Do you want to export a navigation menu from one WordPress website and import it into another?
WordPress' default import / export functionality allows you to transfer menus as part of the full website transfer, but it does not allow you to import / export menus only.
In this article we will show you how to import / export easily navigation menus in WordPress, so you can save time.
But before, if you have never installed WordPress discover How to Install a WordPress Blog in 7 Steps et How to search, install and activate a WordPress theme on your blog.
Then, back to why we are here.
Understand WordPress import and export features
On every WordPress website, you have built-in import and export features. You can find them under Tools »Import et tools »Export In your WordPress dashboard.
If you access the page Export, the default WordPress options will be displayed. These allow you to choose between exporting all content or exporting only your posts, pages or media.
All content includes your navigation menus, plus posts, pages, comments, custom fields, terms and types of custom publications.
But in many cases, you don't want to export everything. For example, you would just like to replicate your navigation menu and the links included in it, but not your posts or any other page.
Fortunately, there is an easy plugin that extends this functionality, so that you can import and export navigation menus in WordPress.
That being said, let's take a look at how to import and export navigation menus without exporting all the content.
Export and import navigation menus in WordPress
Before going any further, make sure you are happy with the menu you are exporting. You can find your website menu under Appearance »Menus.
If you need help creating or modifying your menu, take a look at our tutorial on how to add a navigation menu in WordPress.
Then you need to install and activate the plugin WPS Export Menu. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
After activation you have to go to the menu Tools »Export from your WordPress dashboard.
Now you should see an additional option to export navigation menu items. This will include your menu itself, as well as any pages that are linked from your menu.
If you have any posts in your menu, those will be included too, along with any comments on them.
Simply select the Radio Elements button from the navigation menu and then click on the ' Download the export file'.
This allows you to download your navigation menu and its associated pages to your computer. These are stored in an .xml file with the name site.wordpress.yyyy-mm-dd, where "site" is the name of your website and "yyyy-mm-dd" is the date.
Importing your WordPress menu to your new website
You can import the .xml file you just uploaded using the standard WordPress import functionality. It's a straightforward process. You just have to upload your navigation menu file to your new website.
Important: Make sure you don't have any existing pages with the same names as the pages in the menu you are importing, not even in the recycle bin. Otherwise, the import tool may not be able to import these pages correctly.
First, log into your WordPress dashboard on the new website where you want to import your menu.
Then go to Tools »Import. You will need to install the WordPress importer. Just click on the link 'install now'under' WordPress' at the bottom of the list.
Once you've installed the WordPress importer, you should see a link 'Start the importer'instead of the link'Installer'.
After clicking on this link, you will see the Import from WordPress page. Here you need to Choose the .xml file that you previously exported.
Once you have selected your file, click on the " Upload files and import ".
On the next page, you will be asked to assign authors. The default option is to import the original author of the menu content.
In many cases, it will make more sense to define an existing user as the author of the imported content. To do so, you can select the user's name from the drop-down menu.
If you plan to reuse content from the pages themselves, you'll also want to check the "Upload and import file attachments" box. This means that the images will be included in the import.
Once you are satisfied with your settings, click on the " Send »at the bottom of the page.
When finished, you should see the following message:
Display of your menu and imported pages
The import has set up your menu and associated pages. To take a look at the imported menu, just go to Appearance »Menus. You will be able to make sure that it was imported correctly.
You can also click on the Pages tab of your WordPress dashboard to view new pages imported with the menu.
That's it, you have successfully imported your navigation menu and associated pages. You can change the menu and pages as you want.
Discover also some premium WordPress plugins
You can use other WordPress plugins to give a modern appearance and to optimize the handling of your blog or website.
We offer you here some premium WordPress plugins that will help you do that.
1. Modern WPBakery Page Builder
Extensions of Visual Composer are among the most popular plugins on CodeCanyon for both developers and customers. There are a number of them that are released every month, and they are quickly becoming top-selling.
This month we want to feature the plugin " Kaswara – an excellent extension for Visual Composer "versatile" Offering a huge amount of versatility.
To start, Kaswara introduced a huge list of more than 45 elements.
Better still, these elements are almost infinitely customizable, with more than 500 shortcode options. This means that you can customize each item to your exact specifications.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
2. WP Advanced Comment
WP Advanced Comment is a WordPress Plugin premium of powerful and easy-to-use comment management, as it has a custom field builder that fully supports Drag and Drop functionality. But to use it you will first need to install the WordPress Plugin WP Advanced Comment, because this plugin is part of its extensions.
Its main features are among others: the possibility of creating a form by drag and drop, the use of the jQuery Validation plugin for front-end validation, support for custom fields (Text, Text box, Option button, Check box, Selector, Multi selector, URL, Email, Skip sequence, HTML codes, Date, etc.), and much more.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
3. Cornerstone
By the makers of X Theme, Cornerstone is an excellent plugin for creating pages, which offers the building blocks of its flagship theme on WordPress as a plugin.
Due to its growing popularity, we are starting to see a number of extensions. Today we want to highlight a great example of one of Cornerstone's expansions: the Ultimate Elements Bundle or even “ Essential Addons for Cornerstone ».
Download | Demo | Web hosting
Other recommended resources
We also invite you to consult the resources below to go further in the grip and control of your website and blog.
- 9 tips for selling your product WordPress
- 10 WordPress plugins to manage ads on your blog
- 9 WordPress plugins to optimize the images of your blog
- 7 WordPress plugins to add Google Adsense to a blog
Conclusion
Here ! That's it for this tutorial. We hope this article has helped you learn how to import and export navigation menus in WordPress.
However, you can also consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on WordPress blog creation.
Feel free to share the tip with your friends on your social networks. But, in the meantime, let us know your comments and suggestions in the dedicated section.
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