Customize the navigation on your sharepoint site

Customize the navigation for your Microsoft SharePoint site to give users quick access to sites, pages, and targeted content.

Here are a few things you can do:

• Change the look of your page's navigation style, colors, and log

• On a team site you can add, edit, or remove links on the left-hand menu 

• Edit the top menu, footer menu, or the hub site navigation bar that appears on all sites associated with a hub site

• Target navigational links to specific audiences with modern SharePoint in Microsoft 365 audience targeting

• Set up a multilingual site name, navigation and footer on Communication sites

Notes: 

• You need to be a site owner to make changes to the navigation of a site.

• If your site has been customized by the site owner, the left-hand menu or top menu may not be available for editing.

• In SharePoint, you can only customize the left-hand menu on a team site at this time unless you are in classic mode.

Select your version of SharePoint below for the steps to customize the navigation on your SharePoint site.

Modern 2019, 2021 2013, 2016 2010

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Note: Some functionality is introduced gradually to organizations that have set up the targeted release options in Microsoft 365. This means that you may not yet see this feature or it may look different than what is described in the help articles.

Add a link to the left-hand menu on a team site

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu.

   

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Hover over the location in the menu where you want to add a link and click +.

3. On the Add a link dialog box, choose one of the following link options:

   • URL to add a link to any item, internal or external to your company. Just enter the address and a display name for the link.

     

   • Conversations to add a link to the Microsoft 365 group conversations associated with the team site. Just enter a display name for the link. The address is automatically added and cannot be edited.

   • Calendar to add a link to the Microsoft 365 group calendar associated with the team site. Just enter a display name for the link. The address is automatically added and cannot be edited.

   • Notebook to add a link to the OneNote notebook associated with the team site. Just enter a display name for the link. The address is automatically added and cannot be edited.

   • Planner to add a link to the Microsoft Planner instance associated with the team site. Just enter a display name for the link. The address is automatically added and cannot be edited.

   Then, click OK.

4. You can also add a page to the menu from the Site Pages list. Select Pages from the left-hand menu, select the page you want to add, and then click ... either next to the page in the list or in the top navigation bar.

   

   Click Add to navigation.

   

5. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Note: Recent items are handled automatically by SharePoint. You can't add links to the Recent menu.

Add a link or label to the top menu on a communication site

1. Click Edit to the right of the top menu.

   

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Hover over the location in the menu where you want to add a link and click + .

3. On the Add a link dialog box, choose one of the following link options:

   • URL to add a link to any item, internal or external to your company. Just enter the address and a display name for the link.

     

   • Header to add a label that is not hyperlinked.

4. On the Add a link dialog box, in the Address box, enter the URL for the link you want to add if adding a link.

   To add a link to a page in the left-hand menu, follow these steps:

   1. Navigate to the page you want to add a link to.

   2. Copy the URL from the address bar.

   3. Paste the URL into the Address box

5. In the Display name box, enter the display text for the link or label. This is the text that will show up on the menu.

   Then, click OK.

6. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

7. You can change the navigation layout to either cascade or mega menu by going to Change the look and selecting Navigation, from either option. 

Add a link to the hub site navigation bar

Note: It may take up to two hours for changes to the hub site navigation bar to appear on associated sites.

1. Click Edit to the right of the hub site navigation bar.

   

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the hub site navigation bar. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the hub site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Hover over the location in the menu where you want to add a link and click + and then the down arrow.

   

3. On the Add a link dialog box, in the Address box, enter the URL for the link you want to add.

   To add a link to a page, follow these steps:

   1. Navigate to the page you want to add a link to.

   2. Copy the URL from the address bar.

   3. Paste the URL into the Address box

4. In the Display name box, enter the display text for the link. This is the text that will show up on the menu.

   Then, click OK.

   Note: You can add up to 2 levels of sub links to the hub site navigation bar.

5. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

6. You can change the navigation layout to either cascade or mega menu by going to Change the look and selecting Navigation, from either option. Note: Navigation layout for hub navigation leverages the same setting as the site navigation. 

Add or edit links and labels in the footer on a communication site

The following communication site shows a footer that's been added. The footer has the name and logo added on the left side. The Edit link appears on the right side of the footer after you've turned the footer control on. When you add links and labels to your footer, they follow the Edit link and appear on the right side.

1. On your site, click Edit on the right side of the footer. The Edit link appears on your footer after you've turned the footer control on. You can add one level of up to eight links or labels.

