How to Set Up Dropdown Menus in Drupal 8
A few years ago, we published a very popular post called “How to Create Dropdown Menus in Drupal“.
That post focused on Drupal 7, but some things have changed in Drupal 8.
Here’s an updated explanation of how to set up dropdown menus for a Drupal 8 site.
Step #1. Choose a theme with dropdowns
Before you can use a dropdown menu, choose your theme carefully.
Many themes don’t have dropdown menus built-in. That includes Drupal’s core themes, such as Bartik. Unless you want to make major code changes, it is best to choose a theme that already have dropdowns available. To find out whether a theme does have dropdowns, read the theme’s description and documentation on Drupal.org.
If your theme doesn’t support dropdowns, we do have a guide to adding a dropdown menu using a module.
Step #2. Create the dropdown links
If you want dropdown menus, you’ll need to arrange your menu links in a parent-child relationship:
- Go to Structure > Menus > Main Navigation.
- Drag-and-drop your menu links to that they are in a hierarchy:
Also, edit each menu link and check “Show as expanded”. If you don’t choose this option, the dropdown link will only show if you are on the page being linked to.
Step #3. Places the menu block
In Drupal, menus are normally placed by using blocks:
- Go to Structure > Block layout.
- Click “Demonstrate block regions”
- You’ll now see a layout of your theme’s regions. It should be clear where your menu should be placed. In this case, use the “Navigation” region.
- In this example, move the Move the “Main navigation” block to the “Navigation” region.
Your dropdowns will not appear unless your menu block is in a block region that supports dropdowns.
Step #4. Configure your menu block
This is the major change in Drupal 8 in regards to dropdown menus. You must configure your menu block.
- Click “Configure” next to the “Main navigation” block.
- Change “Maximum number of menu levels to display” to more than 1.
Step #5. Check the end result
If you make the changes listed here, your dropdown menus should appear:
If you want a more advanced dropdown menu, check out “Dropdown Menus in Drupal 8 With the Superfish Module“.
Hello,
my dropdown menu doesn’t works: it shows all sub-items like an expandend menu (but isn’t)…. so, how can I know if my block region supports dropdowns?
Thanks!
Marco
if we are using any other theme except basic ones , the submenus are not been displayed
This advice is working only for Main Navigation only!
Thank you! I’ve only just come back to Drupal after quite a few years – to 8.5 from 5 or 6.something – and I was starting to tear what’s left of my hair out of my head over this. So thank you again, you’re explanation was quick, clear and concise! 🙂
Geoff
Geoff, So glad that you found answers/help inside of the OST space. Don’t hesitate to search our blog or check out our video classes for more Drupal insights. Also, our YouTube channel (OSTraining) has a very popular Drupal 8 course uploaded there. Thanks for taking the time to comment! We appreciate feedback, and it makes us happy to know that we are doing is making a difference.
Many thanks for this [u][b]ESSENTIAL[/b][/u] tip and trick!! For information, I’m using Bootstrap 3 theme and it still works on Drupal 9.
Many thanks again
Pierrot