wp_nav_menu( array $args = array() ): void|string|false

Displays a navigation menu.

Parameters

$argsarrayoptional
Array of nav menu arguments.
  • menu int|string|WP_Term
    Desired menu. Accepts a menu ID, slug, name, or object.
  • menu_class string
    CSS class to use for the ul element which forms the menu.
    Default 'menu'.
  • menu_id string
    The ID that is applied to the ul element which forms the menu.
    Default is the menu slug, incremented.
  • container string
    Whether to wrap the ul, and what to wrap it with.
    Default 'div'.
  • container_class string
    Class that is applied to the container.
    Default ‘menu-{menu slug}-container’.
  • container_id string
    The ID that is applied to the container.
  • container_aria_label string
    The aria-label attribute that is applied to the container when it’s a nav element.
  • fallback_cb callable|false
    If the menu doesn’t exist, a callback function will fire.
    Default is 'wp_page_menu'. Set to false for no fallback.
  • before string
    Text before the link markup.
  • after string
    Text after the link markup.
  • link_before string
    Text before the link text.
  • link_after string
    Text after the link text.
  • echo bool
    Whether to echo the menu or return it. Default true.
  • depth int
    How many levels of the hierarchy are to be included.
    0 means all. Default 0.
    Default 0.
  • walker object
    Instance of a custom walker class.
  • theme_location string
    Theme location to be used. Must be registered with register_nav_menu() in order to be selectable by the user.
  • items_wrap string
    How the list items should be wrapped. Uses printf() format with numbered placeholders. Default is a ul with an id and class.
  • item_spacing string
    Whether to preserve whitespace within the menu’s HTML.
    Accepts 'preserve' or 'discard'. Default 'preserve'.

Default:array()

Return

void|string|false Void if 'echo' argument is true, menu output if 'echo' is false.
False if there are no items or no menu was found.

More Information

Usage

wp_nav_menu( $args );

Given a theme_location parameter, the function displays the menu assigned to that location. If no such location exists or no menu is assigned to it, the parameter fallback_cb will determine what is displayed.

If not given a theme_location parameter, the function displays

  • the menu matching the ID, slug, or name given by the menu parameter;
  • otherwise, the first non-empty menu;
  • otherwise (or if the menu given by menu is empty), output of the function given by the fallback_cb parameter (wp_page_menu(), by default);
  • otherwise nothing.

The following classes are applied to menu items, i.e. to the HTML <li> tags, generated by wp_nav_menu():

All Menu Items

  • .menu-item
    This class is added to every menu item.
  • .menu-item-has-children
    This class is added to menu item which has sub-items .
  • .menu-item-object-{object}
    This class is added to every menu item, where {object} is either a post type or a taxonomy.
  • .menu-item-object-category
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a category.
  • .menu-item-object-tag
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a tag.
  • .menu-item-object-page
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to static pages.
  • .menu-item-object-{custom}
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a custom post type or a custom taxonomy.
  • .menu-item-type-{type}
    This class is added to every menu item, where {type} is either “post_type” or “taxonomy”.
  • .menu-item-type-post_type
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to post types: i.e. static pages or custom post types.
  • .menu-item-type-taxonomy
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to taxonomies: i.e. categories, tags, or custom taxonomies.

Current-Page Menu Items

  • .current-menu-item
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to the currently rendered page.

Current-Page Parent Menu Items

  • .current-menu-parent
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to the hierarchical parent of the currently rendered page.
  • .current-{object}-parent
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to the hierachical parent of the currently rendered object, where {object} corresponds to the the value used for .menu-item-object-{object}.
  • .current-{type}-parent
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to the hierachical parent of the currently rendered type, where {type} corresponds to the the value used for .menu-item-type-{type}.

Current-Page Ancestor Menu Items

  • .current-menu-ancestor
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a hierarchical ancestor of the currently rendered page.
  • .current-{object}-ancestor
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a hierachical ancestor of the currently rendered object, where {object} corresponds to the the value used for .menu-item-object-{object}.
  • .current-{type}-ancestor
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a hierachical ancestor of the currently rendered type, where {type} corresponds to the the value used for .menu-item-type-{type}.

Site Front Page Menu Items

  • .menu-item-home
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to the site front page.