   Note: The site footer feature is only available on communication site site pages. They are not available for list pages, library pages, or other pages on your site.

2. Click + just above the buttons on the left navigation pane.

   

3. On the Add a link dialog box, choose one of the following options:

   • URL to add a link to any item, internal or external to your company. Just enter the address and a display name for the link.

     

   • Header to add a label that is not hyperlinked.

4. On the Add a link dialog box, in the Address box, enter the URL for the link you want to add or in the Display name box, enter a label name, and then click OK.

5. To edit an existing link or label, after clicking Edit on the right side of the footer, click the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to edit.

   

6. On the menu, choose one of the following options:

   • Edit to change the link or label

   • Move up or Move down to change the order that the link or label appears on the footer

   • Remove to delete the link or label from the footer

7. When done making your changes, click Save

Target navigational links to specific audiences 

Important: 

• Starting in April, audience targeting for navigational links will be introduced to organizations that have opted in to the Targeted release program. This means that you may not yet see this feature or it may look different than what is described in the help articles. Eventually this feature will be available across all cloud environments.

• The site owner must enable audience targeting for site navigation.

• Only site owners can turn audience targeting on and off. Once turned on, any site editor can target menu links to specific audiences.

• An audience is defined by Microsoft 365 groups and security groups. If you need to, create a Microsoft 365 group for the members of your audience. Or, if you're an admin, you can create a security group from the Microsoft 365 admin center. Azure AD dynamic groups are not currently supported.

1. Select Edit for the menu you want to add audience targeting properties to.

• For team sites, you will find the edit option at the bottom of the left hand menu

• For communication and hub sites, you will find the edit option to the right of the top menu

2.  Turn on the toggle titled Site navigation audience targeting at the bottom of the menu. When enabled, audience targeting will apply to all menus on the site including hub and footer menus.

3. Select the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to edit, and select Edit.

4. Target up to 10 Microsoft 365 groups or security groups to target in the entry box that appears.

Note: When audience targeting is applied to a parent link, audience targeting also gets applied to the sub links and will only be visible to the groups you specify. 

5. Click OK when you are done editing the link and an icon will confirm the links are being targeted. 

Note: While editing the navigation, all links and sub links become visible to the editor including those that are targeted. Once saved, the navigation will display the targeted nodes. 

6. Select Save when you are done, or select Cancel to discard changes.

Edit the display name or address for a menu link

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar..

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

   

4. When you are done editing the link, click OK.

5. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Change the order of menu links

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar..

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. You can drag and drop menu items to reorder them.

3. Click the menu item that you want to move and drag it to the new location and release the mouse button.

4. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Create sub links on the menu

This creates an indented link under another link. You can add up to 2 levels of sub links to the left-hand menu of a team site, to the top menu of a communication site, or to the hub site navigation bar. When adding a sub link, create the link where you want it to appear and then make it a sub link of the one above it.

Left-hand menu

Top menu

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar.

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to make a sub link.

3. Click Make sub link.

   

4. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Move a sub link up to a primary link on the menu

This moves an indented link out from under another link.

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar.

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the sub link that you want to promote to a primary link.

3. Click Promote sub link.

   

4. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Remove a link from the menu

Some links, such as Recycle Bin are system links and can't be removed.

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar.

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to remove.

3. Click Remove.

   Note: You can't remove the Recycle bin link at this time.

   

4. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Turn the left-hand menu on or off for a SharePoint in Microsoft 365 team site

If you have owner or admin permissions, you can turn the left-hand menu off for your team site.

1. Click Settings , and then click Site Settings. If you don't see Site settings, click Site information and then click View all site settings. On some pages, you might have to click Site Contents and then click Site Settings on the top right menu.

2. Under Look and Feel on the Site Settings page, click Navigation Elements.

   

3. Check or clear the Enable Quick Launch setting to turn it off or on, and then click OK.

   

Note: When you disable the Quick Launch panel, you may still see the Recycle bin and the Edit button.

Classic SharePoint experience site navigation

If you've enabled the publishing feature on your classic SharePoint experience site, the left-hand menu will show links to modern experience lists or libraries if you've added them to your classic experience site in addition to showing items from the term store. For more information, see Enable managed navigation for a site in SharePoint and Enable publishing features.

Add a link to the left-hand menu on a team site

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu.

   

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Hover over the location in the menu where you want to add a link and click +.

