Description
Modern, accessible navigation built entirely with Gutenberg blocks and designed for theme.json-ready themes.
Key Features
Native Gutenberg Block
Everything happens in the Block Editor—no shortcodes or legacy menu screens.
Four Layout Templates
– Modal (full-screen overlay)
– Modal Dropdown (dropdown in the header on small screens, modal on mobile)
– Slide-In (off-canvas, right-edge drawer)
– Classic (inline bar that collapses to a hamburger)
Flexible Menu Displays
Accordion · Stacked · List · Vertical · Horizontal — mix & match with any template.
Responsive Behaviour Switcher
Pick a breakpoint (tablet, laptop, desktop, large-desktop) and the menu collapses to a hamburger or modal automatically.
Position Controls
Relative, Sticky, Fixed, or Scroll-Up Reveal—no custom CSS required.
Accessibility by Default
Focus traps, ESC to close, arrow-key navigation, ARIA attributes—all handled for you.
Branding Slots
Drop in Site Logo, Site Title, or Site Tagline blocks anywhere inside the navigation.
Lightweight Tech Stack
No jQuery; powered by WordPress’s Interactivity API (vanilla JS, no external libraries).
Screenshots
Block Editor – Layout templates in Inspector. 
Slide-In layout 
Classic layout 
Dropdown layout 
Modal layout 
Blocks
This plugin provides 7 blocks.
- Groundworx Navigation Responsive navigation with modals, slide-ins, and breakpoint-based layout switching.
- Submenu Add a submenu to your navigation.
- Spacer Spacer used for your navigation
- Branding Holds the site logo, title, or related branding inside the navigation layout.
- Menu A responsive menu.
- Menu Link Add a page, link, or another item to your navigation.
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to
/wp-content/plugins/or install via Plugins Add New. - Activate Groundworx Navigation.
- In the Block Editor, add the Groundworx Navigation block.
- Choose a layout template (Modal, Slide-In, etc.).
- In Menu Settings, click Create New Menu (or pick an existing one).
- Insert Navigation Menu, Branding, or Spacer blocks as needed.
- Configure breakpoint, sticky/fixed, accordion/list, etc., in Layout Settings.
- Hit Publish and view your new menu—no coding required.
FAQ
-
It’s an alternative that makes complex layouts—modals, slide-ins, sticky headers—possible without custom CSS or extra plugins. Use whichever block fits your project; both can coexist.
-
Why can’t I pick Fixed or Scroll-Up Reveal in some layouts?
-
Those positions appear only when the block sits inside a
Headertemplate part (or another part whoseslugisheader). In normal page content, only Relative and (for Classic) Sticky are available. -
What breakpoints can I target?
-
tablet,
laptop,desktop,large-desktop—matching Groundworx breakpoint utilities. Set Toggle Behaviour Responsive and choose a breakpoint icon. -
Accordion, Stacked, List, Vertical, and Horizontal. Each works with any layout template (Modal, Modal Dropdown, Slide-In, Classic).
-
Groundworx Navigation relies on WordPress’s block-theme framework (theme.json). If you’re using a classic PHP theme, or a block theme without full theme.json support, the menu won’t load correctly.
Solution: switch to a theme explicitly “theme.json-ready” (e.g. Twenty Twenty-Four, Twenty Twenty-Five, Blockbase, Frost).
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Groundworx Navigation” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Groundworx Navigation” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.4
- Fix: geometry mismatch when OS is set to “Always show scroll bars” could mis-detect nav bounds.
- Improve: no layout shift when locking body; close button no longer jumps.
- Improve: optional menu scrollbar styling.
1.0.3
- Fixed editor icon display issue (now hidden when SVG is used)
- General stability and performance improvements
1.0.2
- Improved UX
- Fixed issue where sometimes menu would not open
- Fixed editing behavior bug
1.0.1
- Fix: Adjusted editor canvas width detection for iframe-less block editor in WordPress 6.8+
1.0.0
- Initial public release – Modal, Modal Dropdown, Slide-In, and Classic layouts with accordion/stacked/list/vertical/horizontal displays.