Backward Compatibility with wp_page_menu()

The following classes are added to maintain backward compatibility with the [[Function Reference/wp_page_menu|wp_page_menu() ]] function output:

  • .page_item
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a static page.
  • .page_item_has_children
    This class is added to menu items that have sub pages to it.
  • .page-item-$ID
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a static page, where $ID is the static page ID.
  • .current_page_item
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to the currently rendered static page.
  • .current_page_parent
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to the hierarchical parent of the currently rendered static page.
  • .current_page_ancestor
    This class is added to menu items that correspond to a hierarchical ancestor of the currently rendered static page.

Source

function wp_nav_menu( $args = array() ) {
	static $menu_id_slugs = array();

	$defaults = array(
		'menu'                 => '',
		'container'            => 'div',
		'container_class'      => '',
		'container_id'         => '',
		'container_aria_label' => '',
		'menu_class'           => 'menu',
		'menu_id'              => '',
		'echo'                 => true,
		'fallback_cb'          => 'wp_page_menu',
		'before'               => '',
		'after'                => '',
		'link_before'          => '',
		'link_after'           => '',
		'items_wrap'           => '<ul id="%1$s" class="%2$s">%3$s</ul>',
		'item_spacing'         => 'preserve',
		'depth'                => 0,
		'walker'               => '',
		'theme_location'       => '',
	);

	$args = wp_parse_args( $args, $defaults );

	if ( ! in_array( $args['item_spacing'], array( 'preserve', 'discard' ), true ) ) {
		// Invalid value, fall back to default.
		$args['item_spacing'] = $defaults['item_spacing'];
	}

	/**
	 * Filters the arguments used to display a navigation menu.
	 *
	 * @since 3.0.0
	 *
	 * @see wp_nav_menu()
	 *
	 * @param array $args Array of wp_nav_menu() arguments.
	 */
	$args = apply_filters( 'wp_nav_menu_args', $args );
	$args = (object) $args;

	/**
	 * Filters whether to short-circuit the wp_nav_menu() output.
	 *
	 * Returning a non-null value from the filter will short-circuit wp_nav_menu(),
	 * echoing that value if $args->echo is true, returning that value otherwise.
	 *
	 * @since 3.9.0
	 *
	 * @see wp_nav_menu()
	 *
	 * @param string|null $output Nav menu output to short-circuit with. Default null.
	 * @param stdClass    $args   An object containing wp_nav_menu() arguments.
	 */
	$nav_menu = apply_filters( 'pre_wp_nav_menu', null, $args );

	if ( null !== $nav_menu ) {
		if ( $args->echo ) {
			echo $nav_menu;
			return;
		}

		return $nav_menu;
	}

	// Get the nav menu based on the requested menu.
	$menu = wp_get_nav_menu_object( $args->menu );

	// Get the nav menu based on the theme_location.
	$locations = get_nav_menu_locations();
	if ( ! $menu && $args->theme_location && $locations && isset( $locations[ $args->theme_location ] ) ) {
		$menu = wp_get_nav_menu_object( $locations[ $args->theme_location ] );
	}

	// Get the first menu that has items if we still can't find a menu.
	if ( ! $menu && ! $args->theme_location ) {
		$menus = wp_get_nav_menus();
		foreach ( $menus as $menu_maybe ) {
			$menu_items = wp_get_nav_menu_items( $menu_maybe->term_id, array( 'update_post_term_cache' => false ) );
			if ( $menu_items ) {
				$menu = $menu_maybe;
				break;
			}
		}
	}

	if ( empty( $args->menu ) ) {
		$args->menu = $menu;
	}

	// If the menu exists, get its items.
	if ( $menu && ! is_wp_error( $menu ) && ! isset( $menu_items ) ) {
		$menu_items = wp_get_nav_menu_items( $menu->term_id, array( 'update_post_term_cache' => false ) );
	}

	/*
	 * If no menu was found:
	 *  - Fall back (if one was specified), or bail.
	 *
	 * If no menu items were found:
	 *  - Fall back, but only if no theme location was specified.
	 *  - Otherwise, bail.
	 */
	if ( ( ! $menu || is_wp_error( $menu ) || ( isset( $menu_items ) && empty( $menu_items ) && ! $args->theme_location ) )
		&& isset( $args->fallback_cb ) && $args->fallback_cb && is_callable( $args->fallback_cb ) ) {
			return call_user_func( $args->fallback_cb, (array) $args );
	}

	if ( ! $menu || is_wp_error( $menu ) ) {
		return false;
	}

	$nav_menu = '';
	$items    = '';

