How to Edit the Navigation Menu in Squarespace

Your Squarespace navigation menu does a lot more than list pages. It helps visitors understand your website, find important information quickly, and move through your content without getting confused or frustrated.

In other words: your menu is kind of a big deal.

If you’ve been wondering how to edit the navigation menu in Squarespace, the good news is that it’s actually pretty simple once you know where to click. Whether you want to add a new page, reorder menu items, create a dropdown, or hide a page from the main menu, Squarespace gives you built-in tools to do it.

This guide is primarily for Squarespace 7.1 websites. If you’re using an older Squarespace version, some settings may look a little different.

Quick Answer: How to Edit the Navigation Menu in Squarespace

If you want the short version, here’s how to edit your Squarespace navigation menu:

  1. Log into your Squarespace account

  2. Open your website

  3. Click Pages

  4. Drag pages into Main Navigation

  5. Reorder them by dragging them up or down

  6. Move pages into Not Linked if you want to hide them from the menu

  7. Create folders if you want dropdown navigation

  8. Click Edit Site Header if you want to change how the menu looks

Now let’s walk through each part a little more clearly.

To begin editing your navigation menu in squarespace, you’ll need to navigate to the pages section in your Squarespace dashboard. This central hub controls all navigation elements across your squarespace website.

Accessing Your Squarespace Navigation Menu Settings

To begin editing your menu, log into Squarespace and open the website you want to work on.

A squarespace website dashboard with the Pages link underlined.

From there:

  1. Go to your main dashboard

  2. Click Pages in the left-side menu

  3. You’ll see your website’s page structure

This is where most of your Squarespace navigation menu edits happen.

You’ll usually see a few different sections, but the two most important ones are:

  • Main Navigation: These are the pages that appear in your main website menu

  • Not Linked: These pages still exist on your site, but they do not appear in the main navigation

If you’ve ever wondered why a page isn’t showing in your menu, this is the first place to check.

How to Add Pages to Your Squarespace Navigation Menu

The navigation menu dashboard with the plus icon lit up.

If you want to add a new page to your menu, follow these steps:

  1. In the Pages panel, find the Main Navigation section

  2. Click the plus icon (+)

  3. Choose the type of page you want to add

    • Standard page

    • Blog

    • Store page

    • Portfolio

    • Link

    • Folder

  4. Name the page

  5. Save it

Once the page is added to Main Navigation, it should appear in your website menu.

If you already created the page and it’s sitting somewhere else, you can simply drag it into the Main Navigation area.

How to Reorder Menu Items in Squarespace

Dragging a menu item to a different spot.

Want to change the order of your menu items?

Easy.

In the Pages section, click and drag any page up or down within Main Navigation. The order you see there is usually the order that will appear in your website navigation.

This is one of the easiest ways to improve user experience. Put your most important pages first, and make sure visitors can quickly find the pages you want them to visit most.

What “Not Linked” (now called: Hidden) Means in Squarespace

The Not Linked/Hidden section in Squarespace.

This section confuses a lot of users, so let’s clear it up.

The Not Linked/Hidden section in Squarespace is for pages that still exist on your website but do not show up in the main menu.

This is useful for pages like:

  • thank-you pages

  • landing pages

  • sales pages

  • hidden resource pages

  • temporary pages

  • campaign-specific pages

These pages still have a URL, and you can still link to them directly. They’re just hidden from your main navigation.

So if you want a page to stay live without cluttering your menu, move it to Not Linked/Hidden.

How to Hide a Page from the Squarespace Navigation Menu

If you want to remove a page from the menu without deleting it:

  1. Go to Pages

  2. Find the page in Main Navigation

  3. Drag it into Not Linked

That’s it.

This is much better than deleting a page if you still want to keep the content on your site.

How to Delete a Page in Squarespace

The trash can icon appearing next to a Squarespace page.

If you want to completely remove a page from your website:

  1. Hover over the page name in the Pages panel

  2. Click the trash can icon

  3. Confirm that you want to delete it

Be careful here — deleting a page removes it from your site entirely, not just from the menu.