3. On the Add a link dialog box, choose one of the following link options:

   • URL to add a link to any item, internal or external to your company. Just enter the address and a display name for the link.

     

   • Conversations to add a link to the Microsoft 365 group conversations associated with the team site. Just enter a display name for the link. The address is automatically added and cannot be edited.

   • Calendar to add a link to the Microsoft 365 group calendar associated with the team site. Just enter a display name for the link. The address is automatically added and cannot be edited.

   • Notebook to add a link to the OneNote notebook associated with the team site. Just enter a display name for the link. The address is automatically added and cannot be edited.

   • Planner to add a link to the Microsoft Planner instance associated with the team site. Just enter a display name for the link. The address is automatically added and cannot be edited.

   Then, click OK.

4. You can also add a page to the menu from the Site Pages list. Select Pages from the left-hand menu, select the page you want to add, and then click ... either next to the page in the list or in the top navigation bar.

   

   Click Add to navigation.

   

5. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Note: Recent items are handled automatically by SharePoint. You can't add links to the Recent menu.

Add a link to the top menu on a communication site

1. Click Edit to the right of the top menu.

   

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Hover over the location in the menu where you want to add a link and click + .

3. On the Add a link dialog box, in the Address box, enter the URL for the link you want to add if adding a link.

   To add a link to a page in the left-hand menu, follow these steps:

   1. Navigate to the page where you want to add a link.

   2. Copy the URL from the address bar.

   3. Paste the URL into the Address box

4. In the Display name box, enter the display text for the link. This is the text that will show up on the menu. Then, click OK.

5. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Add a link to the hub site navigation bar

Note: It may take up to two hours for changes to the hub site navigation bar to appear on associated sites.

1. Click Edit to the right of the hub site navigation bar.

   

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the hub site navigation bar. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the hub site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Hover over the location in the menu where you want to add a link and click + and then the down arrow.

   

3. On the Add a link dialog box, in the Address box, enter the URL for the link you want to add.

   To add a link to a page, follow these steps:

   1. Navigate to the page you want to add a link to.

   2. Copy the URL from the address bar.

   3. Paste the URL into the Address box

4. In the Display name box, enter the display text for the link. This is the text that will show up on the menu.

   Then, click OK.

   Note: You can add up to 2 levels of sub links to the hub site navigation bar.

5. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Edit the display name or address for a menu link

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar..

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

   

4. When you are done editing the link, click OK.

5. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Change the order of menu links

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar..

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to move.

3. Click either Move up or Move down.

   

4. Repeat these steps until the link is in the desired position.

5. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Note: You can't drag and drop items to reorder them in menus.

Create sub links on the menu

This creates an indented link under another link. You can add up to 2 levels of sub links to the left-hand menu of a team site, to the top menu of a communication site, or to the hub site navigation bar. When adding a sub link, create the link where you want it to appear and then make it a sub link of the one above it.

Left-hand menu

Top menu

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar.

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to make a sub link.

3. Click Make sub link.

   

4. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Move a sub link up to a primary link on the menu

This moves an indented link out from under another link.

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar.

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the sub link that you want to promote to a primary link.

3. Click Promote sub link.

   

4. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Remove a link from the menu

Some links, such as Recycle Bin are system links and can't be removed.

1. Click Edit at the bottom of the left-hand menu on a team site or to the right of the top menu on a communication site, hub site, or hub site navigation bar.

   Note: If you don't see Edit, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

2. Click the ellipses (...) next to the link that you want to remove.

3. Click Remove.

   Note: You can't remove the Recycle bin link at this time.

   

4. When finished customizing the navigation, click Save or, to discard changes, click Cancel.

Turn the left-hand menu on or off for a SharePoint in Microsoft 365 team site

If you have owner or admin permissions, you can turn the left-hand menu off for your team site.

1. Click Settings , and then click Site Settings. If you don't see Site settings, click Site information and then click View all site settings. On some pages, you might have to click Site Contents and then click Site Settings on the top right menu.

2. Under Look and Feel on the Site Settings page, click Navigation Elements.

   

3. Check or clear the Enable Quick Launch setting to turn it off or on, and then click OK.

   

Note: When you disable the Quick Launch panel, you may still see the Recycle bin and the Edit button.

