{"id":15135,"date":"2026-01-13T14:10:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/?page_id=15135"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:06:18","slug":"left-navigation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/navigation\/left-navigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Left Navigation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Covered in This Tutorial<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"condensed\">\n<li><a href=\"#how-it-works\">How the Left Navigation Works<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#organization\">Organization Matters<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#assign-a-parent\">Assign a Parent\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#reorder\">Reorder the Left Navigation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#page-comparison\">Top-Level Page vs. Section Page<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#url\">Page URLs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#missing-page\">If a Page Is Missing from the Left Navigation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#missing-left-nav\">If the Left Nav Is Missing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#best-practices\">Best Practices<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<p>The left navigation is an automatically generated list of pages that displays related pages for each section of a site (for example: Research, Education, About Us).<\/p>\n<p>It helps visitors:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Understand what section they are in<\/li>\n<li>See all related pages in that section<\/li>\n<li>Move easily between related content<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Site editors never need to build or maintain this menu manually. It is created entirely from your page hierarchy.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"how-it-works\"><\/a>How the Left Navigation Works<\/h2>\n<p>The \u201cParent Page\u201d setting organizes your pages into hierarchies. A \u201cparent\u201d is an upper-level page with \u201cchild\u201d pages nested under it. This hierarchy controls what appears in the left navigation and how pages are grouped on a site.<\/p>\n<p>A page can be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A <strong>parent<\/strong> &#8211; a page with children<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>child<\/strong> &#8211; a page that belongs under another page<\/li>\n<li><strong>Both<\/strong> &#8211; a child page can also have its own children which creates deeper levels of navigation that the left navigation shows as nested lists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The navigation automatically:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Displays all child pages in the current section<\/li>\n<li>Updates when pages are added, removed, or reordered<\/li>\n<li>Keeps navigation consistent across the site<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"organization\"><\/a>Organization Matters<\/h2>\n<p>Give thought to overall site structure before adding or rearranging pages because your page structure determines how visitors move through your site.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good navigation gets people quickly to what they came for, while great navigation also exposes related content they did not know to search for (for example, related policies or support pages grouped under a section landing page).<\/li>\n<li>Visitors should be able to predict where content lives just by looking at the navigation.<\/li>\n<li>Group pages into logical sections (e.g., About, Services, Research) and avoid creating new sections when a page could reasonably live under an existing one.<\/li>\n<li>While pages can easily be moved, changing a page\u2019s parent also changes its URL so it\u2019s best to plan your structure before adding content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When pages are organized well:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Visitors move through your site more easily<\/li>\n<li>Sections feel clear and intentional<\/li>\n<li>Accessibility and SEO improve<\/li>\n<li>Maintenance becomes much easier<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"assign-a-parent\"><\/a>Assign a Parent<\/h2>\n<p>Use the <strong>Page Attributes<\/strong> panel to assign a <strong>Parent<\/strong> and control the <strong>Order<\/strong> in which pages appear in the left navigation. If you don\u2019t see <strong>Page Attributes<\/strong>, enable it\u00a0under <strong>Screen Options<\/strong> at the top right of the editor.<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15147 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/page-attributes-panel.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of the Page Attributes panel where the parent and order of a page can be defined.\" width=\"288\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/page-attributes-panel.png 288w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/page-attributes-panel-270x300.png 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px\" \/>Parent<\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>Parent<\/strong> setting determines which section of the site a page belongs to and where it appears in the left navigation (for example: About, Research, or Education).<\/p>\n<p>To assign a parent:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Locate the <strong>Page Attributes<\/strong> panel in the right-hand sidebar.<\/li>\n<li>Click on the <strong>Parent<\/strong> dropdown.<\/li>\n<li>Select the page that should act as the parent. (Only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/getting-started\/publish-states\/\"><strong>published<\/strong><\/a> pages appear in this list.)<\/li>\n<li>Save your changes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Order (In Which Pages Display)<\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>Order<\/strong> field controls the sequence in which sibling pages appear in the left navigation.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lower numbers appear closer to the top.<\/li>\n<li>Pages with the same number sort alphabetically by page title.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"reorder\"><\/a>Reorder the Left Navigation<\/h2>\n<p>The order in which pages appear in the left navigation is determined by the <strong>Order<\/strong> field. This can be set when creating or editing a page (see above documentation).