Substack finally introduced dropdown navigation menus, and this quick 5-minute tutorial shows you exactly how to set them up to organize your publication like a real website.
i literally JUST discovered this feature myself! LOL and then i went googling to see how new of a feature it was and your article here came up. so it IS new! why do they never tell you anything?! (Or do they and I just never see it?!) anyway it's cool. I just added 2 quizzes to my start here menu
You're using the recipe card feature, right? I might do a post about it in the future so if you use it, I'd love your feedback about it. I can share your publication in my post.
Thanks for making the dropdown easy. But my question is - how do I send newsletters to different topics/magazines in my nav bar? Is there a way to split the email list?
That would be what sections are used for. You can also set up your nav bar using tags. Just depends on how you want to structure your publication. There is a link at the bottom of this post that explains tags, pages, and sections more clearly.
Regarding splitting your email list, we do not have segmenting capabilities here on Substack. Not like other ESPs.
super cool! I wonder if Substack will ever make a menu bar for the phone apps? Right now the only options seem to be posts, notes, about page and chat - pages don't show up there either.
Dropdowns are used more for pages, sections, tags/categories. However, tags are a very easy way to organize your POSTS, and then you can add the tag to your nav bar. You would have to go back into edit mode on old posts to add/update tags if you want to organize using those.
This post explains more about adding things to your navigation bar:
YAY!!!! I can't stand that we didn't know this, but am so glad that we do now. And my next gripe...when is Substack going to show our extra pages (the entire website content), in the app. So many miss out on so much because of that limitation. The people who only use the app? They don't know what they're missing. Thanks for this, Kristi. xo
So crazy. I'd like to spend the afternoon or maybe a week with the designers and give them so of my "recommendations." They'd probably end up banning me from the platform, I'm so helpful! Banned not because of any of the other things (nazism, racism, maga-ness, etc). They'd ban me for being a nagging pain in the butt. Just sent you a ticket to the slam. Come if you can. you can share the link with your mom if you want. We're good colleagues. I love that about you, that we do things like share info and do fun and silly lives together. xo
Thank you, because I need to get you in the slam, one way or another. I hope seeing it will convince you to tell a story of your own. You’re a natural. XO.
i literally JUST discovered this feature myself! LOL and then i went googling to see how new of a feature it was and your article here came up. so it IS new! why do they never tell you anything?! (Or do they and I just never see it?!) anyway it's cool. I just added 2 quizzes to my start here menu
I’m excited about this! Menus are so helpful.
Ohh I’m excited to break up my recipes into sections!
That's a great idea!
Slowly but surely Substack seems to be adding in more ways for food creators to share recipes well! Excited to try this one out!
You're using the recipe card feature, right? I might do a post about it in the future so if you use it, I'd love your feedback about it. I can share your publication in my post.
Yesss that's a great use for dropdowns! Categorize using tags and then put them in a dropdown.
Thanks for making the dropdown easy. But my question is - how do I send newsletters to different topics/magazines in my nav bar? Is there a way to split the email list?
That would be what sections are used for. You can also set up your nav bar using tags. Just depends on how you want to structure your publication. There is a link at the bottom of this post that explains tags, pages, and sections more clearly.
Regarding splitting your email list, we do not have segmenting capabilities here on Substack. Not like other ESPs.
Thank you. I will dive deeper.
Hi again Helen. Here is the link I was referring to. Sorry, yesterday I was a bit busy.
https://unstackit.substack.com/p/substack-navigation-bar-links?r=2qffbg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
You've been very accomodating!
Woot! I think I will use this to list my Sections, like you did in the video. This is going to be handy. I laughed at the 2007 reference.
Lol honestly though...2007 🤣
Thank you for this Kristi
Edited.
It's Kristi lol
Thank you! I had no idea. I just did it at both of my Substacks and it looks so much neater now.
My pleasure Ramona! This is fairly new so not many knew about it.
Thank you!
super cool! I wonder if Substack will ever make a menu bar for the phone apps? Right now the only options seem to be posts, notes, about page and chat - pages don't show up there either.
Yah that is a common complaint. You can see all the nav bar features in the mobile version but not the app. Ugh.
Thank you. How I can create page like this pls: https://unstackit.substack.com/p/substack-video-vault. It likes landing or Sales page.
Here is a link to show you how: https://unstackit.substack.com/p/how-to-create-custom-pages
Thank you so much! My question is, how do we get our prior posts to live under the new navigation headings, or is this only for future posts? Thanks!
Dropdowns are used more for pages, sections, tags/categories. However, tags are a very easy way to organize your POSTS, and then you can add the tag to your nav bar. You would have to go back into edit mode on old posts to add/update tags if you want to organize using those.
This post explains more about adding things to your navigation bar:
https://unstackit.substack.com/p/substack-navigation-bar-links
Thanks, Kristi!
YAY!!!! I can't stand that we didn't know this, but am so glad that we do now. And my next gripe...when is Substack going to show our extra pages (the entire website content), in the app. So many miss out on so much because of that limitation. The people who only use the app? They don't know what they're missing. Thanks for this, Kristi. xo
It’s only because of you that I even know about these dropdowns, Nan! I’m grateful for your accidental discovery!
And yup….the nav bar in the app leaves a LOT still sitting in the dark. 🙁
So crazy. I'd like to spend the afternoon or maybe a week with the designers and give them so of my "recommendations." They'd probably end up banning me from the platform, I'm so helpful! Banned not because of any of the other things (nazism, racism, maga-ness, etc). They'd ban me for being a nagging pain in the butt. Just sent you a ticket to the slam. Come if you can. you can share the link with your mom if you want. We're good colleagues. I love that about you, that we do things like share info and do fun and silly lives together. xo
Thanks Nan!! I have a few errands today but will try my best to be around at 3pm!
Thank you, because I need to get you in the slam, one way or another. I hope seeing it will convince you to tell a story of your own. You’re a natural. XO.
yep - the app is WAY different from the lap/destop versions
I will DEFINITELY be adding drop-down menus to my Substack — it will keep the nav bar so much cleaner.
Absolutely! I think this is a huge A-HA moment for lots of us!