Appearance → Menus disappears because block themes such as Twenty Twenty-Five manage navigation with the Navigation block in the Site Editor, so WordPress hides the classic screen. Your menus now live in Appearance → Editor → Navigation. To get the classic screen back, use a plugin like MenuVerse that restores it, or register a menu location in a child theme.
Why it happens
Classic themes register menu locations ("Primary", "Footer"), and WordPress shows Appearance → Menus to fill them. Block themes don't need locations — the Navigation block in the header template holds its own menu — so WordPress hides the Menus screen unless the theme asks for it.
That's fine until you need something only the classic screen offers:
- A plugin that reads classic menus only.
- Per-item fields added by plugins — icons, badges, hide-on-mobile flags — which appear in the classic Menus screen.
- A team that's used to the old drag-and-drop editor.
Where your menus are now
Go to Appearance → Editor → Navigation. Block themes store menus as Navigation menus. Menus you built on a previous classic theme still exist; select the Navigation block in your header and choose Import classic menus if it offers them.
Three ways to get the classic screen back
1. A plugin that restores it (no code)
MenuVerse puts Appearance → Menus back when your theme leaves it out, and leaves it alone when your theme already has it. It doesn't add a fake menu location or duplicate anything, so classic themes are untouched.
- Install and activate MenuVerse.
- Open Appearance → Menus — it's there again.
- Build or edit menus as before. Per-item icon, badge and hide-on-mobile or hide-on-desktop fields appear in the menu editor.
MenuVerse then uses those menus — or your block Navigation menus — for its free hamburger menu and bottom navigation bar.
2. Register a menu location in code
Add this to a child theme's functions.php or a code snippets plugin:
add_action( 'after_setup_theme', function () {
register_nav_menus( array( 'primary' => 'Primary menu' ) );
} );
WordPress shows Appearance → Menus again because the theme now declares a location. Nothing displays that menu automatically — you still need a block, plugin or template to output it.
3. Stay with the Navigation block
If you only need a normal header menu, the Navigation block is fine. Edit it in the Site Editor and skip the classic screen entirely.
Which should you choose?
| Situation | Best option |
|---|---|
| You need a better mobile menu or a bottom bar | MenuVerse — restores the screen and renders the menus |
| You need the screen for another plugin, no mobile changes | A code snippet |
| You're happy with your header | The Navigation block |
Next steps
Set up a hamburger menu or a bottom navigation bar with MenuVerse, or compare tools in our mobile menu plugin round-up. MenuVerse Pro adds page rules, more buttons and styling from $19.99 a year.