the new blank menu item it looks great until I save the menu and then those pages autmatically revert to the main menu! In other words WP 3.7.1 is not allowing me to save any sub menus to the new item. Can someone help me?
Wayne Gerald
I did this on my extensive training website. However, I ran out of custom links, meaning I reached WordPress’s custom link limit. Going past this limit, the navigation menu no longer saves. So how do bypass this custom link limit? Is there a plugin? If so, I can’t find it.
Any help would be much, much appreciated.
Joe Dean
You’ve probably solved this by now but, for anyone else reading this:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-the-custom-menu-items-limit-in-wordpress/
kuldip
Thanx dude it’s helpful for me
Muhlis
this is what i looking for to edit category dropdown menu in my website resellerhunter.com, thanks for helping.
grrprep
I want to do something reverse. I want to add pages but not let them appear in menus. I have around 20 pages and do not want 20 sub links in my menu. help is appreciated.
CHRIS
Go to the menus and uncheck the “Automatically add new top-level pages” Now if you want any page to appear at menu you will have to add by yourself.
Janet
Thank you! I’ve always wondered how to do this.:)
Jake Tyler
That’s some nice tut, really, thanks so much.
Chris
Is there any way when we left the mouse on that menu item who hasent got any link, not to change the mouse cursor? Practicaly the browser not to understand as a link?
Thanks.
Mike Ott
You could just target the element in CSS with:
cursor:crosshair;
Buck
Nice tut, i never know this is possible.
Beth Pittman
Thank you for this post! Is it just me but does anyone else have trouble getting the drop down arrows on the menu screen to open up? When I click on the arrow, it simply moves the menu item down on the menu. I have to repeatedly do this until, finally, it will open. Any tips?
Lorne
How would accomplish (change) the same thing on a web site WP v3 with already existing Menus?
Thanks
SmittenbyBritain
Thanks for the tip. I was trying to figure out how to do that. I just linked things back to home if I didn’t have a url. This works great!
bob
what if you have already established a large menu bar? can you go back and change the first menu bar title to not connect to a page?
Editorial Staff
Yes, you can always adjust the menus. This technique is particularly helpful if you want to add dropdown items in your long menu bar.
Admin