Understanding Pages and Dropdown Menus
When you're building a Squarespace website, one of the first things you'll work with is pages—but knowing where to put them, how to organize them, and how to structure your navigation can make a huge difference in both the design and user experience of your site.
In this post, we’ll walk through:
The difference between Main Navigation and Not Linked pages
How to create new pages
How to duplicate a page and change its URL slug
How to create dropdowns in your navigation
Let’s dive in!
Main Navigation vs. Not Linked
When you open the Pages panel in Squarespace, you'll see two main sections: Main Navigation and Not Linked. Here’s what each one does:
Main Navigation
Pages placed here appear in your website’s top navigation menu (usually across the top of your site or in a hamburger menu on mobile).
Use this for important, high-level pages like:
Services
About
Blog
Contact
These are the pages you want your visitors to find easily.
Not Linked
Pages in this section don’t show up in your site’s main menu, but they still exist and are live.
Use Not Linked for:
Landing pages
Thank you pages
Hidden sales or promo pages
Blog posts or event pages you're still working on
Any page you’ll link to from buttons or other internal links, but don’t want visible in the menu
This keeps your main navigation clean and uncluttered.
How to Create a New Page
Creating a new page is super simple:
In the left panel, click Pages
Hover over either Main Navigation or Not Linked, then click the + icon
Choose the type of page you want (Blank Page, Page Layout, Blog, Portfolio, etc.)
Give your page a title (don’t worry, you can change it later)
Your new page will now appear in the section you added it to—either visible in your navigation or hidden, depending on where you placed it.’
How to Duplicate a Page and Change the URL Slug
Need to reuse a layout or quickly build a new version of an existing page? Duplicating a page is a huge time-saver.
Here’s how:
In the Pages panel, hover over the page you want to duplicate
Click the settings (gear) icon next to the page name
Scroll to the bottom and Select Duplicate Page
A copy of the page will appear just below the original (it will be called “Copy of…”)
You will be automatically prompted to change the page name. If you need to change it later either double-click the page or enter the page settings.
Change the URL slug (the web address of the page) by entering the page settings and enter the new URL (ex: /our-team)
Click Save
How to Create Dropdowns in Your Navigation
Want to organize your menu into categories like "Services" with subpages underneath? That’s where folders come in.
Here’s how to set up a dropdown menu:
In the Pages panel, under Main Navigation, click the + icon
Select Folder
Name your folder (e.g., “Services”)
Drag and drop pages into the folder—these become the dropdown items OR click ADD PAGE
The folder itself won’t be a clickable page, but it will show the nested pages as a dropdown in your site’s navigation
NOTE: If you want the folder title to be clickable, you can add a regular page inside the folder (e.g., an overview page for "Services") and give it the same name as the folder.
Wrapping Up
Understanding how to organize your pages in Squarespace helps you build a site that’s both beautiful and functional. Whether you're creating a full-service menu, building out hidden landing pages, or just cleaning up your navigation, the Pages panel is your command center.
Quick Recap:
Use Main Navigation for visible pages and Not Linked for hidden ones
Duplicate pages to save time and edit layouts faster
Always update the URL slug for clarity and SEO
Use folders to create dropdown menus and organize your content
Need help structuring your site? Our [template shop] and [setup packages] make it easy to go from overwhelmed to launch-ready in just one week.
Happy designing!