Secondary Navigation with Content Collections

Content Collections provide a powerful way to create secondary navigation on your YaleSites website. When you organize content into Collections, they become cohesive navigation sections that help your users find related information quickly. Collections allow your content to appear in both the main navigation and as secondary navigation elements, creating a more intuitive user experience.

Why Use Content Collections?

Content Collections enhance your YaleSites website by providing powerful organizational capabilities that benefit both site administrators and visitors. They offer several advantages:

  • Improved Content Organization: Collections help you group related pages logically under a common theme
  • Enhanced User Navigation: Secondary navigation gives site visitors clear pathways to discover your content
  • Greater Content Flexibility: Keep your main navigation clean and focused while still providing detailed sub-navigation options

How Content Collections Work

Content Collections generate secondary horizontal navigation that emulates our Basic Nav styling. This creates a consistent user experience while allowing for deeper navigation structures.

Creating a Content Collection

Step 1: Create a Landing Page

  1. Start with a page content type that will serve as your ‘landing page’
  2. This page will be the primary entry point for your collection

Step 2: Access Content Collection Settings

  1. While editing your landing page, look for “Manage Settings” in the right side menu
  2. Find the new section called “Content Collections”

Step 3: Configure Your Collection

You have three options:

  1. Create a new collection
    • Give your collection a descriptive name that reflects the content theme
    • Your current page will automatically be added to this collection
  2. Assign this page to an existing collection
    • Choose from collections you’ve already created
    • This helps build out navigation sections over time
  3. Add weight to a page in a content collection
    • Adjust the “weight” value to control the order of pages in your navigation
    • Lower numbers appear first, higher numbers appear later
    • Tip: You can also manually move content collection navigation items manually on the “Manage Content Collections” page under “Content”in the top admin bar.

Keep Your Navigation Minimal

While the system allows for unlimited navigation items, having too many top-level items in your Content Collections will cause the navigation to grow horizontally. This can create a poor user experience, especially on mobile devices. We strongly recommend keeping your top-level content collection navigation items to 5-7 or fewer to maintain clean, accessible navigation patterns.

Best Practices for Content Collections

For Content Organization:

  • Keep collections focused on clearly defined topics
  • Use descriptive names for your collections that match user expectations
  • Limit collection size to 5-7 items for optimal usability

For User Navigation:

  • Ensure your landing page provides a clear overview of all content in the collection
  • Use consistent naming patterns across your collections
  • Consider the mobile experience - secondary navigation should be equally usable on small screens

For Site Maintenance:

  • Regularly review your collections to ensure they remain relevant
  • Remove outdated content from collections rather than leaving broken links
  • When archiving content, consider whether it should be removed from collections first

Content Collection Navigation Display

Content collections include a navigation menu that helps visitors browse the pages within your collection. By default, this navigation appears as a horizontal bar below your site header. You can change where this navigation appears using the Collection Navigation Display setting.

Navigation display options

  • Below header (default) - Your collection navigation appears as a horizontal bar beneath your site’s main navigation. This is a good choice when you want visitors to move easily between your collection pages and the rest of your site.
  • In header -  Your collection navigation replaces your site navigation, and the collection landing page name appears below your site name in the header. This creates a focused experience that makes your collection feel like its own site. You can also choose to hide your utility navigation for an even cleaner header.
content collection navigation in header

Example of content collection navigation display in header

Important

Changing your navigation display doesn’t affect your URL structure. Your content collection URLs remain the same regardless of which option you choose.

When to use “In header”

The “In header” option works best when you want to create a distinct, focused experience. Consider it for:

  • Research centers or labs with distinct identities
  • Conferences or events that need their own presence
  • Programs or initiatives with unique audiences
  • Any content that benefits from a dedicated, immersive feel

How to change your navigation display

  1. Navigate to Manage Settings
  2. In the right sidebar, locate the Content Collections section
  3. Find your content collection and select your preferred Collection Navigation Display option
  4. If using “In header”: optionally toggle Hide utility navigation for a cleaner header

Best practices

  • If using “In header,” make sure your collection has well-organized pages since it replaces your site navigation
  • Not every collection needs the “In header” treatment — use it when the content truly benefits from a distinct presence
  • Preview your collection as a visitor would to make sure the navigation and layout support your goals

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