Classic SharePoint experience site navigation

If you've enabled the publishing feature on your classic SharePoint experience site, the left-hand menu will show links to modern experience lists or libraries if you've added them to your classic experience site in addition to showing items from the term store. For more information, see Enable managed navigation for a site in SharePoint and Enable publishing features.

Editing links in SharePoint Server 2016 or SharePoint Server 2013

To get started editing the links on your site, click one of the EDIT LINKS options on the page.

1. To change the links in the Top link bar, click EDIT LINKS to the right of the menu. 2. To change links in the Left-hand menu (also known as Quick launch bar), click EDIT LINKS beneath the menu.

Note: If you don't see EDIT LINKS, you might not have permissions to customize the site navigation. You must have at least Manage Lists permissions. Contact the site owner either to get permissions to make the changes yourself or to have the changes made for you.

Add a link by dragging an app from Site Contents to the Quick Launch or the Top link bar

1. Click Settings , and then click Site contents.

2. Click EDIT LINKS on the Quick Launch or Top link bar, depending on where you want to add a link.

3. Click the app you want to add, and then drag it to where you want it to be on the Quick Launch or Top link bar.

   

4. Click Save.

   

Add a link by entering the URL to the Quick Launch or Top link bar

To add a link to another site, type in the URL.

1. Click EDIT LINKS on the Quick Launch or Top link bar, depending on where you want to add a link.

2. Click + link.

3. Enter a display name for the link and a target location, making sure you include the http://.

4. Click OK to add the new link to the Quick Launch or Top link bar.

5. Click Save.

   

Rename or remove a link on the Quick Launch or Top link bar

Note: You can't rename or remove Recycle Bin.

1. Click EDIT LINKS on the Quick Launch or Top link bar, depending on where you want to edit a link.

2. Rename: Click directly on the link you want to rename and start typing the new name. Click outside the name, and then click Save.

3. Remove: Click the X corresponding to the link to remove it from the navigation panel, then click Save.

   

Renaming a link doesn't affect the page address or URL that the link references, only the menu.

Use drag and drop to change the order of links

1. Click EDIT LINKS on the Quick Launch or Top link bar depending on the location of the link that you want to move.

2. Select the link that you want to move, and then drag it to its new position in the navigation area.

   To indent or create a sub link, drag the link under and slightly to the right of the link you want as the top link.

3. Repeat these steps for each link you want to move.

4. When finished, click Save.

   

Note: You can drag items out of Recent to the main Quick Launch bar. However you can't drag items into Recent.

Show subsites or inherit parent site navigation (available for sites with publishing features)

For sites in site collections where publishing features are enabled, you have more navigation options to choose from, including showing subsites and displaying the same navigation as a site's parent site navigation (also called inheriting parent navigation). If you don't see these options, check with your site administrator.

1. On the site where you want to change navigation settings, click Settings , and then click Site settings.

2. On the Site Settings page, click Look and Feel, and then click Quick Launch or Top Link bar..

3. Choose options for the Quick Launch or Top Link bar, for example, to show subsites or to display the same navigation as the parent site (inherit parent navigation).

More about navigation bars and site navigation

The links that appear on the left side of your site are called Quick Launch links. By default, Quick Launch includes links to recent items as well as important items like lists and libraries. The links at the top, in the Top Link bar, typically show subsites under your site.

Quick Launch

When you create a new list or library, a new link appears automatically under Recent on Quick Launch. Only the five newest links appear in the Recent section.

Note: When you create a new page, it doesn't automatically appear in Quick Launch. You have to create a link to the page and add it yourself.

Top Link bar

You can also customize the navigation links on the Top Link bar of your site to change capitalization, rearrange the order, or add links to the subsites that users visit most often.

The top link bar helps users of your site navigate to other sites in the site collection by displaying a row of tabs at the top of pages in the site. The top link bar is also referred to as global navigation, because it can be the same across all of the sites in a site collection. However, subsites can be configured to not display in the top link bar of the parent site. The options available to you for configuring your top link bar will vary depending on whether the publishing features are enabled for your site collection.

Following is an example of a top link bar from the fictitious Contoso site. Marketing, Sales, and Finance are subsites of the Contoso parent site.

Before you begin

Do you have the necessary permissions to configure navigation?

To manage navigation for a site you must have at least the permissions obtained by being added to the default Designers SharePoint group for the site. You have the necessary permission to configure navigation for your site if Site Settings is an option on the Site actions menu and on the Sites Settings page you see the Navigation command under Look and Feel (on non-publishing sites, you will see the Quick Launch and Top link bar commands under Look and Feel instead of Navigation.

