How to set up your SiteStakes real estate website navigation

The Menu Builder lets you set up your real estate website navigation menu — the header at the top, the mobile menu that opens when visitors tap the hamburger icon, the footer columns at the bottom, and the legal links row. You drag items into the order you want, edit each one in place, and save.

You find it at Back office → Design → Menus.

This article covers the menus you can build, how to add and arrange items, and what features come with each plan.

Your website's navigation does four things for your business:

• Helps visitors find what they need. A visitor who can't find your contact page or your offer page in a few seconds leaves. Clear navigation is the difference between a lead and a bounce.
• Reduces bounce rate. Sites with cluttered or confusing menus lose visitors fast. A clean header keeps people on your site longer, which gives more time to convert.
• Lifts conversion rates. Visitors who can easily find your contact form, your properties page, or your CTA are more likely to take action. Navigation is the silent CTA on every page.
• Helps Google rank your pages. Google uses your internal links to discover and rank pages on your site. Pages buried with no navigation links rank worse than pages featured in your header or footer.

Most SiteStakes tenants with 4-7 clear header items see fewer bounces and more form submissions than tenants who cram 12+ links into their header.

The Menu Builder supports nine separate menus on your real estate website:

• Header Primary. The main header navigation menu links shown across your site. Visible on every page.
• Header Utility. A small bar above the main header. Used for phone numbers, a "Get Offer" button, or a login link.
• Mobile Drawer. The menu that opens when visitors tap the hamburger icon on phones and tablets.
• Footer Simple. Inline footer links like Home · About · Contact. Used when your footer layout is set to "Simple."
• Footer Column 1, 2, 3, 4. Four separate columns for grouped footer links. Each column can have its own header label.
• Legal Links. A row at the bottom of your footer for Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and similar links.

Each real estate website menu is edited separately. Switching between menus is a click in the menu picker at the top of the page.

Pick the menu you want to edit, then add items one at a time:

• Click Add Item at the top of the menu.
• Pick an item type. You have three choices: Internal Page (picks from your site's existing pages), Custom Link (any URL you type in), or Header (used as a column title in footer columns).
• For Internal Page, select the page from the dropdown. The URL fills in automatically.
• For Custom Link, type the label and the URL. External URLs are supported.
• For Header, type the label only. Used as a column title in footer columns.

To reorder items, drag the handle on the left of each item. Drop it where you want.

To add a sub-item under another item, click the + next to an existing item. Sub-items appear as a dropdown when visitors hover over the parent. You can nest up to two levels deep.

Click Save when you're done. The menu updates on your live site immediately.

Most Menu Builder features work on every plan. One feature is gated:

• Basic plan. Build single-level menus only. The Add Sub-item button shows an upgrade prompt.
• Grow plan and higher. Build dropdown menus with up to two levels of nesting.

The Menu Builder shows an upgrade prompt when you try to add a sub-item on Basic. The prompt links to the plans page.

• Keep your header to 4-7 items. More than that and visitors lose track of where to look. Move secondary links to the Header Utility bar or the footer.
• Use Header Utility for action items. Phone numbers, "Get Offer" buttons, and login links belong here. Keep the main header for navigation.
• Group footer links into columns. The Menu Builder works as a footer menu builder too — set up Footer Column 1 through 4 with grouped links and use Header item types to title each column.
• Test your mobile menu separately. Mobile visitors see the Mobile Drawer menu, not the header. Always check both.

A clear real estate website navigation menu helps visitors find your forms, your properties, and your contact page in one or two clicks. Most sites do well with 4-7 header items, a small Header Utility bar, and 3-4 grouped footer columns.

For picking your website's design, see Real estate website designs. For changing colors and fonts after picking a design, see Customize your real estate website design.