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Titanium Nav Menu Roles & Visibility Rules Tutorials

10 practical ways to control WordPress menus with visibility rules.

Use these tutorials to solve common WordPress menu visibility problems without custom snippets. Start with simple logged-in and role-based rules, then move into Pro workflows like AND / OR condition groups, membership rules, Access Protection, and denied-access handling.

  • Role-based menus
  • Logged-in rules
  • Membership visibility
  • Direct URL protection

Step-by-step WordPress menu visibility tutorials.

Each tutorial is written for real membership sites, client sites, private areas, account menus, and role-heavy WordPress setups.

01
Free Roles

How to hide WordPress menu items by user role

A common WordPress problem is showing the same menu to everyone, even when different users need different links. Titanium lets you control menu items by WordPress role, so members, editors, customers, subscribers, and administrators can see the navigation that fits their access level.

How to set it up

  1. Go to Appearance > Menus and open the WordPress menu you want to edit.
  2. Expand the menu item that should be controlled by role.
  3. Open the Titanium menu visibility options for that menu item.
  4. Choose whether the item should be shown or hidden for matching visitors.
  5. Select the WordPress role condition and choose the role you want to target.
  6. Save the menu, then test the site while logged in as a user with that role.
02
Free Login Rules

How to show different menu links to logged-in and logged-out visitors

Public visitors usually need links like Login, Register, Pricing, or Join. Logged-in users usually need My Account, Dashboard, Downloads, Profile, or Logout. With login status rules, you can keep one WordPress menu and show the right links to the right visitors.

How to set it up

  1. Add both public and account-related links to the same WordPress menu.
  2. Open the Login or Register menu item and apply a rule for logged-out visitors.
  3. Open account-only links such as My Account, Profile, or Downloads.
  4. Apply a logged-in visitor rule to those account links.
  5. Save the menu and test it once while logged out and once while logged in.
03
Pro Membership

How to show menu items only to membership levels

Membership sites often need navigation that changes by level. A free member might need upgrade links, while paid members need protected downloads, courses, donor pages, or premium account areas. Pro membership rules let supported membership plugins drive menu visibility directly.

How to set it up

  1. Make sure your supported membership plugin is installed and your membership levels already exist.
  2. Go to Appearance > Menus and expand the menu item you want to control.
  3. Open the Titanium Pro condition options for that menu item.
  4. Choose the membership plugin condition and select the level that should see the menu item.
  5. Save the menu and test with users who have different membership levels.
04
Pro Advanced Logic

How to use AND / OR condition groups for advanced menu rules

Simple rules are enough for many sites, but real client and membership sites often need more precise logic. Pro condition groups let you combine rules, so a menu item can depend on role, login status, membership level, and page location at the same time.

How to think about the logic

  1. Use AND when every condition in the same group must be true.
  2. Use OR when you want to create another valid path for the menu item to appear.
  3. Keep each group focused on one real-world access case.
  4. Test each group with a user account that matches that condition set.
  5. Remove old test rules when the final logic is working.
05
Pro Access Protection

How to protect the linked page when a menu item is hidden

Hiding a menu item makes navigation cleaner, but it does not automatically stop someone from opening the linked page directly. Pro Access Protection can use the same menu rules to block direct access to supported internal WordPress content linked from protected menu items.

How to set it up

  1. Create or edit a menu item that links to an internal WordPress page, post, or supported content type.
  2. Add the menu visibility rule that decides who should see the item.
  3. Enable Access Protection for the linked content.
  4. Choose what should happen when someone without access opens the direct URL.
  5. Test the menu and the direct URL as both allowed and denied users.
06
Pro Denied Access

How to choose what happens when access is denied

Different sites need different denied-access behavior. Some sites want a clean 404-style response. Others want to send visitors to the homepage, login page, pricing page, or a custom upgrade page. Pro denied-access actions give you that choice.

How to choose the right action

  1. Use a 404-style response when you do not want visitors to know the content exists.
  2. Use a homepage redirect when the protected URL should quietly send visitors back to the public site.
  3. Use a selected page redirect when you want to explain access requirements or show an upgrade option.
  4. Use per-menu overrides when one menu item needs different behavior from the global default.
  5. Test the final behavior in an incognito browser and with a denied test user.
07
Free Location Rules

How to show menu items only on selected pages or posts

Sometimes a menu link only makes sense in a specific part of the site. Location-based menu rules let you show or hide items depending on the page, post, or supported content area currently being viewed.

How to set it up

  1. Decide where the menu item should appear, such as a specific page or content area.
  2. Open the relevant menu item in Appearance > Menus.
  3. Add a page, post, or supported content location rule.
  4. Choose whether the item should show or hide when that location matches.
  5. Save the menu and visit the selected page plus a few unrelated pages to confirm the behavior.
08
Free Diagnostics

How to check header, footer, and mobile menu visibility

Many modern themes use separate desktop, mobile, footer, or header menu locations. Titanium is designed for normal WordPress menu output and includes menu diagnostics and location awareness to help you understand where rules are applied.

How to test it properly

  1. Apply your menu rule to the menu item you want to control.
  2. Check the desktop header menu first.
  3. Resize the browser or use a real phone to check the mobile menu.
  4. Check footer or secondary menus if your theme uses the same item in multiple places.
  5. Use the plugin’s diagnostics or menu location warnings when the rule does not appear where expected.
09
Free Import

How to import compatible rules from other menu visibility plugins

If you already used another menu visibility plugin, rebuilding every rule manually can be slow. Titanium includes import tools for compatible Nav Menu Roles and User Menus data, so you can move existing rules into a cleaner workflow.

How to approach an import safely

  1. Make a backup or test the import on a staging copy before changing a live client site.
  2. Open the Titanium import tool for the supported source plugin.
  3. Review the detected compatible rules before applying changes.
  4. Run the import and then check your most important menus manually.
  5. Test as logged-out visitors and as real user roles or membership levels.
10
Workflow Best Practice

How to build a safer menu visibility workflow for client sites

Menu visibility rules are powerful because they affect what users can see and sometimes what they can access. A simple workflow helps you avoid confusion, broken navigation, and accidental rule mistakes when working on client, membership, or production websites.

A safer workflow

  1. Write down which visitor types should see each important menu item.
  2. Start with the simplest rule possible before adding advanced conditions.
  3. Test logged-out visitors, normal users, paid members, and administrators separately.
  4. Use Pro Access Protection only when the linked page should also be blocked directly.
  5. Document final rules for the client or site owner so future edits are easier.

Start with Free, upgrade when your rules need more power.

The free version covers core server-side menu visibility. Pro is for advanced condition groups, membership plugin rules, linked page protection, denied access actions, beta updates, and priority support.

Get Free Version

Need advanced menu rules and protected links?

Use Titanium Pro when you need AND / OR condition groups, membership plugin conditions, Access Protection, selectable denied-access handling, and priority support for serious WordPress sites.

View Pro Pricing