Configure global navigation and menu links

Administrators and site editors can enable global navigation, an option for every site that adds a compact bar above the header. This bar includes interactive and informational options. Administrators and site editors can also add links to a menu in the header. Use menu links to make it easier and more efficient for site visitors to navigate to content, pages, other sites, or external web links.

Learn about global navigation

Every new site includes global navigation, an optional site capability that places a compact bar above the header of a site. To disable or enable global navigation, see Interactions. This bar includes the following options:

• Sign in—The option to sign in enables administrators, group members, and community members to sign in with their account on the site, page, or a view.

  Note:

  Organizations that are using ArcGIS Hub Premium and enable community account creation should always have global navigation turned on for their sites. This ensure that visitors have a consistent place to sign in.

• User profile—Once signed in, a person can access their profile and notifications in the user profile drop-down menu, and depending on their privileges, ArcGIS Hub Settings and the Overview page.
• A search button—When selected, the search button expands into a search bar that anyone can use to explore all public content shared with ArcGIS Hub. A person does not need to be signed in to enter a search on a site. Signed in members can also search for private content (items shared with a team to which they belong, or the organization).
• New button—Administrators and team members can use the New button to create new content. This option is only visible to members who have signed in and have the appropriate privileges to create content.

For people viewing global navigation on a mobile device, a menu button in the far left corner of the global navigation bar expands to provide several options, including the option to save a site as a favorite and to access recent downloads.

Learn about menu links

You can link to any external website by using a URL. You can also choose from items belonging to you, your site or organization, or public content. The following items are supported:

• Web mapping applications
• Dashboards
• Datasets, shapefiles, and CSV files
• Sites
• Pages
• Web maps
• Documents
• Survey123 forms

For a full list of items supported, see Supported content.

Add a menu link to a header

A common guideline suggests that seven is the maximum number of menu links that should be included in a header. A concise menu is easier to use and remember. This rule doesn't always apply, though, if your content spans a significant breadth. If you have many menu links to add, be sure to consider order and meaningful labels.

1. Open a site in edit mode.
2. On the Customize panel, select Header.
3. Under Appearance, change the settings as needed.
4. Expand Menu.
5. Select Add Link and choose from the following options:
   • To existing content—Choose from content attached to the site or based on who created it.
   • To link—Provide a name for the link in the Link Name field. Copy and paste a link in the Link Destination field.

   Tip:

   Enter a descriptive Link Name that tells visitors where the link is going. Descriptive labels answer questions rather than simply indicate the type of content behind a link. For example, the label Videos is generic compared to FAQs, Success Stories, and Learn More. Embedding a video or photo as part of a story or resource page is more effective than a link to a video with no context.

6. Select Save for the link.
7. Select Save.

Menu links on mobile devices

To ensure the best experience for people viewing a site on a mobile device, the site's header is designed to be mobile responsive. This means that anything included in a site's header, including logo, name, and menu links, can collapse into a drop-down menu depending on the screen size of the device.

Tip:

Global navigation impacts header display on mobile devices. If you’ve added a logo to your header, it will appear in the global navigation bar when viewed on a mobile device. This means that if you have a light-colored logo and a light global navigation background, color contrast will most likely not be enough for your logo to be accessible. If you have both a name and a logo in your header, use a short name to ensure that your site’s title is not truncated.

Reorder menu links

The order in which menu links are displayed is important. Prioritize resources that you think have the most value to a visitor by placing their links in the beginning of the menu. Recent content can be linked toward the end of the menu. People are most likely to remember links in these places.

1. Open a site in edit mode.
2. On the Customize panel, select Header.
3. Expand Menu.
4. Select the menu link and drag it to a new place in the list.
5. Select Save.

Edit or remove a menu link

Follow these steps to edit a menu link name or URL, or to remove a menu link from a site header.

1. Open a site in edit mode.
2. On the Customize panel, select Header.
3. Expand Menu.
4. Select the setting button on the link.
5. If editing, select Edit, edit as needed, and select Save.
6. If removing, select Remove Link.
7. Select Save.