More control over wp_nav_menu()

I can't count how many times I've Googled some random error or function and found the answer I needed on a personal blog for someone I've never heard of. Because of that, I try to make a point to document fixes to tiny, nagging problems as I discover them.

In that vein, here's a tip for using wp_nav_menu() in your WordPress theme: You may want to have portions of your menu dynamic and controlled by WordPress' built-in menu system, but also include static elements at the bottom of the menu — maybe something like a login link that changes depending on whether or not the user is already logged-in or a members-only area. By default calling wp_nav_menu() renders something like this:

• Link 1
• Link 2

That's nice and convenient, but you can't hard-code any additional <li> elements to this list in your theme. What you can do though is render the list items without the encapsulating <ul> element like this:

wp_nav_menu( "items_wrap" => '%3$s', "container" => "");

This means you'll have to add the encapsulating <ul> element theme. The final product would probably look like this:

'%3$s', "container" => ""); ?>
• Members Login
Members Only Area

Nice little trick that makes the built-in menu management a little more flexible.