	$show_container = false;
	if ( $args->container ) {
		/**
		 * Filters the list of HTML tags that are valid for use as menu containers.
		 *
		 * @since 3.0.0
		 *
		 * @param string[] $tags The acceptable HTML tags for use as menu containers.
		 *                       Default is array containing 'div' and 'nav'.
		 */
		$allowed_tags = apply_filters( 'wp_nav_menu_container_allowedtags', array( 'div', 'nav' ) );

		if ( is_string( $args->container ) && in_array( $args->container, $allowed_tags, true ) ) {
			$show_container = true;
			$class          = $args->container_class ? ' class="' . esc_attr( $args->container_class ) . '"' : ' class="menu-' . $menu->slug . '-container"';
			$id             = $args->container_id ? ' id="' . esc_attr( $args->container_id ) . '"' : '';
			$aria_label     = ( 'nav' === $args->container && $args->container_aria_label ) ? ' aria-label="' . esc_attr( $args->container_aria_label ) . '"' : '';
			$nav_menu      .= '<' . $args->container . $id . $class . $aria_label . '>';
		}
	}

	// Set up the $menu_item variables.
	_wp_menu_item_classes_by_context( $menu_items );

	$sorted_menu_items        = array();
	$menu_items_with_children = array();
	foreach ( (array) $menu_items as $menu_item ) {
		/*
		 * Fix invalid `menu_item_parent`. See: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/56926.
		 * Compare as strings. Plugins may change the ID to a string.
		 */
		if ( (string) $menu_item->ID === (string) $menu_item->menu_item_parent ) {
			$menu_item->menu_item_parent = 0;
		}

		$sorted_menu_items[ $menu_item->menu_order ] = $menu_item;
		if ( $menu_item->menu_item_parent ) {
			$menu_items_with_children[ $menu_item->menu_item_parent ] = true;
		}
	}

	// Add the menu-item-has-children class where applicable.
	if ( $menu_items_with_children ) {
		foreach ( $sorted_menu_items as &$menu_item ) {
			if ( isset( $menu_items_with_children[ $menu_item->ID ] ) ) {
				$menu_item->classes[] = 'menu-item-has-children';
			}
		}
	}

	unset( $menu_items, $menu_item );

	/**
	 * Filters the sorted list of menu item objects before generating the menu's HTML.
	 *
	 * @since 3.1.0
	 *
	 * @param array    $sorted_menu_items The menu items, sorted by each menu item's menu order.
	 * @param stdClass $args              An object containing wp_nav_menu() arguments.
	 */
	$sorted_menu_items = apply_filters( 'wp_nav_menu_objects', $sorted_menu_items, $args );

	$items .= walk_nav_menu_tree( $sorted_menu_items, $args->depth, $args );
	unset( $sorted_menu_items );

	// Attributes.
	if ( ! empty( $args->menu_id ) ) {
		$wrap_id = $args->menu_id;
	} else {
		$wrap_id = 'menu-' . $menu->slug;

		while ( in_array( $wrap_id, $menu_id_slugs, true ) ) {
			if ( preg_match( '#-(\d+)$#', $wrap_id, $matches ) ) {
				$wrap_id = preg_replace( '#-(\d+)$#', '-' . ++$matches[1], $wrap_id );
			} else {
				$wrap_id = $wrap_id . '-1';
			}
		}
	}
	$menu_id_slugs[] = $wrap_id;

	$wrap_class = $args->menu_class ? $args->menu_class : '';

	/**
	 * Filters the HTML list content for navigation menus.
	 *
	 * @since 3.0.0
	 *
	 * @see wp_nav_menu()
	 *
	 * @param string   $items The HTML list content for the menu items.
	 * @param stdClass $args  An object containing wp_nav_menu() arguments.
	 */
	$items = apply_filters( 'wp_nav_menu_items', $items, $args );
	/**
	 * Filters the HTML list content for a specific navigation menu.
	 *
	 * @since 3.0.0
	 *
	 * @see wp_nav_menu()
	 *
	 * @param string   $items The HTML list content for the menu items.
	 * @param stdClass $args  An object containing wp_nav_menu() arguments.
	 */
	$items = apply_filters( "wp_nav_menu_{$menu->slug}_items", $items, $args );

