Menus Import

Import WordPress navigation menus from a CSV, XML, or JSON file.

Quick Import wizard step 1 — upload and configure Step 1 of the Quick Import wizard: pick Menus, upload your nav export, and match by menu name.

When to Use

Setting up menus on a new site with many items
Migrating menus from another WordPress site
Bulk creating category or product menus

Match Keys

menu_name (default)

Matches by menu name. If a menu with that name exists, new items are added to it. If not, a new menu is created.

Column Reference

Column	Required	Example
`menu_name`	Yes	`Main Menu`
`location`	No	`primary`, `footer`, `social` (theme menu location slug)
`item_title`	Yes	`Home`, `About Us`
`item_url`	Conditional	`https://example.com/about` (for custom links)
`item_type`	No (default `custom`)	`custom`, `post_type`, `taxonomy`
`item_parent`	No	Parent item title or ID (for sub-items)
`item_order`	No	`1`, `2`, `3` (sort order)

Type	What It Is	Example
`custom`	Any URL (default)	Home, External link, Contact
`post_type`	Links to a post, page, or product	Link to "About Us" page
`taxonomy`	Links to a category or tag	Link to "Men's Shirts" category

menu_name,location,item_title,item_url,item_order
Main Menu,primary,Home,https://example.com,1
Main Menu,primary,Shop,https://example.com/shop,2
Main Menu,primary,About Us,https://example.com/about,3
Main Menu,primary,Contact,https://example.com/contact,4

menu_name,item_title,item_url,item_parent,item_order
Main Menu,Products,https://example.com/shop,,1
Main Menu,Men,https://example.com/shop/men,Products,1
Main Menu,Women,https://example.com/shop/women,Products,2
Main Menu,Kids,https://example.com/shop/kids,Products,3
Main Menu,About,https://example.com/about,,2

In this example:

Products is a top-level item (no parent)
Men, Women, Kids are sub-items of Products (their parent is Products)
About is another top-level item

Most themes register menu locations like primary, footer, social. To assign a menu to a location, set the location column.

Finding Your Theme's Locations

WordPress admin → Appearance → Menus
Look at "Display location" checkboxes at the bottom
Use the slug of the location (not the label)

Common location slugs:

primary — main navigation
footer — footer links
social — social media icons
mobile — mobile menu

Example

menu_name,location,item_title,item_url
Top Menu,primary,Home,/
Top Menu,primary,Shop,/shop
Footer Menu,footer,Privacy Policy,/privacy
Footer Menu,footer,Terms of Service,/terms

Item Order

item_order controls the sort order within each parent group.

item_title,item_parent,item_order
Home,,1
Shop,,2
Men,Shop,1
Women,Shop,2
Kids,Shop,3
About,,3

Nested Sub-Items (3+ Levels)

For deeper hierarchy:

item_title,item_parent,item_order
Shop,,1
Clothing,Shop,1
Men,Clothing,1
T-Shirts,Men,1
Pants,Men,2
Women,Clothing,2

Note: most themes only show 2-3 levels in the UI. Check your theme's capabilities.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Menu created but not shown on site	Set the `location` column or assign in Appearance → Menus
Sub-items appear at top level	`item_parent` must match another item's title exactly
Duplicate menu items	Menu match key is name. Importing twice adds items twice. Use `delete` mode first
Location not assigned	Location slug is case-sensitive. Use exact theme slug

Wizard step 5 — import results summary Results screen confirms menus created, items added, parent-child links resolved, and theme locations assigned.

Limitations

Menu export is currently limited — import works fully
Deep hierarchy (4+ levels) may not display well in most themes

Pages Import — Create pages first, then link them in menus
Categories Import — Create categories first, then link them
Quick Import Wizard — How to run the import