Create a Mega Menu for My Shopify Store

About the Mega Menu in Shopify

A mega menu is a type of expandable menu that displays multiple options at once, typically organized into columns. It’s ideal for Shopify stores with large inventories or many product categories.

Key characteristics:

• Multi-column layout: Categories are grouped into distinct columns.
• Structured navigation: Helps shoppers browse deeply nested collections or products.
• Theme-dependent: Shopify doesn’t provide a built-in mega menu tool. Some themes render nested menus as mega menus by default.

Key Notes Before You Start

Please ensure that your current theme supports dropdown or mega menu layouts (e.g., Dawn, Craft, or Ride theme).

All your pages built with GemPages still rely on the theme’s header/footer. Hence, menu edits must be made in the Shopify admin.

Before setting up a mega menu, it’s important to understand a few key limitations and requirements that affect how your menu will appear across your store, including on GemPages-built pages.

#1. Your theme controls the menu display

Mega menus are not a built-in Shopify admin feature but rather a visual layout style that’s handled by your active Shopify theme. This means:

• Shopify only lets you nest menu items in the Navigation settings.
• Whether those items show up as a simple dropdown or a full mega menu depends entirely on how your theme renders it.

#2. GemPages cannot override your theme’s header

Although GemPages lets you build beautiful custom pages, it still uses your Shopify theme’s global header and footer by default. That means:

• You cannot create a standalone mega menu inside the GemPages Editor.
• You must use Shopify’s Navigation for all site-wide menus, including on homepages, landing pages, and product pages built with GemPages.

#3. Choose a theme that supports mega menus

To make the most out of your nested menu structure, consider using a theme that supports multi-column or media-rich dropdowns. Examples include:

• Impulse, Prestige, Streamline (paid themes with built-in mega menu layouts)
• Or hire a developer to customize your current theme

If your store has many collections, categories, or product types, this will greatly improve UX and reduce bounce rates.

Create a Mega Menu for Your Shopify

Follow these steps to create a mega menu for your store.

Step 1: Access your menus

• From your Shopify admin, go to Content > Menus.
• Click on the Main menu (or the menu assigned to your store’s header) to locate the editor.

Step 2: Create a nested structure

• Click Add menu item to create your top-level menu item (e.g., “Shop”).

• Enter the label and select the destination link to this top-level item (e.g., “All Products”).

• Click Add menu item to continue adding new items. Then, drag the related sub-items (e.g., “Skincare”) to the right to nest them underneath the parent.

• Add more layers if your theme supports third-level menus.

Step 3: Save your updates

Once finished adding the menu items and arranging all of them in your preferred structure, hit the Save button.

After that, all changes are automatically updated in your storefront, including GemPages-built pages.

Can I build a mega menu with GemPages?

Currently, you cannot create a standalone mega menu inside GemPages because:

• GemPages does not override the global Shopify header or navigation.
• You must manage your main menu from Shopify admin > Content > Menus.
• You could technically build a custom menu inside the body of a landing page.

For example, if you use rows and columns to create a top bar in pages built with GemPatop, this will NOT replace your global store navigation and is not recommended for consistency.

FAQs

1. Do I need a special theme to create a mega menu?

Yes. Shopify only handles the structure; your theme decides the design. If your theme doesn’t support mega menus, it will display as a simple dropdown.

2. Will my mega menu show on GemPages-built pages?

Yes. Since GemPages inherits your theme’s header/footer, the mega menu will appear automatically.

3. Can I style the mega menu in GemPages?

No. You cannot style the theme header in GemPages. Customization must be done via your theme settings or code.

4. What if my theme doesn’t support mega menus?

You can:

• Switch to a theme that supports mega menus (e.g., Impulse, Prestige).
• Hire a developer to add custom code for your existing theme.

5. Does a mega menu affect SEO?

No, it doesn’t negatively impact SEO. In fact, a well-structured mega menu can improve navigation, reduce bounce rates, and help search engines crawl your site better.