Plugin categories

Create a Website with AI
Advanced Sidebar Menu

Advanced Sidebar Menu

Fully automatic sidebar menus.

4.4

Rating summary

36

Reviews

20K

Active installations

Advanced Sidebar Menu
Advanced Sidebar Menu
Advanced Sidebar Menu
Advanced Sidebar Menu
Advanced Sidebar Menu

Overview

Compatibility

Installation instructions

Customer support & learning resources

Changelog

Main benefits

Fully automatic sidebar menus

Keeps the menu clean

Gutenberg blocks available

Customizable menu options

Supports multiple languages

About this plugin

Author: Mat Lipe
Version: 9.5.2
Last updated: 24-06-2024
WordPress version: 6.1.0
Tested up to: 6.5.5
PHP version required: 7.2.0
Languages: English (Australia), English (Canada) [+4]
Learning resources: View resources

Overview

The Advanced Sidebar Menu plugin for WordPress creates fully automatic sidebar menus by leveraging the parent/child hierarchy of your site's pages or categories. This plugin ensures that your menus remain relevant, clean, and user-friendly by displaying only related items, eliminating the hassle of maintaining custom menus. It offers a variety of features, including Gutenberg blocks and widgets for pages and categories, flexible display options for parent and child elements, and the ability to exclude specific pages or categories. The PRO version enhances functionality with advanced customization and styling options, accordion support, link ordering, and priority support, making it an invaluable tool for dynamic and organized website navigation.

Automatic Sidebar Menus

  • Generates menus based on the parent/child relationship of pages or categories.
  • Keeps the menu clean and usable by displaying only related items.
  • No need to manually update custom menus.

Flexible Display Options

  • Blocks and widgets available for displaying menus.
  • Options to display or hide the highest level parent page or category.
  • Ability to order pages by date, title, or page order.

Customization and Styling

  • Styling options for links including color, background color, size, hover, and font weight.
  • Accordion menu support with customizable icon styles and colors.
  • Option to choose from 7 bullet styles or no bullets.

Advanced Features in PRO Version

  • Navigation menu widget and Gutenberg block.
  • Ability to customize each page or navigation menu item link’s text.
  • Priority support with access to members-only support area.

Features list

Feature

Free version

Premium version

Page and Category menu Gutenberg blocks

Gutenberg blocks for displaying page and category menus.

Page and Category menu widgets

Widgets for displaying page and category menus.

Option to display or not display the highest level parent page or category

Toggle to show or hide the top-level parent page or category.

Option to display the menu when there is only the highest level parent

Option to show the menu even if it only contains the top-level parent.

Ability to order pages by date, title, or page order

Sort pages by date, title, or custom order.

Exclude pages or categories by entering a comma-separated list of ids

Exclude specific pages or categories using a comma-separated list of IDs.

Option to always display child pages or categories

Always show child pages or categories.

Option to select the levels of pages or categories to display when 'always display child' is used

Choose the levels of pages or categories to display when always showing children.

Option to display or not display categories on single posts

Toggle to show or hide categories on single posts.

Ability to display each single post's category in a new widget or in the same list

Show each post's category in a new widget or within the same list.

Navigation menu widget

Widget for displaying a navigation menu.

Navigation menu Gutenberg block

Gutenberg block for displaying a navigation menu.

Ability to customize each category or page link title with a simple text field

Customize link titles for categories or pages using a text field.

Click-and-drag styling for page, category, and navigation menus

Drag-and-drop interface for styling menus.

Styling options for links including color, background color, size, hover, and font weight

Customize link styles including color, background, size, hover effects, and font weight.

All Basic features included

Includes all basic features of the plugin.

Unlimited sites

Use the plugin on an unlimited number of sites.

Lifetime plugin updates

Receive updates for the plugin for a lifetime.

Lifetime priority support

Get priority support for the plugin for a lifetime.

Link ordering for category menus

Order links within category menus.

