Pages, Categories and Custom Links Can Be Selected for a Custom Horizontal Menu Bar
Horizontal menu or navigation bar refers to the menu items that show up in WordPress Theme Twenty Twelve across the top. You can create custom navigation bars for other themes as well following similar steps.
The Default Menu Automatically Shows the Pages Labels
In theme twenty twelve the default menu that is automatically created by the installed theme lists the content by label or title that is in the Pages. This means if you create a Page with a title of About or Tutorials then these names will automatically show up in the navigation bar. They will automatically be linked to the Pages that have those titles.
Custom Navigation Menus Can Show Pages, Categories and Custom Links
A custom menu for the horizontal menu bar changes the default or automatic menu. In WordPress you are able to create a custom menu fairly easily that uses any Categories, Pages or Custom Links that you wish to have in your custom navigation menu. This is a great way to customize your website or blog so that it more nearly fits your purpose.
Categories that you can include in the custom menu refer to the categories that you create for the Posts. These Categories refer to the topics or subjects that are in the Posts you create. So if you list a Category such as Tutorials then when someone clicks on the word Tutorials in the Custom Menu all of the Posts listed as Tutorials will be listed. They will appear with the title and the content below it. (If you’ve added page breaks then there will just be an excerpt from the beginning of the post and a place to click to continue reading.)
Steps to Create a Custom Menu for the Horizontal Menu Bar
1. Go to your Dashboard and to Appearance.
2. Go to Menus under Appearance
3. At the top in the center of the Menu screen it says “Menu Name.”
4. Type in a name you would like to call your Custom Menu because in a moment you will need to choose this menu name in another place on the screen. Click the Save button to the right so Save the menu name.
5. Click the down Arrow on the box in the upper left of the menu screen under Theme Locations and Primary Menu. Choose the name of the new menu you just entered in the Menu Name box.
6. There is a Custom Link box below the Menu Name box on the left. If you want to add a name and a link go ahead and enter it there. For instance perhaps you want to put your youtube channel link there. Type in the link to your channel and in the box that says label type Youtube Channel. Actually there are social media icons that are used for people to jump to your youtube channel but this is just an example of how it works.
7. Put check marks in the boxes on the left under Pages to indicate which Pages you want to select to be in the Custom Menu. For example if you have a Page titled About and a Page titled Contact (for an email contact form so visitors can send you messages) you could select those to be in the Custom Menu.
8. Put check marks in the boxes on the left under Categories to select which categories you want to have in the Custom Menu. For example if you have a Category labeled WordPress Tutorials you might put a check mark in the box next to that label.
9. The Page labels, Categories, and Custom Links will automatically show up in the center of the screen in a list. You can click on them and drag them up or down to put them in the order you choose. You can also click on a label and drag it to right to indent it if you want that menu item to pop out when someone lets their mouse hover over a label above it.
10. Edit or delete the labels by putting your mouse over the small arrow at the right hand end of the label, which causes the edit functions to show up.
11. Click the Save buttons to Save all of your work.
12. When you check the front end of your website, that part that is visible to the public, you will see your new Custom Navigation Menu.