<\/p>\n<p>When reorganizing multiple pages within the same section, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/pages\/all-pages-view\/\"><strong>All Pages<\/strong><\/a> screen is often the fastest and most efficient option. It allows you to see parent and child relationships at a glance and quickly adjust page order without opening each page individually.<\/p>\n<h3>How to Reorder Pages From All Pages<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>In the Dashboard, select <strong>Pages<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Locate the section you want to reorganize.\n<ul>\n<li>Child pages are indented beneath their parent. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/pages\/all-pages-view\/#page-hierarchy\">page hierarchy<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Hover over a page title and click <strong>Quick Edit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>In the <strong>Order<\/strong> field, enter a number.\n<ul>\n<li>Lower numbers appear higher in the left navigation.<\/li>\n<li>Pages with the same number sort alphabetically by page title.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Update<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Repeat for other pages in the same section as needed.<\/li>\n<li>After reordering, refresh the front-end page to confirm the navigation displays as expected.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"page-comparison\"><\/a>Top-Level Pages vs Section Pages<\/h2>\n<p>Section landing pages and their child pages play different roles in your site\u2019s structure, and knowing the difference helps keep navigation clear and predictable.<\/p>\n<h3>Top-level Pages (section landing pages)<\/h3>\n<p>A top-level (or section landing) page is the highest parent page in a section. It has child pages but does not itself have a parent. They:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do not have a parent. (If it had a parent, it would no longer be a section landing page.)<\/li>\n<li>Usually appear in the top navigation<\/li>\n<li>Control the layout for their entire section<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Child Pages<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Appear in the left navigation<\/li>\n<li>Belong to a specific section<\/li>\n<li>Inherit layout and navigation from their parent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15148\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 510px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-15148\" src=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/navigation-example.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/navigation-example.png 1456w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/navigation-example-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/navigation-example-1024x639.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/navigation-example-768x479.png 768w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/navigation-example-600x374.png 600w, https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/419\/2026\/01\/navigation-example-560x349.png 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imgBorderMed\">Example of the left navigation from the Psychiatry website showing multiple levels of related pages within a single section. Click for a larger view.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"url\"><\/a>Page URLs<\/h2>\n<p>Parent and child page relationships are reflected in a page&#8217;s URL.\u00a0This accurately mirrors the site structure and is considered good practice.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you had a top-level page titled &#8220;Programs&#8221; with a child page titled &#8220;MD Program,&#8221; and that page had a child page named &#8220;Curriculum&#8221; (Programs \u2192 MD Program \u2192 Curriculum), the URL would look like this: med.unc.edu\/site\/programs\/md-program\/curriculum.<\/p>\n<p>This structure helps visitors understand where they are in the site and how the content is organized.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"missing-page\"><\/a>If a Page Is Missing from the Left Navigation<\/h2>\n<p>Check the following:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Is the page <strong>Published<\/strong>?<\/li>\n<li>Is it assigned to the <strong>correct Parent<\/strong>?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Only published pages with a valid parent appear in the left navigation. Drafts, private pages, or pages with the wrong parent will not display.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"missing-left-nav\"><\/a>If the Left Navigation Is Missing<\/h2>\n<p>First, confirm that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/pages\/page-layout\/\">page layout<\/a> is set to display the left navigation.<\/p>\n<p>If the layout supports left navigation but nothing appears, the <strong>Navigation Widget (Section)<\/strong> may have been removed. This widget is what generates the left navigation on School of Medicine websites.<\/p>\n<p>The widget is included by default on all SOM sites and can be re-enabled if it was deleted. See the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/widgets\/navigation-widget-section\/\">Navigation Widget Section documentation<\/a> for instructions.<\/p>\n<hr  style=\"margin:40px 0\"class=\" rule-thin osc-rule\" \/>\n<h2><a id=\"best-practices\"><\/a>Best Practices<\/h2>\n<p>\u2022 Plan your page hierarchy before building pages<br \/>\n\u2022 Keep related content under the same parent<br \/>\n\u2022 Use clear section landing pages<br \/>\n\u2022 Avoid deep, confusing nesting<br \/>\n\u2022 Remember, good structure creates good navigation<\/p>\n<p>Well-organized pages lead to better usability, accessibility, SEO, and happier visitors.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Covered in This Tutorial How the Left Navigation Works Organization Matters Assign a Parent\u00a0 Reorder the Left Navigation Top-Level Page vs. Section Page Page URLs If a Page Is Missing from the Left Navigation If the Left Nav Is Missing Best Practices The left navigation is an automatically generated list of pages that displays related &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/navigation\/left-navigation\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Left Navigation\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3206,"featured_media":0,"parent":2239,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-15135","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"_links_to":[],"_links_to_target":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15135"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15586,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15135\/revisions\/15586"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}