HubSpot Secondary Navigation Guide

Designing clear secondary navigation is essential for any site built with HubSpot because it helps visitors quickly find deeper content, improves search performance, and supports your most important conversion paths.

This guide adapts the best practices from the official article on secondary navigation design and turns them into a practical, implementation-focused walkthrough you can use on your own website.

What Is Secondary Navigation in HubSpot?

Before configuring anything in your HubSpot tools, you need to understand what secondary navigation is and why it matters for your site architecture.

Secondary navigation is a navigation layer that supports, but does not replace, your primary menu. Instead of listing your core pages (Home, Product, Pricing, Contact), it helps users move between related sections or grouped content deeper in the site.

Primary vs. Secondary Navigation in HubSpot

When planning navigation in HubSpot, treat primary and secondary menus as separate but connected systems:

• Primary navigation sits at the top of your layout and guides visitors to your main sections.
• Secondary navigation appears near, under, or beside the primary content to guide users within a specific section, topic, or journey.

In practice, the secondary layer keeps users oriented when they drill into multi-page sections, like a resources library or documentation hub.

Core Principles for HubSpot Secondary Navigation

HubSpot websites that perform well in both UX and SEO typically follow a few consistent secondary navigation principles.

Clarity Over Creativity

Menus in HubSpot should favor clarity over clever labeling. Visitors should immediately understand where links will take them.

• Avoid vague labels like “More” or “Stuff”.
• Use descriptive names like “Case Studies”, “Product Guides”, or “How-To Tutorials”.
• Keep link labels short so they render cleanly on all devices.

Consistent Placement

Secondary menus in HubSpot layouts should appear in a consistent place across related pages.

• Use the same sidebar region on all pages in a section.
• Or place a horizontal sub-menu just under the primary navigation bar.
• Ensure mobile layouts keep secondary links easy to tap.

Task-Focused Grouping

Group navigation items by user tasks instead of your internal org chart. HubSpot content often spans multiple teams, so task-based grouping is clearer for visitors.

• Group by intent, such as “Learn”, “Compare”, “Buy”, “Use”.
• Within each group, order links by popularity or logical sequence.

Types of HubSpot Secondary Navigation

Depending on your template and content strategy, you can use several secondary navigation patterns in HubSpot-powered sites.

Sidebar Navigation Menus

Sidebar navigation works best for documentation, resource libraries, and blogs with multiple categories.

• Links appear vertically on the left or right side of the page.
• The current page is highlighted for orientation.
• Subsections can be nested using indentation or accordions.

Secondary Top Bars in HubSpot Layouts

Some HubSpot themes include a secondary bar just below the main header.

• Ideal for highlighting sub-products or key topics.
• Can show 3–7 links for a clean horizontal layout.
• Works well on marketing sites with multiple offerings.

In-Page Anchor Navigation

Long-form pages built in HubSpot can use anchor-based secondary navigation.

• Use jump links at the top to scroll to sections below.
• Label anchors according to the section headings.
• Great for pillar pages, ultimate guides, and product docs.

How to Plan HubSpot Secondary Navigation

Planning before you configure menus in HubSpot will ensure your structure is scalable and search-friendly.

Step 1: Map Your Content Sections

List your major sections and see where users need additional wayfinding support.

1. Identify content clusters (blog categories, product docs, resources).
2. Map pages within each cluster on a simple site diagram.
3. Mark where visitors might get lost or need additional guidance.

Step 2: Define User Journeys

Design secondary navigation around real user journeys, not assumptions.

1. Write 3–5 user scenarios, such as “new prospect” or “existing customer”.
2. Note what questions each persona is trying to answer.
3. Group links that help solve those questions in sequence.

Step 3: Prioritize Links

Limit how many links appear in each HubSpot secondary menu to reduce cognitive load.

• Aim for 5–8 core links per secondary group.
• Use “View all” or “See full library” links when needed.
• Remove rarely used or outdated links to keep the list focused.

UX Best Practices for HubSpot Menus

Secondary navigation influences how long visitors stay and how many pages they view on your HubSpot site.

Make the Current Location Obvious

Each secondary menu should clearly indicate the active or current page.

• Use visual cues like bold text or highlighted backgrounds.
• Maintain consistent styling across all templates.
• Ensure screen readers can announce active states for accessibility.

Optimize for Mobile Devices

Many visitors will access your HubSpot pages from mobile, where space is limited.

• Convert sidebars to collapsible accordions on small screens.
• Ensure tap targets are large enough and spaced appropriately.
• Test on multiple device sizes before publishing.

Support Accessibility Standards

Well-built secondary navigation in HubSpot should be accessible.

• Links must be reachable via keyboard navigation.
• Use semantic HTML elements and ARIA attributes where appropriate.
• Maintain sufficient color contrast for text and active states.

SEO Benefits of Strong HubSpot Secondary Navigation

Thoughtful secondary navigation can support search visibility for your HubSpot-powered site.

Improved Internal Linking

Secondary menus automatically create internal links that help search engines understand your site structure.

• Link related pages together within the same topic cluster.
• Ensure important pages appear in multiple relevant menus.
• Avoid orphan pages with no internal links pointing to them.

Better Crawl Path and Indexing

Search bots use navigation to discover and prioritize content.

• Make sure all indexable pages are reachable within a few clicks.
• Avoid deep, unnecessary folder nesting in URLs.
• Use descriptive anchor text that reflects the destination content.

Enhanced Engagement Signals

On HubSpot sites, strong secondary navigation can keep visitors engaged with more content, which indirectly supports SEO.

• Encourage exploration of related articles or product pages.
• Highlight conversion-focused resources in secondary areas.
• Measure scroll depth and pages-per-session for insight.

Measuring Secondary Navigation Performance in HubSpot

Once your menus are live, use HubSpot analytics and other tools to validate your structure.

Key Metrics to Track

Monitor a combination of engagement and behavior metrics.

• Page views per session for content groups with secondary menus.
• Click-through rates on secondary links.
• Exit rates on key hub pages and resource centers.

Run Iterative Navigation Tests

HubSpot users can pair built-in analytics with A/B testing or UX tools to improve menus over time.

1. Test different link orderings or groupings.
2. Experiment with label wording and clarity.
3. Review heatmaps or click maps for interaction patterns.

When to Get Expert Help for HubSpot Navigation

If your site is large or mission-critical, you may want additional help planning and validating your navigation model.

Specialized agencies can help with information architecture, UX testing, and analytics setup around complex secondary navigation for HubSpot and other platforms. For example, Consultevo offers consulting focused on data-driven website optimization and SEO strategy.

Next Steps for Your HubSpot Secondary Navigation

Secondary navigation is not just a design element; it is a structural tool that shapes how visitors and search engines experience your HubSpot content.

• Audit your current menus for clarity and consistency.
• Map content clusters and user journeys before making changes.
• Implement focused secondary menus and monitor behavior.
• Iterate regularly based on real data and user feedback.

By following these practices and using the guidance from HubSpot resources, you can create secondary navigation that feels intuitive for users, supports discoverability, and strengthens your overall digital strategy.

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