	// Don't print any markup if there are no items at this point.
	if ( empty( $items ) ) {
		return false;
	}

	$nav_menu .= sprintf( $args->items_wrap, esc_attr( $wrap_id ), esc_attr( $wrap_class ), $items );
	unset( $items );

	if ( $show_container ) {
		$nav_menu .= '</' . $args->container . '>';
	}

	/**
	 * Filters the HTML content for navigation menus.
	 *
	 * @since 3.0.0
	 *
	 * @see wp_nav_menu()
	 *
	 * @param string   $nav_menu The HTML content for the navigation menu.
	 * @param stdClass $args     An object containing wp_nav_menu() arguments.
	 */
	$nav_menu = apply_filters( 'wp_nav_menu', $nav_menu, $args );

	if ( $args->echo ) {
		echo $nav_menu;
	} else {
		return $nav_menu;
	}
}

Hooks

apply_filters( ‘pre_wp_nav_menu’, string|null $output, stdClass $args )

Filters whether to short-circuit the wp_nav_menu() output.

apply_filters( ‘wp_nav_menu’, string $nav_menu, stdClass $args )

Filters the HTML content for navigation menus.

apply_filters( ‘wp_nav_menu_args’, array $args )

Filters the arguments used to display a navigation menu.

apply_filters( ‘wp_nav_menu_container_allowedtags’, string[] $tags )

Filters the list of HTML tags that are valid for use as menu containers.

apply_filters( ‘wp_nav_menu_items’, string $items, stdClass $args )

Filters the HTML list content for navigation menus.

apply_filters( ‘wp_nav_menu_objects’, array $sorted_menu_items, stdClass $args )

Filters the sorted list of menu item objects before generating the menu’s HTML.

apply_filters( “wp_nav_menu_{$menu->slug}_items”, string $items, stdClass $args )

Filters the HTML list content for a specific navigation menu.

Changelog

VersionDescription
5.5.0Added the container_aria_label argument.
4.7.0Added the item_spacing argument.
3.0.0Introduced.

User Contributed Notes

  1. Skip to note 25 content

    Here is the ready to use snippet (not a real contribution, more than anything else a shortcut):

    wp_nav_menu( array $args = array(
    	'menu'				=> "", // (int|string|WP_Term) Desired menu. Accepts a menu ID, slug, name, or object.
    	'menu_class'		=> "", // (string) CSS class to use for the ul element which forms the menu. Default 'menu'.
    	'menu_id'			=> "", // (string) The ID that is applied to the ul element which forms the menu. Default is the menu slug, incremented.
    	'container'			=> "", // (string) Whether to wrap the ul, and what to wrap it with. Default 'div'.
    	'container_class'	=> "", // (string) Class that is applied to the container. Default 'menu-{menu slug}-container'.
    	'container_id'		=> "", // (string) The ID that is applied to the container.
    	'fallback_cb'		=> "", // (callable|bool) If the menu doesn't exists, a callback function will fire. Default is 'wp_page_menu'. Set to false for no fallback.
    	'before'			=> "", // (string) Text before the link markup.
    	'after'				=> "", // (string) Text after the link markup.
    	'link_before'		=> "", // (string) Text before the link text.
    	'link_after'		=> "", // (string) Text after the link text.
    	'echo'				=> "", // (bool) Whether to echo the menu or return it. Default true.
    	'depth'				=> "", // (int) How many levels of the hierarchy are to be included. 0 means all. Default 0.
    	'walker'			=> "", // (object) Instance of a custom walker class.
    	'theme_location'	=> "", // (string) Theme location to be used. Must be registered with register_nav_menu() in order to be selectable by the user.
    	'items_wrap'		=> "", // (string) How the list items should be wrapped. Default is a ul with an id and class. Uses printf() format with numbered placeholders.
    	'item_spacing'		=> "", // (string) Whether to preserve whitespace within the menu's HTML. Accepts 'preserve' or 'discard'. Default 'preserve'.
    ) );
  2. Skip to note 27 content

    Removing the ul wrap

    This example will remove the unordered list wrap around the list items. Replacing the wrap HTML with the %3$s specifier results in only outputting the HTML list content for the menu items, because items_wrap is built using sprintf()

    items_wrap default before:
    [html]
    <ul id="%1$s" class="%2$s">%3$s</ul>
    [/html]

    items_wrap after:
    [html]
    %3$s
    [/html]

    Example:

    wp_nav_menu( array( 'items_wrap' => '%3$s' ) );
  3. Skip to note 28 content

    Using a Custom Walker Function

    For deeper conditional classes, you’ll need to use a custom walker function (created in the 'walker' => new Your_Walker_Function argument).

