In the world of WordPress development, performance and customization go hand-in-hand. At KAS Web Technology, we recently implemented a custom mega menu on thehindi.in using ACF Pro and core WordPress functionalities—no plugins involved.
This approach gave us complete control over the structure, design, and performance of the menu, allowing seamless integration with the theme’s layout.
Why Not Use a Mega Menu Plugin?
While plugins like Max Mega Menu or WP Mega Menu are convenient, they come with drawbacks:
- Heavy scripts and styles that slow down your website
- Limited design flexibility within plugin boundaries
- Bloated codebase affecting long-term maintenance
- Compatibility issues with custom themes or Gutenberg
Our solution was simple: use ACF Pro Relationship fields, a custom walker class, and lightweight CSS/JS to create an ultra-optimized, scalable mega menu.
How We Built It
ACF Fields Setup:
- Menu Slug (Text Field): Unique identifier to match WordPress menu slug.
- Menu Posts (Taxonomy Field): Links to categories or CPTs for dynamic listing.
Theme Integration:
- Walker Menu Class: Custom PHP class to control HTML output.
- Flexible Layouts: Allow admin to manage menu items from Theme Options via ACF.
- CSS Grid/Flexbox: Lightweight and responsive design.
Key Benefits of Our Approach
1. Performance Boost
By skipping third-party plugins, we avoid unnecessary bloat and external dependencies—giving the site faster load times and better scores on tools like Lighthouse or GTMetrix.
2. Full Design Control
We styled the menu exactly as per design specs without being confined by plugin presets. This includes hover effects, grid layouts, icons, or post previews.
3. Dynamic Content
Because the menu is powered by ACF and taxonomy relationships, clients can update it from the WordPress backend without touching code.
4. Mobile-First Architecture
Custom toggle-based dropdowns and collapsible sections allow better control over the mobile experience.
Developer-Friendly and Scalable
5. SEO-Friendly Structure
The clean and semantic HTML output ensures that search engines easily crawl menu items and related content.
Developer-Friendly and Scalable
This setup can be easily extended:
- Add support for post types like Products, Videos, or Portfolios
- Load featured images or custom fields
- Integrate icons or badges (e.g., “New”, “Trending”)
And the best part? You can reuse the same logic across any number of WordPress themes with minimal tweaks.
Real Project: thehindi.in
We implemented this exact approach on The Hindi, a high-traffic, content-driven platform. The result?
A fast, manageable, and fully customizable mega menu that aligns with editorial needs and improves user navigation experience.
Final Thoughts
Building a custom mega menu with ACF Pro is a future-proof and clean method that keeps your site lightweight and flexible. It’s ideal for developers and clients who care about:
- Performance
- Maintainability
- Tailored UX
Want a similar implementation for your project or business website?
Contact KAS Web Technology — Let’s build something scalable, fast, and beautiful.