Your website’s navigation is simply the main menu at the top of your site. Adding a new page or link there makes it easy for visitors to find what they need.
Example:
Watch: Update Your Website's Navigation in Novi AMS
Getting Started
1. On the backend, go to the Static Content tab (on the left side navigation) and click Website Navigation.
2. You'll see two columns:
Left Column (your toolbox) - This is the list of items you can add to your navigation. It includes:
Folders & Pages
Manual Links
Events
Products
Blog
Right Column (your finished menu) - This is what your visitors will see on your site. Build it by dragging items from the left column into this area.
Pages vs. Manual Links vs. Categories
Before you begin making changes, it's important to understand what can go in the navigation and where to find it.
Pages
To find a page to add your navigation:
Search by name in the search bar
OR open the appropriate folder below the search bar
📌 Important Note:
Folders cannot be added to the navigation (only the pages within the folders).
Only active static pages on your site can be found in the Folders & Pages menu on the left. Pages in a draft status will not appear.
Learn more: Making a Web Page Active/Draft
Categories
In addition to pages and manual links, you can add any categories that you've set up for your events, products, and blog.
Example of a blog category:
Events, Products, and Blog
If you expand any of these sections in the left column (Events, Products, or Blog), you can then expand the categories to see specific items.
Example of a specific blog article:
Manual Links
Add Manual Links by clicking the button at the top right of the Website Navigation page.
Manual links can be used for any of the following:
Non-clickable navigation items (to help organize the menu)
Example: A header for a section of navigation that doesn't need to lead to a landing page.
Note: For this use case, you would check the Non-clickable navigation item checkbox when creating the manual link.
External websites
A file or image (that's saved to Novi Files or Secure Files)
An internal link to your own site that's not available in the left column.
Examples:
a pre-filtered directory list
the event calendar (instead of the list view)
the "past events" page
Note: When creating the manual link, enter ONLY the URL path after your domain name. For example:
if the website link is https://www.noviams.com/events/?PastEvents=1
you only need to enter this part of the URL: /events/?PastEvents=1
Same Tab vs New Tab
Manual links are set to open in a new tab by default.
Click the toggle off to allow the manual link to open in the same browser tab instead.
This toggle will only be visible when the non-clickable navigation item checkbox is unchecked.
Add Manual Link to Navigation (Final Step)
After creating a manual link, it will show up in the left column under Manual Links. It will then need to be added to the right column (navigation). See the section below for how to add items to the navigation.
✅ Changes to the website navigation are saved automatically!
Updating the Navigation
Add Item to Navigation
Once you’ve created the page, event, product, blog, or manual link, adding it to your website navigation is easy:
Go to Website Navigation – On the backend > click the Static Content tab > then click Website Navigation.
Locate the item – Find the page, event, product, blog, or manual link in the left column (your toolbox).
Drag and drop – Click and drag the item into the right column (your finished menu) and place it where you want it to appear.
*Keep a close eye on the placement of the item before "dropping" it in the right column, which is determined by the location of the little black arrow (see below for more information on this, or watch the video at the top of this article to see it in action).
Dropping it above or below another item will place it appropriately.
Example: Above another item
(Add "Classes" above "Events")
Example: Below another item
(Add "Classes" below "Events")
Dropping an item IN another item (the arrow is in the middle) will create a sub-menu under the first item.
Example: Within another item (sub-navigation)
(Add "Classes" as an item within "Events")
Remove Item from Navigation
To remove an item from the website menu:
Go to Website Navigation – On the backend > click the Static Content tab > then click Website Navigation.
Locate the item – In the right column (your finished menu), find the page, event, product, blog, or manual link you want to remove.
Remove it – Hover over the item, click the drop-down arrow that appears on the right (#1 in the image below), and select Remove (#2).
*This only removes the item from your navigation menu. The item will remain available in the left column (your toolbox) for future use.
📌 Important Notes
Items that are in the left column (folders & pages) but are not in the right column (navigation) are either "hidden" but still active, or they may be linked within another page on the site.
If a static page is changed to draft while it's in the right column (navigation), it will be removed from the navigation. To display it again, change the page status back to Active and re-add it to the navigation
In order for your navigation to display properly without causing the layout to shift, we recommend using 6 or fewer main navigation items (if possible). Also, keep in mind that the length (i.e. number of characters) in each navigation item can affect the display/layout as well.
Your website's footer, which displays on all web pages, is not part of the navigation. The footer content can be edited from the frontend - for the middle and right regions. The footer content in the left region is pulled from your Association Settings on the backend.
AE Tip™: Keep your navigation simple! Visitors don't want to search through 100 links and sub-menus to find what they need. Remember - Every page doesn't need to be in the navigation. You can always link to a page from another page.