    The simplest way to build a new walker function is to copy and extend the default class (Walker_Nav_Menu) from /wp-includes/nav-menu-template.php and simply customize what you need.

    Example:

    This custom walker function will add several conditional classes to your nav menu (i.e. sub-menu, even/odd, etc):

    wp_nav_menu( array(
    	'menu'   => 'Something custom walker',
    	'walker' => new WPDocs_Walker_Nav_Menu()
    ) );
    
    /**
     * Custom walker class.
     */
    class WPDocs_Walker_Nav_Menu extends Walker_Nav_Menu {
    
    	/**
    	 * Starts the list before the elements are added.
    	 *
    	 * Adds classes to the unordered list sub-menus.
    	 *
    	 * @param string $output Passed by reference. Used to append additional content.
    	 * @param int    $depth  Depth of menu item. Used for padding.
    	 * @param array  $args   An array of arguments. @see wp_nav_menu()
    	 */
    	function start_lvl( &$output, $depth = 0, $args = array() ) {
    		// Depth-dependent classes.
    		$indent = ( $depth > 0  ? str_repeat( "\t", $depth ) : '' ); // code indent
    		$display_depth = ( $depth + 1); // because it counts the first submenu as 0
    		$classes = array(
    			'sub-menu',
    			( $display_depth % 2  ? 'menu-odd' : 'menu-even' ),
    			( $display_depth >=2 ? 'sub-sub-menu' : '' ),
    			'menu-depth-' . $display_depth
    		);
    		$class_names = implode( ' ', $classes );
    
    		// Build HTML for output.
    		$output .= "\n" . $indent . '<ul class="' . $class_names . '">' . "\n";
    	}
    
    	/**
    	 * Start the element output.
    	 *
    	 * Adds main/sub-classes to the list items and links.
    	 *
    	 * @param string $output Passed by reference. Used to append additional content.
    	 * @param object $item   Menu item data object.
    	 * @param int    $depth  Depth of menu item. Used for padding.
    	 * @param array  $args   An array of arguments. @see wp_nav_menu()
    	 * @param int    $id     Current item ID.
    	 */
    	function start_el( &$output, $item, $depth = 0, $args = array(), $id = 0 ) {
    		global $wp_query;
    		$indent = ( $depth > 0 ? str_repeat( "\t", $depth ) : '' ); // code indent
    
    		// Depth-dependent classes.
    		$depth_classes = array(
    			( $depth == 0 ? 'main-menu-item' : 'sub-menu-item' ),
    			( $depth >=2 ? 'sub-sub-menu-item' : '' ),
    			( $depth % 2 ? 'menu-item-odd' : 'menu-item-even' ),
    			'menu-item-depth-' . $depth
    		);
    		$depth_class_names = esc_attr( implode( ' ', $depth_classes ) );
    
    		// Passed classes.
    		$classes = empty( $item->classes ) ? array() : (array) $item->classes;
    		$class_names = esc_attr( implode( ' ', apply_filters( 'nav_menu_css_class', array_filter( $classes ), $item ) ) );
    
    		// Build HTML.
    		$output .= $indent . '<li id="nav-menu-item-'. $item->ID . '" class="' . $depth_class_names . ' ' . $class_names . '">';
    
    		// Link attributes.
    		$attributes  = ! empty( $item->attr_title ) ? ' title="'  . esc_attr( $item->attr_title ) .'"' : '';
    		$attributes .= ! empty( $item->target )     ? ' target="' . esc_attr( $item->target     ) .'"' : '';
    		$attributes .= ! empty( $item->xfn )        ? ' rel="'    . esc_attr( $item->xfn        ) .'"' : '';
    		$attributes .= ! empty( $item->url )        ? ' href="'   . esc_attr( $item->url        ) .'"' : '';
    		$attributes .= ' class="menu-link ' . ( $depth > 0 ? 'sub-menu-link' : 'main-menu-link' ) . '"';
    
