Configure global navigation and menu links

Administrators and site editors can enable global navigation, which is an option for every site that adds a compact bar above the header. This bar includes interactive and informational options and allows visitors to search the site's content using keywords and phrases, access their user profile, and view notifications.

Administrators and site editors can also add links to a menu in the header. Use menu links to make it more efficient for site visitors to navigate to content, pages, other sites, and external web links.

Configure global navigation

Every new site includes global navigation, an optional site capability that places a compact bar above the header of a site. To turn on or off global navigation, refer to Configure interactions. This bar includes the following options:

• Sign in—This option allows 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 that allow 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—When signed in, a member can access their user workspace and ArcGIS Online in the user profile drop-down menu.
• A search button—When selected, the search button expands into a search bar that anyone can use to explore public content shared with ArcGIS Hub. A person does not need to be signed in to search a site. Signed-in members can also search for private content (items shared with a team to which they belong, or the organization).
• Create button—Administrators and organization members with the privilege to create items can use the Create button to create 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 left corner of the global navigation bar expands to provide several options, including to save a site as a favorite and to access recent downloads.

Configure menu links

You can add links to a page from a site or from other pages using menu links or HTML. Link to any external website 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 supported items, see Supported content.

Add menu links to a header

A common guideline is to include no more than seven menu links in a header. A concise menu is easier to use and remember. If you have a significant amount of site content and require a lot of menu links, consider their order and meaningful labels.

To add a menu link to the header, complete the following steps:

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

   Tip:

   Provide a name for Link name that describes the link destination to visitors. Descriptive labels answer questions rather than indicate the type of content of 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.

5. Select Save for the link.
6. Select Save.

Learn about 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 the 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. Logos added to the header appear on the global navigation bar when viewed on a mobile device. This means that a light-colored logo and a light global navigation background may not provide enough color contrast for the logo to be accessible. If you have both a name and a logo in the header, use a short name to ensure that the site’s title is not truncated.

Reorder menu links

Place links to resources that have the most value to visitors at the beginning of the menu. Recent content can be linked toward the end of the menu.

To move a menu link, complete the following steps:

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

Edit or remove a menu link

To edit a menu link name or URL, or to remove a menu link from a site header, complete the following steps:

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