Is publishing enabled for your site?

Before you start to configure the navigation for your site, you need to determine whether or not the publishing features are enabled for the sites in your site collection. It is important to know whether or not your site is a publishing site because the navigation configuration options for a publishing site are more extensive than those available for a non-publishing site.

Depending on which type of site you have, you will see different navigation options on the Site Settings page. Here's how you can quickly determine which type of site you are working with:

1. On the Site Actions menu , click Site Settings.

2. Look at the list of links on the Site Settings page under Look and Feel.

   • If you see a link titled Navigation, then you are working with a publishing site and you can configure your site using the Navigation Settings page.
     

   • If you see links titled Top link bar and Quick Launch, then you are working with a non-publishing site and you have a more limited set of navigation configuration options available to you.
     

Breadcrumb navigation

You cannot configure the breadcrumb navigation. Following is an example of breadcrumb navigation.

Configure inheritance for the top link bar

You can configure the top link bar for a site to use the same top link bar as the parent site. In other words, the subsite inherits the top link bar from the parent site. Alternatively, you can configure the top link bar for a site to be unique to that site

The options and procedures for configuring inheritance for the top link bar differ between publishing sites and non-publishing sites. For information about how to determine whether or not the publishing features are enabled for the sites in your site collection, see "Is publishing enabled for your site?" in Before you begin in this article.

Configure inheritance for the top link bar on a non-publishing site

When you create a new site in a site collection for which the publishing features are not enabled, you can choose whether to include the site on the top link bar of the parent site and whether to use the top link bar from the parent site. This provides you with three different configuration options for your site:

• Inherited and included in parent     The site is included as a tab on the top link bar of the parent site and uses the same top link bar as the parent site. The top link bar cannot be configured at this level without first breaking the inheritance from the parent site.

• Inherited not included in parent     The site uses the same top link bar as the parent site but is not included as a tab on the top link bar of the parent site. The top link bar cannot be configured at this level without first breaking the inheritance from the parent site.

• Unique     The site is not included as a tab on the top link bar of the parent site and does not use the same top link bar as the parent site. The top link bar is configurable at this level and is completely separate from the parent site.

If a site is renamed from the Title, Description, and Icon page, the site name is not updated on the top link bar. To change the name that appears on the top link bar, you must edit the top link bar.

When you create a subsite, it appears by default on the top link bar of the parent site and has a unique top link bar. You can change these setting at any time. To configure the top link bar settings for a subsite:

1. On the Site actions menu , click Site settings.

2. In the Look and Feel column, click Top link bar.
   

3. Do one of the following:

   • To create custom links for the subsite, click Stop Inheriting Links. The links from the top link bar of the parent site are not retained when you configure the subsite to stop inheriting links.

   • To use the same links as the parent site, click Use Links from Parent. The links on the top link bar of the subsite be deleted when you configure the subsite to use the same top link bar as the parent site.

Configure inheritance for the top link bar on a publishing site

When you create a publishing site, you can choose whether or not to use the top link bar from the parent site. You can change these setting at any time use the Navigation Settings page. To configure the top link bar settings for a subsite:

1. On the Site Actions menu , click Site Settings.

2. In the Look and Feel column, click Navigation.

   
   Notes The Navigation command appears under Look and Feel only if the publishing features are enabled for your site and you have at least the permissions obtained by being added to the default Designers SharePoint group for the site.

3. In the Global Navigation section, do one of the following:

   • To display the same top link bar as the parent site, select Display the same navigation items as the parent site.

   • To display a top link bar that is unique to the current site, select Display the navigation items below the current site.
     
     

     Note: These options will not be available if you are at the top level site in your site collection, because a top level site does not have a parent site.

4. In the Global Navigation section,

   • To display the subsites of the current site on the top link bar, select Show subsites.

   • To display the pages of the current site on the top link bar, select Show pages.

   • To limit the number of links to sites and pages that are automatically displayed on the top link bar, type the number for Maximum number of dynamic items to show within this level of navigation.

5. Click OK.

Add, edit, or remove a link from the top link bar

The steps you take to add, edit, or remove links from the top link bar differ depending on whether the publishing features are enabled for your site collection. For information about how to determine whether or not the publishing features are enabled for the sites in your site collection, see "Is publishing enabled for your site?" in Before you begin in this article.

