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How to Fix Max Mega Menu Flyout Submenu Positioning and Alignment Issues

24 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Max mega menu

Content

One of the most common challenges users face with the Max Mega Menu plugin is getting flyout submenus to position themselves correctly. These menus can appear in the wrong place, overflow the screen, or fail to align with their parent items, creating a frustrating user experience. This guide covers the root causes of these issues and provides practical solutions to fix them.

Why Flyout Menu Positioning Issues Occur

Flyout menu positioning is dynamically calculated by the plugin's JavaScript. This process can be disrupted by several factors:

  • Theme or Plugin Conflicts: Other scripts, like Superfish menus from a theme, can interfere with Max Mega Menu's calculations.
  • Custom CSS: Adding certain CSS properties, such as :after pseudo-elements as dividers, can break the JavaScript's positioning logic.
  • Viewport Edge Detection: By default, submenus near the edge of the screen may overflow and cause horizontal scrolling.
  • Cache Issues: Old, cached versions of your site's CSS or JavaScript can prevent changes from taking effect.

Common Solutions for Flyout Menu Problems

1. Clearing Caches

Before making any other changes, always clear all relevant caches. This includes the cache within Max Mega Menu (found under Mega Menu > Tools) and any caching plugins or server-side caches you use (e.g., WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache).

2. Aligning Submenus to the Left or Right

For basic alignment, you can set a submenu to align to the left or right edge of its parent menu item. This is configured within the plugin's settings for each individual menu item.

3. Preventing Submenus from Overflowing the Screen

If a submenu is flowing off the screen and creating a horizontal scrollbar, you have a few options:

  • Limit Width: Use custom CSS to restrict the width of a specific problematic submenu. 
    #mega-menu-item-123 > .mega-sub-menu {
    max-width: 160px !important;
}
    Replace 123 with your menu item's ID.
  • Right-Align with Left-Aligned Text: For submenus near the right edge of the viewport, set them to right-align. To prevent the text from also right-aligning, use this CSS: 
    #mega-menu-wrap-your-menu #mega-menu-your-menu > li.mega-menu-item.mega-menu-right > ul.mega-sub-menu li.mega-menu-item {
    text-align: left;
}
  • Vertical Alignment: For multi-level flyouts that extend vertically off the screen, you can adjust their vertical alignment. The official documentation on flyout menu vertical alignment provides specific guidance on this.

4. Fixing Mobile-Specific Padding

Flyout submenus on mobile sometimes lose their left padding. To fix this, add the following custom CSS in Mega Menu > Menu Themes > Custom Styling:

@include mobile {
    #mega-menu-wrap-header #mega-menu-header > li.mega-menu-flyout ul.mega-sub-menu {
        padding: 10px;
    }
}

Adjust the padding value and the menu selector (#mega-menu-header) to match your theme's setup.

5. Resolving Conflicts with Other Themes or Plugins

If your menu is being generated by another theme builder (like Elementor) or has conflicting scripts (like Superfish), Max Mega Menu will not work correctly. Ensure that your theme's default menu functionality is disabled and that you are using the [maxmegamenu] shortcode or appropriate widget location as directed in the documentation for your page builder.

What Isn't Possible with Flyout Menus

It's important to understand the limitations of the flyout menu system to avoid spending time on unsolvable problems. Based on the sample threads, the following are not possible:

  • Creating a hybrid menu where first-level flyouts are horizontal and deeper levels are vertical.
  • Making a flyout submenu full width.
  • Embedding a traditional flyout menu inside a mega menu grid layout.
  • Changing the flyout direction to open below the parent item instead of to the left or right.

For these scenarios, consider using a Mega Menu - Grid Layout instead, which offers more control over width and columns, or explore the "Collapse sub menu" option for items within a mega menu to simulate a multi-level flyout behavior.

Conclusion

Successfully managing flyout submenu positioning often involves a combination of using the plugin's built-in settings and applying targeted custom CSS. The key steps are to clear caches, check for conflicts, and use the code snippets provided here to nudge your submenus into the correct place. For more complex layout goals, you may need to leverage the plugin's mega menu functionality.

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