This procedure explains how to create menu items linking to external web sites using Joomla! 3.x.
Create a new external URL menu item
- Log on to your site using the Administrator Login.
- At the Joomla! Control Panel, click "Menu " (found under "Structure" to the left):
- Click the name of the menu (found in the Title column) where the external link will be added (in most cases this will be "Main Menu").
- Click the New icon in the upper left corner of the Menu : Menus page:
- In the Menu : New Menu Item window, click the Select button:
- A pop-up window will open. Click System Links (see #1 below), then select URL (see #2 below):
- Enter a name for the link in the Menu Title field (see #1 below).
- Enter the full web address (URL) of the external web site in the Link field (see #2 below). The URL must contain the "http://" or "https://" portion of the web address.
- (Optional) If the external link should appear in a dropdown menu below an existing menu item, select that menu item from the Parent Item dropdown menu (see #3 below).
- (Recommended) When creating an external URL link, change Target Window to "New Window With Navigation." This keeps your site in the original browser window when a visitor clicks on the external link (see #4 below).
- Click Save & Close to the upper left:
Edit an existing external URL menu item
- Log on to your site using the Administrator Login.
- At the Joomla! Control Panel, click "Menu " (found under "Structure" to the left):
- Click the name of the menu (found in the Title column) containing the external link to be changed.
- Click the menu item containing the external link to be changed.
- Enter the updated web address (URL) of the external web site in the Link field. The URL must contain the "http://" or "https://" portion of the web address:
- Click Save & Close to the upper left:
