Update the Primary navigation

What's inside this article:


Basic information

This article explains how to update the Primary navigation menu for your website from Pangea CMS.

NOTE: Primary navigation is one of the core navigation elements on Pangea websites.

What is the Primary navigation?

The Primary navigation offers a clear overview of your website structure, allowing visitors to quickly access key landing pages by topic. As visitors browse your website, the Primary navigation remains accessible at all times via the ≡ (Menu) button.

The Primary navigation can include the following types of items:

  • (A): Simple link: A direct link to a page.
  • (B): Expander: A panel that opens to reveal a collection of links.



Update the Primary navigation

To get started, go to Settings > Navigation menu > Primary navigation.

On the Primary navigation list in Pangea CMS, the different item types are represented as follows:

  • (A): Simple link: A title with no subitems.
  • (B): Expander: A title with a subitem for each link.

NOTE: After you update the Primary navigation, it might take up to 5 minutes before your updates are visible on the public site. A delay is possible because of the caching rules that are configured for Pangea websites. Learn more.

The following actions are available:

To add a simple link the Primary navigation:

  1. Select Add new.
  2. Leave Has subitems disabled.
  3. Define the link. Then, hit Save & close.

The simple link is added to the Primary navigation. It appears as the last item by default. You can change the position of the item (see the section below for instructions).

To add an expander to the Primary navigation:

  1. Select Add new.
  2. Enable Has subitems.
  3. Under Title, enter the title for the expander.
  4. Hit + Add subitem.
  5. Define the first link. Then, hit Add.

Repeat steps 4-5 for each link that you want to include in the expander. After adding all the links, hit Save & close.

The expander is added to the Primary navigation. It appears as the last item by default. You can change the position (see the section below for instructions).

The order of the items on the Primary navigation list in Pangea CMS reflects the order of the items on the public site.

To change the position of an item, use the selector that is next to the title. For example, if you select 1, the item will be positioned first.

For an expander, the following options are available:

  • (A): To move the whole expander (including all links), use the selector next to the expander title.
  • (B): To move an individual link within the expander, use the selector next to the link title.

If you hide an item, the item is no longer visible on the public site. You can hide an item temporarily, and if needed, start showing it again with just a single click.

To hide an item:

  1. Hover over the title.
  2. Hit the Disable button.

The Disabled icon signals that the item is hidden.

To show the item again:

  1. Hover over the title.
  2. Hit the Enable button.

For an expander, the following options are available:

  • (A): To hide the whole expander (including all links), hit Disable next to the expander title.
  • (B): To hide an individual link, hit Disable next to the link title.

If you remove an item, the item is no longer visible on the public site.

To remove an item:

  1. Hover over the title.
  2. Hit the Remove button.

For an expander, the following options are available:

  • (A): To remove the whole expander (including all links), hit Remove next to the expander title.
  • (B): To remove an individual link, hit Remove next to the link title.



Define links

The Primary navigation can contain links to the following types of pages on your website:

  • Category pages
  • Section pages
  • Infopages
  • Special pages (such as your Subscribe, Podcast, and TV Schedule pages)

The Primary navigation can also contain manual links. A manual link might point to any URL. For a manual link you can also choose how the link will open:

  • Open in new tab: The link will open in a new tab. You might use this option for links to external sites.
  • Open in same window: The link will open in the same tab. Always use this option for links to your own site.

For each link, you need to add the following settings:

  • (A): Link: The type of page you want to link to (Category, Section, Infopage, Special page, or Manual link).
  • (B): Link text: The link text that is shown on the public site.
  • (C): Category / Section / Infopage / Special page: The specific page you want to link to. Click inside the box and start typing to quickly find a page.

For a manual link, add the following settings:

  • (A): URL: The URL for the link. For pages from your own site, you can enter a relative URL (such as /home). For pages from external sites, you need to enter the full URL (such as https://rferl.org).
  • (B): Link option: How the link will open.



Add label

By default, the ≡ (Menu) button on the public site does not have a label. You can add a label to show on your site.

To add a label, go to the Site localization page in Pangea CMS. This text is managed through the following configuration key:

  • Responsive.Navigation.Header.Section.Label

For information about the Site localization page, see the following article:



Update Follow us navigation

The Follow us navigation contains 'Follow' buttons for social media. These buttons provide access to your social media accounts. The Follow us navigation is displayed:

  • In the Primary navigation
  • In the Footer navigation

The buttons in the Follow us navigation are uniquely configured for every site. To update your site's Follow us navigation, contact Pangea Customer Care.