    		// Build HTML output and pass through the proper filter.
    		$item_output = sprintf( '%1$s<a%2$s>%3$s%4$s%5$s</a>%6$s',
    			$args->before,
    			$attributes,
    			$args->link_before,
    			apply_filters( 'the_title', $item->title, $item->ID ),
    			$args->link_after,
    			$args->after
    		);
    		$output .= apply_filters( 'walker_nav_menu_start_el', $item_output, $item, $depth, $args );
    	}
    }
  4. Skip to note 31 content

    Targeting a specific menu with no fallback to wp_page_menu()

    In the case that no menu matching menu is found, it seems that passing a bogus theme_location is the only way to prevent falling back to the first non-empty menu:

    wp_nav_menu( array(
    	'menu'           => 'Project Nav', // Do not fall back to first non-empty menu.
    	'theme_location' => '__no_such_location',
    	'fallback_cb'    => false // Do not fall back to wp_page_menu()
    ) );
  5. Skip to note 32 content

    How to show a placeholder menu if no menu is set up

    Credit: Salcode.

    If you’ve just installed WordPress and activated a theme, there may not be a primary menu yet set up in Appearance > Menus. For these times you may want to show your own, placeholder, menu until that menu is set up.

    To do this, use the fallback callback function. Like so:

    wp_nav_menu( array( 'fallback_cb' => 'custom_primary_menu_fallback', 'menu' => 'menu', 'container' => false, 'menu_id' => 'menu', 'menu_class'=>'', 'theme_location'=>'primary-menu' ) );
    
    function custom_primary_menu_fallback() {
      ?>
      <ul id="menu"><li><a href="/">Home</a></li><li><a href="/wp-admin/nav-menus.php">Set primary menu</a></li></ul>
      <?php
    }
  6. Skip to note 33 content

    By default, menus are encased with a div container. The options on this page show this parameter as a string to change the element used to contain the menu.

    However, it is not noted here that if you pass false as a value, the container is completely removed leaving just the ul menu element.

    wp_nav_menu(array(
        'container' => false // Removes the container, leaving just the ul element
    ));
  7. Skip to note 35 content

    Simple shortcode for displaying a menu
    this will allow you to display a menu in where ever you add the shortcode, lots of room to expand the $args but left it simple.

    function get_menu($args){
        $menu = isset($atts['menu']) ? $atts['menu'] : '';
        ob_start();
        wp_nav_menu(array(
            'menu' => $menu
        ) );
        return ob_get_clean();
    }
    add_shortcode('get_menu', 'get_menu');

    Usage Example:

    [get_menu menu="Main Menu"]

  8. Skip to note 37 content

    It is not mentioned that container parameter by default accepts only ‘div’, ‘nav’ and falsy value (”, false, null). If you want to extend accepted tag arguments and wrap menu parent ul tag in something else, you have to use wp_nav_menu_container_allowedtags filter and add desired tag to the array. However, for the most uses, default two tags are most logical.

  9. Skip to note 38 content

    How to add a parent class for menu item

    Sometimes you may need to add a class to a menu item if it has sub-menus.

    /**
     * Add a parent CSS class for nav menu items.
     *
     * @param array  $items The menu items, sorted by each menu item's menu order.
     * @return array (maybe) modified parent CSS class.
     */
    function wpdocs_add_menu_parent_class( $items ) {
    	$parents = array();
    
    	// Collect menu items with parents.
    	foreach ( $items as $item ) {
    		if ( $item->menu_item_parent && $item->menu_item_parent > 0 ) {
    			$parents[] = $item->menu_item_parent;
    		}
    	}
    
    	// Add class.
    	foreach ( $items as $item ) {
    		if ( in_array( $item->ID, $parents ) ) {
    			$item->classes[] = 'menu-parent-item';
    		}
    	}
    	return $items;
    }
    add_filter( 'wp_nav_menu_objects', 'wpdocs_add_menu_parent_class' );
  10. Skip to note 39 content

    instead of large walkers you can simply filter menu item class names

    // adds useful menu-item class names
    function your_theme_menu_item_class( $classes, $item ) {
    
      // Add slugs to menu-items
      if ( 'category' == $item->object ) {
        $category = get_category( $item->object_id );
        $classes[] = 'category-' . $category->slug;
      } elseif ( 'format' == $item->object ){
        $format = get_term($item->object_id);
        $classes[] = 'format-' . $format->slug;
      }
      return $classes;  
    }
    
    add_filter( 'nav_menu_css_class', 'your_theme_menu_item_class', 10, 2);
  11. Skip to note 40 content

    Adding Conditional Classes to Menu Items

    This example would let you add a custom class to a menu item based on the condition you specify. Don’t forget to change the condition.

