How to organize your website's Header Menu

What makes desktop navigation different from mobile and how to configure your Header Menu for the best desktop experience.

Important: This feature is only available on desktop. It is not accessible through the Luxury Presence Mobile App.

Overview

The Header Menu is the navigation bar that appears horizontally across the top of your website on desktop and tablet devices. It's the first thing visitors see when they land on your site and sets the tone for how easy your website is to navigate.

Important: The Header Menu is not visible on mobile devices. Mobile visitors see the Side Menu instead. Any page you want all visitors to access needs to be in both menus.

Note: For step-by-step instructions on adding, editing, and reordering Header Menu items, see How to customize website navigation menus. For mobile-specific navigation guidance, see How to organize your website's Side Menu.

Why desktop navigation has different considerations than mobile

Desktop visitors interact with your navigation differently than mobile visitors. On desktop:

• The full Header Menu is visible at all times without any tapping or opening
• Visitors can see all top-level items simultaneously — making the overall structure more immediately apparent
• Dropdown menus work reliably on hover without the tap-and-expand interaction of mobile
• There's more horizontal space for menu labels, so slightly longer names are acceptable
• Visitors are often doing more research-oriented browsing — comparing listings, reading about your team, exploring neighborhoods

This means desktop navigation can afford a bit more complexity than mobile — but clarity and scannability still matter.

What makes a good desktop Header Menu

It fits on one line. If your Header Menu wraps to a second line or items get cut off, you have too many top-level items or labels that are too long. Aim for 5–7 top-level items and keep labels concise. Items appear left to right in the order they're listed — items at the top of the list appear leftmost in the header.

It uses dropdown groups for depth without clutter. Desktop hover-dropdowns are intuitive for most visitors and let you surface many pages without cramming them all into the top level. Group related pages — buyer services, seller services, and relocation under "Services," for example — rather than listing every page individually.

Labels are clear but can be slightly more descriptive than mobile. Desktop screens give you more room than mobile. "Neighborhood Guides" works on desktop where you might shorten it to "Neighborhoods" on mobile. That said, familiar terms ("About," "Contact," "Blog") still outperform creative alternatives.

Critical pages are easy to find without scrolling. The Header Menu is always visible at the top of the page on desktop — use this to your advantage. Put your highest-priority pages (property search, contact, listings) where they're immediately accessible without any interaction.

Common desktop navigation mistakes

Too many top-level items. Every additional top-level item competes for attention with the others. When visitors see too many options, they slow down or make no choice at all. Consolidate related pages into dropdown groups and keep the top level focused.

Dropdown groups with too many sub-items. A dropdown with 8+ sub-items is hard to scan quickly. If a dropdown group is getting long, consider whether some of those pages should be linked from within content rather than in navigation, or split into two groups.

Labels that only make sense internally. "Resources," "Hub," "Corner," and similar vague groupings may make sense to you but leave visitors guessing. Use labels that clearly describe what's inside. A visitor shouldn't have to click to find out what a menu item contains.

Assuming desktop visitors will also browse on mobile. Many visitors switch devices — they might research on desktop and follow up on mobile. If your Side Menu doesn't mirror your Header Menu, the experience breaks when they switch. Always update both menus together.

What to do when a page doesn't appear in the dropdown

If you're adding a menu item and a page you expect to see doesn't appear in the Pages dropdown:

1. Return to the Website Builder and confirm the page was saved — it may not exist yet
2. Close and reopen the Global Elements editor to reload the page list
3. Check whether the page is listed under a different name than you expect

If the page still doesn't appear, contact our support team.

FAQs

Why don't my Header Menu changes appear on mobile?

The Header Menu only appears on desktop and tablet — mobile visitors see the Side Menu instead. If you updated the Header Menu and are testing on a phone, you won't see the changes. Check on a desktop browser to verify your Header Menu changes.

How many items should my Header Menu have?

Aim for 5–7 top-level items. If you have more pages to include, use dropdown groups to organize them. A long horizontal row of menu items is harder to scan and may wrap or overflow on smaller screens.

What order should my menu items be in?

Items at the top of the list in the editor appear leftmost in the Header Menu. Put your most important pages first — most agents use: Home, Listings/Search, About, Team, Blog or Neighborhoods, Contact.

Can I have different items in the Header Menu and Side Menu?

Yes — they're configured independently. However, any page that matters to your visitors should be in both menus. Mobile visitors have no access to the Header Menu, so pages that are only in the Header Menu are effectively invisible to them.

How do I contact Luxury Presence support about the Header Menu?

If a page isn't appearing where expected or you run into another issue configuring your Header Menu, you can contact our support team:

• Live chat via the Presence® Platform (fastest)
• Email: support@luxurypresence.com (general) / billing@luxurypresence.com (billing)
• Phone: 310-955-1077, option 2