DXPR: Drupal dropdown menus: how to build them in Drupal 11

A dropdown menu in Drupal 11 always starts in the same place: the core menu system, where you nest links under a parent. What turns that structure into a dropdown is either your theme or a menu module. This post walks through both routes, shows what the result looks like on desktop and on a phone, and compares the menu modules that are maintained for Drupal 11 today.

The screenshots come from a Drupal 11.4 site with DXPR Theme 8.2.2, taken in October 2026; the module details come from drupal.org on 23 October 2026.

1. Create the menu structure in Drupal core

Go to Structure, Menus, and edit the menu that sits in your header, usually Main navigation. Add the links with Add link, then drag each child under its parent so it indents one level, and press Save.

Next, edit every parent link and tick Show as expanded. Without it, Drupal only renders a parent's children on that parent's own page, so the dropdown stays empty everywhere else. To expand every parent at once, tick Expand all menu links in the settings of the menu block instead. For a parent that should only open its dropdown, enter <button> or <nolink> as the link instead of a page.

2. Let the theme render the dropdowns

Most current Drupal themes turn a nested menu into dropdowns on their own; how deep they go and how the dropdown looks differs per theme.

• Olivero, Drupal core's default front-end theme up to Drupal 11.4, places its main menu block with a depth of two: the top level plus one dropdown level, with a button next to each parent.
• DXPR Theme renders three levels. A dropdown with 8 or more links splits into columns, and from 15 links it spans the full width of the header, which gives you a mega menu without a module. On a mouse, dropdowns open on hover, and when any dropdown has a third level they open on click. Below the mobile breakpoint, 1200 pixels by default, the menu folds into a hamburger menu that expands each level in place. The mega menu guide covers every setting.

3. Or add a menu module

A module makes sense when the theme cannot render what you need, for example images or blocks inside the dropdown, or a separate off-canvas menu for phones. These are the maintained options for Drupal 11:

To show only part of a menu elsewhere on the page, for example the children of the current section in a sidebar, core's menu blocks have Initial visibility level and Number of levels to display settings, and the Menu Block module adds options such as rooting the block at a specific menu item.

Which option should you pick?

• Links only, one dropdown level: core menus and your theme, nothing to install.
• Three levels, columns or a full-width mega menu, and a mobile menu: a theme that renders them, such as DXPR Theme, so the menu stays plain Drupal configuration.
• Images, videos or blocks inside the dropdown: The Better Mega Menu or Drupal Mega Menu. Each one adds its own configuration screen and markup to maintain.
• A dedicated off-canvas menu on phones: Responsive and off-canvas menu.