How to Create Dropdown Navigation in Squarespace

The dropdown option within Squarespace Menu settings.

If you want dropdown navigation in Squarespace, you’ll need to use a folder.

Here’s how:

  1. In the Pages panel, click the plus icon (+) in your navigation area

  2. Select Folder

  3. Give the folder a name

  4. Drag the pages you want into that folder

Those nested pages will then appear as dropdown items in your Squarespace navigation menu.

This is useful if you want to organize your content more clearly without overwhelming visitors with too many top-level menu links.

For example, you might create a folder called Services and place multiple service pages underneath it.

How to Add an External Link to Your Squarespace Menu

The link option in the menu settings.

If you want your menu to link to another website or outside page:

  1. Click the plus icon (+) in your navigation section

  2. Select Link

  3. Enter the URL

  4. Add the title you want visitors to see in the menu

  5. Choose whether the link should open in a new tab

This is great for linking to things like:

  • a separate store

  • booking software

  • client portal

  • external blog

  • social or campaign pages

How to Edit the Look of Your Squarespace Navigation Menu

How to edit the look of a navigation menu in Squarespace.

Once your menu structure is set, you may also want to change how it looks.

To edit the appearance of your menu:

  1. Open any page on your website

  2. Click Edit

  3. Hover over the site header

  4. Click Edit Site Header

From there, you can often adjust settings related to:

  • navigation layout

  • spacing

  • alignment

  • header height

  • logo placement

  • mobile menu icon settings

Depending on your Squarespace 7.1 setup, some design settings may also be available in Site Styles.

Squarespace Mobile Navigation Settings

Designing the mobile menu.

Your desktop navigation may look great, but don’t forget to check your mobile menu too.

Squarespace automatically creates a mobile-friendly version of your navigation, usually using a hamburger-style menu icon. Still, it’s smart to test it and make sure everything works the way you want.

Check for things like:

  • whether all pages appear correctly

  • whether dropdowns function properly

  • whether the menu icon is easy to see

  • whether visitors can tap links comfortably

A menu that looks good on desktop but feels awkward on mobile can hurt user experience fast.

Best Practices for a Better Squarespace Navigation Menu

A clean menu is one of the easiest ways to make your website feel more professional and easier to use.

Here are a few helpful best practices:

  • Keep your main navigation to about 5–7 items when possible

  • Put your most important pages first

  • Use clear labels instead of overly clever ones

  • Make your Contact page easy to find

  • Group related pages into folders when needed

  • Avoid cluttering your menu with too many choices

For example, a label like Services is usually clearer than something vague like How We Help.

Clear always wins.

Common Squarespace Navigation Mistakes to Avoid

When editing your Squarespace navigation menu, try to avoid these common mistakes:

  • Hiding important pages too deeply

  • Using too many top-level menu items

  • Naming pages in confusing ways

  • Forgetting to test mobile navigation

  • Deleting a page when you only meant to hide it

  • Leaving broken external links in the menu

Small menu mistakes can create a surprisingly frustrating experience for visitors.

Troubleshooting Common Navigation Issues

If something doesn’t look right, here are a few things to check.

A page is not showing in the menu

  • Make sure it’s in Main Navigation

  • Make sure it isn’t inside Not Linked

  • Refresh the page and check again

A dropdown isn’t working

  • Make sure you created a Folder

  • Make sure the pages are nested correctly under it

The navigation looks strange on mobile

  • Preview the site on your phone

  • Check whether the menu items are too long

  • Make sure your header settings still look balanced

A link is broken

  • Reopen the page or external link settings

  • Double-check the URL

  • Test it in a live browser

Final Thoughts on Editing the Squarespace Navigation Menu

Learning how to edit the navigation menu in Squarespace is one of the simplest ways to improve your website’s usability. A well-organized menu helps visitors find what they need faster, makes your site feel more polished, and creates a better overall experience.

So if your navigation currently feels cluttered, confusing, or a little chaotic, this is a great place to start cleaning things up.

And if you’d rather have a professional help you organize and improve your Squarespace website, Empowered Digital Marketing can help with website design, user experience improvements, and ongoing website support.

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