    /**
     * Filter the CSS class for a nav menu based on a condition.
     *
     * @param array  $classes The CSS classes that are applied to the menu item's <li> element.
     * @param object $item    The current menu item.
     * @return array (maybe) modified nav menu class.
     */
    function wpdocs_special_nav_class( $classes, $item ) {
    	if ( is_single() && 'Blog' == $item->title ) {
    		// Notice you can change the conditional from is_single() and $item->title
    		$classes[] = "special-class";
    	}
    	return $classes;
    }
    add_filter( 'nav_menu_css_class' , 'wpdocs_special_nav_class' , 10, 2 );
  12. Skip to note 41 content

    Removing the default div container

    In order to remove the default div container in which the menu is encased, just :

    1. Use the parameter ‘container’ in the array
    2. And leave it empty.

    Like in the following example :

    wp_nav_menu(array(
        'container' => '', // Leaving it empty removes the <div> container.
    ));
  13. Skip to note 42 content

    The only accepted values for the container argument, by default, are div and nav so any other value will cause it to not display.

  14. Skip to note 43 content

    I’ve found really useful the echo arg.

    // 1) store the menu in a var:
    $my_wp_nav_menu = wp_nav_menu(
    	array(
    		'echo' => false
    	)
    );
    
    // 2) do whatever you want with the menu array before displaying it:
    //    (just an) example: remove slashes from menu voices:
    $my_wp_nav_menu = str_replace( array( '%5C', '\' ) ), '', $my_wp_nav_menu );
    
    echo $my_wp_nav_menu;
  15. Skip to note 46 content

    Make a shortcode to show menu in editor

    // Function that will return our WordPress menu
    function show_wp_menu_function($atts, $content = null) {
    	
    	extract(shortcode_atts(array(  
    		'menu'            => '', 
    		'container'       => 'div', 
    		'container_class' => '', 
    		'container_id'    => '', 
    		'menu_class'      => 'menu', 
    		'menu_id'         => '',
    		'echo'            => true,
    		'fallback_cb'     => 'wp_page_menu',
    		'before'          => '',
    		'after'           => '',
    		'link_before'     => '',
    		'link_after'      => '',
    		'depth'           => 0,
    		'walker'          => '',
    		'theme_location'  => ''), 
    		$atts));
     
     
    	return wp_nav_menu( array( 
    		'menu'            => $menu, 
    		'container'       => $container, 
    		'container_class' => $container_class, 
    		'container_id'    => $container_id, 
    		'menu_class'      => $menu_class, 
    		'menu_id'         => $menu_id,
    		'echo'            => false,
    		'fallback_cb'     => $fallback_cb,
    		'before'          => $before,
    		'after'           => $after,
    		'link_before'     => $link_before,
    		'link_after'      => $link_after,
    		'depth'           => $depth,
    		'walker'          => $walker,
    		'theme_location'  => $theme_location));
    }
    //Create the shortcode
    add_shortcode("show_wp_menu", "show_wp_menu_function");

    To use simply:
    [show_wp_menu menu="wp_menu_name_here" menu_class="my_menu_class"]

  16. Skip to note 47 content

    Adding a Word at the Beginning of the Menu

    This example will allows you to add the word of your choice to the beginning of your menu as a list item. In this example, the word “Menu:” is added at the beginning. You may want to set an id on the list item (“item-id” in this example) so that you can use CSS to style it.

    wp_nav_menu( array(
    	'theme_location' => 'primary',
    	'items_wrap'     => '<ul><li id="item-id"><?php __( 'Menu:', 'textdomain' ); ?></li>%3$s</ul>'
    ) );
  17. Skip to note 48 content

    I’m a little confused about the parameters “before / after” and “link_before / link_after”.

    This reference says “before / after” are inside the link, including the link-text, and “link_before / link_after” are outside the link, including the link.

    What confuses me:
    Some tutorials say, it’s exactly the other way round, (inside / outside):
    here and here
    I’m coming to the same result, when looking at one of my active WP-installations.

    What is correct?

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