Add, edit, or remove links from the top link bar of a non-publishing site

If your site is using a unique top link bar (that is, it is a top-level site or it does not inherit its top link bar from a parent site), you can configure the links that appear on the top link bar for the site. You can also include links to other sites outside of your site collection.

1. On the Site actions menu , click Site settings.

2. In the Look and Feel column, click Top link bar.

3. Do one of the following:

   • To add a new link, click New Navigation Link. Type the URL and a description for the link. The URL can link to any valid path, such as a folder within this site, a share within your organization's intranet, or a link to a location on the internet.
     
     

   • To edit a link, click the Edit button beside the link that you want to edit and make any necessary changes. You can only edit the description for the default links, such as Home.

   • To remove a link, click the Edit button beside the link , click Delete, and then click OK.

     Important: When you delete a heading from the top link bar on a non-publishing site, any links contained under that heading are also deleted.

4. Click OK.

Add, edit, or remove links from the top link bar of a publishing site

You can use the Navigating Editing and Sorting section of the Navigation Settings page to add a new heading or link or to edit an existing heading or link in the top link bar.

1. On the Site actions menu , click Site settings.

2. Under Look and Feel, click Navigation.

   Note: The Navigation command appears under Look and Feel only if the publishing features are enabled for your site and you have the at lease the permissions obtained by being added to the default Designers SharePoint group for the site.

3. In the Navigation Editing and Sorting section, click Global Navigation to select the top link bar.
   
   

   Note: If you do not see lists of links organized under the headings Global Navigation or Current Navigation, your site might inherit its Global Navigation from its parent site. In this case, you will be limited to adding or editing links in the Quick Launch unless you want to stop inheriting Global Navigation from the parent site.

4. Do one of the following:

   • If you want to edit a heading or link, select a heading or link, and then click Edit.

   • If you want to add a new heading, click Add Heading.

   • If you want to add a new link, click Add Link.

     Note: If you select a heading, the link will be added under that heading. If you select a link, the link you create will be added to the same level as the link you selected.

   • If you want to remove a heading or a link, in the Navigation Editing and Sorting section, select the heading or link to remove, and then click Delete.

     Note: When you delete a heading from the top link bar on a publishing site, the links contained under that heading are not deleted and they will display as headings once their original heading is deleted.

5. In the Web dialog box that appears when you add or edit an item, configure the following:

   • Title  Type the title of the heading or link as you want it to appear. Title is required.

   • URL  Type the URL for the heading or link. A URL is required for links but is optional for headings.

     If you want the URL to open in a Web browser window different than that used by the site, select the Open link in new window.

   • Description  Type a description for the heading or link. Description is an optional setting.

   • Audience  If you want to restrict visibility, enter or browse to an audience for the heading or link. Only the audiences you enter can see the link or heading (and everything under the heading). If you do not enter any audiences, all audiences can see the link. Audience is an optional setting.
     
     

6. Click OK.

Change the order of links on the top link bar

The steps you take to reorder links on the top link bar differ depending on whether the publishing features are enabled for your site collection. For information about how to determine whether or not the publishing features are enabled for the sites in your site collection, see "Is publishing enabled for your site?" in Before you begin in this article.

Change the order of links on the top link bar of a non-publishing site

You can change the order in which the tabs are displayed on the top link bar. Any changes that you make to the order of items on the top link bar are reflected in any sites that inherit top link bar navigation from your site.

1. On the Site actions menu , click Site settings.

2. In the Look and Feel section, click Top link Bar.

3. Click Change Order.

4. In the Link Order column, click options in the lists to change the order in which the links appear on the top link bar.

5. Click OK.

Manually change the order of links on the top link bar of a publishing site

1. On the Site actions menu , click Site settings.

2. In the Look and Feel section, click Navigation.

   Note: The Navigation command appears under Look and Feel only if the publishing features are enabled for your site and you have the at lease the permissions obtained by being added to the default Designers SharePoint group for the site.

3. In the Navigation Editing and Sorting section, under Global Navigation, select the item you want to move, and then do one of the following:

   • To move an item to the left on the top link bar, click Move Up

   • To move an item to the right on the top link bar, click Move Down.
     
     

4. Repeat step 3 to change the order of any additional items.

5. When you are finished reordering items, click OK.

Automatically sort items on the top link bar on a publishing site

If you are working on a site for which the publishing features are enabled, you can configure navigation items to sort automatically, such as by title.

