{"id":183,"date":"2014-09-17T09:33:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-17T15:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/laubsterboy.com\/blog\/?p=183"},"modified":"2014-10-01T08:46:02","modified_gmt":"2014-10-01T14:46:02","slug":"wordpress-check-menu-empty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/","title":{"rendered":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While working with WordPress there are times that it can be very useful to check if a menu is empty before outputting markup. One example is for displaying dynamic, custom, menus in a sidebar where you may not want to output any markup if the menu is empty. This is actually the default functionality of the wp_nav_menu method, but generally menus are wrapped in modules and if the menu is empty one may want to omit the entire module. Since wp_nav_menu will return false if echo is set to false and the menu is empty we can use this with a simple conditional statement\u00a0to determine if the menu module markup should be output or not.<\/p>\n<pre class=\"lang:default decode:true\">if (wp_nav_menu( array( 'theme_location' =&gt; 'secondary', 'echo' =&gt; false )) !== false) {\r\n    \/\/ This is where your menu module would go\r\n    wp_nav_menu( array( 'theme_location' =&gt; 'secondary' ));\r\n}<\/pre>\n<p>Its a rather simple solution that just requires a solid\u00a0understanding of the underlying functionality built into the nav-menu-template.php WordPress core file.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While working with WordPress there are times that it can be very useful to check if a menu is empty before outputting markup. One example is for displaying dynamic, custom, menus in a sidebar where you may not want to output any markup if the menu is empty. This is actually the default functionality of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[42,43,49,60,61,64,69],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-code-snippet","tag-menu","tag-nav-menu-template-php","tag-plugin","tag-theme","tag-theme_location","tag-wordpress","tag-wp_nav_menu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty - John Russell Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty explains how you can use an if statement to check if a menu is empty prior to it being used.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty - John Russell Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty explains how you can use an if statement to check if a menu is empty prior to it being used.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Russell Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-17T15:33:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-10-01T14:46:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Russell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@laubsterboy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@laubsterboy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Russell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Russell\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/296c0c6bd1deeeb20834393e1e16325c\"},\"headline\":\"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-17T15:33:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-01T14:46:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/\"},\"wordCount\":150,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"Menu\",\"nav-menu-template.php\",\"Plugin\",\"Theme\",\"theme_location\",\"WordPress\",\"wp_nav_menu\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Code Snippet\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/\",\"name\":\"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty - John Russell Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-17T15:33:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-01T14:46:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/296c0c6bd1deeeb20834393e1e16325c\"},\"description\":\"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty explains how you can use an if statement to check if a menu is empty prior to it being used.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"John Russell Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/296c0c6bd1deeeb20834393e1e16325c\",\"name\":\"John Russell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/00ce0f258fcc5e5d29897a5e81316009713e9104cfaf49f481c5bce3f81c7cb1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/00ce0f258fcc5e5d29897a5e81316009713e9104cfaf49f481c5bce3f81c7cb1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Russell\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/author\/laubsterboy\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty - John Russell Blog","description":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty explains how you can use an if statement to check if a menu is empty prior to it being used.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty - John Russell Blog","og_description":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty explains how you can use an if statement to check if a menu is empty prior to it being used.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/","og_site_name":"John Russell Blog","article_published_time":"2014-09-17T15:33:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-10-01T14:46:02+00:00","author":"John Russell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@laubsterboy","twitter_site":"@laubsterboy","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Russell","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/"},"author":{"name":"John Russell","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/296c0c6bd1deeeb20834393e1e16325c"},"headline":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty","datePublished":"2014-09-17T15:33:44+00:00","dateModified":"2014-10-01T14:46:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/"},"wordCount":150,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["Menu","nav-menu-template.php","Plugin","Theme","theme_location","WordPress","wp_nav_menu"],"articleSection":["Code Snippet"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/","url":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/","name":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty - John Russell Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-09-17T15:33:44+00:00","dateModified":"2014-10-01T14:46:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/296c0c6bd1deeeb20834393e1e16325c"},"description":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty explains how you can use an if statement to check if a menu is empty prior to it being used.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/2014\/09\/wordpress-check-menu-empty\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/","name":"John Russell Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/296c0c6bd1deeeb20834393e1e16325c","name":"John Russell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/00ce0f258fcc5e5d29897a5e81316009713e9104cfaf49f481c5bce3f81c7cb1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/00ce0f258fcc5e5d29897a5e81316009713e9104cfaf49f481c5bce3f81c7cb1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Russell"},"url":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/author\/laubsterboy\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions\/201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnrussell.dev\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}