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Fixing the Storefront Mobile Menu Showing All Pages Instead of Your Custom Menu

28 threads Sep 10, 2025 Theme → Storefront

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One of the most common issues reported by users of the Storefront theme is the mobile menu suddenly displaying a list of all published pages instead of the custom, curated menu they created. This can be frustrating and negatively impact the user experience on your site. Based on community reports and solutions, this article explains why this happens and provides the most effective troubleshooting steps.

Why Does This Happen?

The core of this issue typically lies in how the theme handles menu assignments. Storefront has two distinct menu locations relevant to this problem:

  • Primary Menu: This is the main navigation menu typically displayed on desktop.
  • Handheld Menu: This is the menu specifically designed for mobile and tablet devices (often represented by a hamburger icon).

If the Handheld Menu location is not explicitly assigned a custom menu, the theme may fall back to a default behavior of automatically listing all top-level pages. This can occur after theme updates, changes in the customizer, or if a menu assignment is accidentally removed.

How to Fix It: Assign Your Menu to the Handheld Location

The solution is almost always to ensure your custom menu is assigned to the correct location. Follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to Menu Settings: Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Appearance → Menus.
  2. Select or Create Your Menu: Ensure you have the correct mobile menu selected from the dropdown at the top of the screen. If you haven't created one yet, do so now and add your desired items.
  3. Check Menu Locations: Look for the Menu Settings box, usually located on the left column. Within this box, find the option labeled Handheld Navigator or similar.
  4. Assign the Menu: Tick the checkbox next to "Handheld Navigator" to assign your current menu to the mobile location.
  5. Save Changes: Click the Save Menu button to confirm your changes.

Screenshot showing the Handheld Navigator checkbox in the Menu Settings

Advanced: Using the Customizer

You can also manage menu locations through the WordPress Customizer, which sometimes provides a more intuitive interface.

  1. Go to Appearance → Customize.
  2. Navigate to the Menus section.
  3. Select the menu you wish to use for mobile.
  4. In its settings, look for the Menu Locations option and ensure Handheld Menu is selected.
  5. Publish your changes.

Important Additional Checks

  • Disable Auto-Add Pages: When editing your menu, ensure the setting "Automatically add new top-level pages to this menu" is unchecked. This prevents WordPress from adding new pages to your menu without your consent.
  • Clear All Caches: After making these changes, clear any caching on your site (server cache, plugin cache, and browser cache) to see the changes take effect immediately.
  • Plugin Conflict Check: In some instances, a plugin can interfere with menu functionality. If the above steps don't work, try temporarily disabling all plugins except WooCommerce to see if the issue resolves itself. If it does, re-enable plugins one by one to identify the culprit. Jetpack Boost was specifically mentioned in one thread as causing CSS issues that affected menus.

When the Menu Still Doesn't Work

If your mobile menu is completely unresponsive (the hamburger icon does nothing), this is often a separate issue, frequently related to a JavaScript conflict caused by a plugin or a theme update. The recommended steps are:

  1. Perform a plugin conflict test as described above.
  2. Ensure your Storefront theme and all plugins are updated to their latest versions, as updates often contain bug fixes.

By correctly assigning your menu to the Handheld Menu location and ensuring there are no conflicting settings or plugins, you should be able to regain control over your mobile navigation and provide a seamless experience for your visitors.

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