Important: The Sorting settings apply to both the top link bar and the Quick Launch. Any changes you make are applied to both of these navigation elements.

1. On the Site actions menu , click Site settings.

2. In the Look and Feel section, click Navigation.

   Note: The Navigation command appears under Look and Feel only if the publishing features are enabled for your site and you have the at lease the permissions obtained by being added to the default Designers SharePoint group for the site.

3. In the Sorting section, select Sort automatically to sort subsites, navigation links, lists, libraries, and pages automatically in ascending or descending alphabetical or numerical order based on items Titles, Created Dates, or Last Modified Dates.
    

   If you want to sort all navigation items manually except for pages, click Sort manually, and then select the Sort pages automatically check box. Only pages will be sorted according to the settings configured in the Automatic Sorting section.

   

   1. In the Automatic Sorting section, in the Sort by list, do one of the following:

      • To sort items by title, select Title.

      • To sort items by the date they were created, select Created Date.

      • To sort items by the date on which they were last modified, select Last Modified Date.

   2. Specify the sort order by selecting either in ascending order (A,B,C or 1,2,3) or in descending order (C,B,A or 3,2,1).

   3. Click OK.

Show or hide subsites and pages on the top link bar

If you are working on a site for which the publishing features are enabled, you have the option of showing or hiding pages and subsites on the top link bar.

1. On the Site actions menu , click Site settings.

2. In the Look and Feel section, click Navigation.

   Note: The Navigation command appears under Look and Feel only if the publishing features are enabled for your site and you have the at lease the permissions obtained by being added to the default Designers SharePoint group for the site.

3. In the Navigation Editing and Sorting section, do one of the following:

   • If you want to show a subsite or page that is hidden, select the item, and then click Show.

   • If you want to hide a subsite or page that is currently visible on the top link bar, select the item, and then click Hide.
     
     

     Notes: 

     • The Hide and Show commands are available only for navigation items that are subsites or pages. You cannot hide headings or links.

     • When you select an item that is currently visible in the Quick Launch, only the Hide option is available. When you select an item that is currently hidden in the Quick Launch, only the Show option is displayed.

Display subsites on drop-down menus in the top link bar

If you are working on a publishing site, you can specify whether you want subsites and pages of your site to be displayed automatically in the top link bar. In the top link bar, subsites and pages of the current site display as new tabs (this assumes the site is not inheriting its navigation from a parent site). If you choose to show subsites and/or pages for all of the sites in your site collection, subsites and pages underneath subsites of the top-level site display as links in drop-down menus from the relevant tabs in the top link bar.

Note: If you decide to display navigation items for subsites or pages, your site may appear cluttered if your site has many subsites or pages. If the structure of your overall site collection is not going to be centrally planned or managed, you might want to configure your site so that subsites and pages do not automatically display.

1. On the Site actions menu , click Site settings.

2. In the Look and Feel section, click Navigation.

   Note: The Navigation command appears under Look and Feel only if the publishing features are enabled for your site and you have at least the permissions obtained by being added to the default Designers SharePoint group for the site.

3. In the Global Navigation section, do one of the following:

   • To show links to subsites in the top link bar, select the Show subsites check box.

   • To show links to pages in the top link bar, select the Show pages check box.

   • To hide links to subsites in the top link bar, clear the Show subsites check box.

   • To hide links to pages in the top link bar, clear the Show pages check box.

   • If you configure your site to show subsites and pages, but your site is set up to display the global navigation (top link bar) for its parent site, you will not see links to these subsites and pages in the navigation for your current site unless the navigation for the parent site is also configured to display subsites and pages.

   • If you are configuring navigation for a top-level site, and you want pages or subsites underneath the subsites of the top-level site to appear on drop-down menus from the top link bar, you need to configure the top level site to show subsites and pages, and you also need to configure the individual subsites to show their subsites and pages.

   • If you do not want all of the subsites or pages to display, you can hide pages and subsites individually after you have configured them to display. 

Related links

To add links to your page rather than the left hand menu or top menu, see Add a link to a page.

To create new pages that you can link to, see Add a page to a site.

To change colors, background, and how your site looks, see Change the look of your SharePoint site.

To change the name, description, logo, or other site settings, see Manage your SharePoint team site settings.

To create a site in SharePoint in Microsoft 365, see Create a team site in SharePoint Online or Create a communication site in SharePoint Online.