Number of levels of pages to show when 'always display child pages' is not checked

Set the number of page levels to display when child pages are not always shown.

Ability to select and display custom post types

Select and display custom post types in the menu.

Ability to select and display custom taxonomies

Select and display custom taxonomies in the menu.

Ability to display category post counts

Show the number of posts in each category.

Exclude pages or categories using intuitive search and select

Easily exclude pages or categories using a search and select feature.

Option to display only the current page's parents, grandparents, and children

Show only the current page's ancestors and descendants.

Option to display child page siblings when on a child page (with or without grandchildren available)

Display sibling pages when viewing a child page, with or without grandchildren.

Ability to display the menu on every page (including homepage if applicable)

Show the menu on every page, including the homepage.

Ability to select the highest level parent page/category

Select the top-level parent page or category.

Ability to select which levels of categories assigned posts will display under

Choose which category levels assigned posts will appear under.

Pricing

Basic

$0 / Forever

Plan includes

Page and Category menu Gutenberg blocks
Page and Category menu widgets
Option to display or not display the highest level parent page or category
Option to display the menu when there is only the highest level parent
Ability to order pages by date, title, or page order
Exclude pages or categories by entering a comma-separated list of ids
Option to always display child pages or categories
Option to select the levels of pages or categories to display when 'always display child' is used
Buy Now

PRO Lifetime

$187 / Lifetime

Plan includes

All Basic features included
Unlimited sites
Lifetime plugin updates
Lifetime priority support
Link ordering for category menus
Number of levels of pages to show when 'always display child pages' is not checked
Ability to select and display custom post types
Ability to select and display custom taxonomies
Buy Now

In some cases companies have different prices based on various components like a location. As a result the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their websites.

See all pricing options

Rating and reviews

4.4

Rating summary

36

Reviews

20K

Active installations

5
4
3
2
1

User sentiment analysis

Users appreciate the Advanced Sidebar Menu plugin for its ease of use, customizability, and ability to seamlessly organize large and complex websites with multiple hierarchical sections. This plugin is particularly valued for its automatic generation of menus based on page hierarchy, saving considerable time and effort for site administrators. It is noted to function well right out of the box, and offers essential features that improve site navigation. However, some users have experienced significant issues, such as the pro version rendering menu items invisible and requiring additional plugins for full functionality. Documentation is deemed insufficient, and there are compatibility problems with certain themes and WordPress versions. Styling out of the box is also criticized as awkward and needing improvement.
WillOfTheWeb

WillOfTheWeb

15 Mar, 2024

The pro version of this plugin is a disaster. As soon as you activate it, it renders your menu items invisible. Also to get the full benefit of it you have to install the Classic Sidebar plugin as the block version is terrible.
omigosh

omigosh

20 Jul, 2023

I’d love to have a plugin like this but I can’t make it work. Best I can do is make a list of categories, but I can’t get it to list individual posts within a category. Tried everything. Nothing works. Not even sure if it’s supposed to display individual posts in a category. There’s no information in what might be laughlingly called ‘Documentation’. I spent a large chunk of my day trying to make this thing work and it simply does not work.
EleanorR Greenawalt

EleanorR Greenawalt

10 Sep, 2022

Thanks to developers, I just got what I wanted!
deeholzman

deeholzman

04 May, 2022

This plugin is extremely helpful in organizing our large site side navigation with many sections and sub sections. It’s also very customizable and easy to set up. It’s extremely well thought out and can be used right out of the box or heavily customized.
zihniates

zihniates

19 Nov, 2021

Not working at twentytwentyone theme.

FAQ

The menu won’t show up?

How do I change the styling of the current page?

How do you get the categories to display on single post pages?

Does the menu change for each page you are on?

How do I exclude specific pages or categories from the menu?

Can I display custom post types in the menu?

Is it possible to display the menu on the homepage?

How do I style the menu without using code?