Nav Menu Images
This plugin enables you to upload images for nav menu items on a menu edit screen. By default, those images will be displayed instead of text for respective menu items. Note that after upload, you should set an image as…
Use with caution
Nav Menu Images works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 6K+ sites, is rated 4.2/5 and was last updated 9 years ago, and scores 42/100 on our health check.
- No update in 8 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.6 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Nav Menu Images stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| image | >100 |
| media | >100 |
| menu | >100 |
| nav menu | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 from 37 reviews
About Nav Menu Images
From the official readme · v3.4Description
Plugin homepage | Plugin author | Donate
This plugin enables you to upload images for nav menu items on a menu edit screen. By default, those images will be displayed instead of text for respective menu items. Note that after upload, you should set an image as ‘featured’ to be able to display it.
You can also set images that will be displayed only when you hover menu item, or when menu item is of currently displayed page. Read detailed instructions about using plugin.
Developers can use many available filters to make their own way of displaying images, or even create a child class on top of base one. See source code for more ideas.
Although this plugin displays uploaded images out of the box, it will probably not give best possible look, so it’s recommended to create custom CSS styles for affected elements.
Nav Menu Images code is partly based on a code from now defunct plugin Custom Menu Images by Anabelle Handdoek
/∞manos s.a.s and a code from plugin Metronet Profile Picture by Ronald Huereca/Metronet Norge AS.
Installation
Either install the plugin via the WordPress admin panel, or …
- Upload
nav-menu-imagesfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
There are no configuration options in this plugin.
Changelog
3.4
- Released on 11th September 2016
- Removed ‘srcset’ and ‘sizes’ attributes.
- Fixed PHP notice that could happen in some cases.
3.3
- Released on 15th April 2016
- Fixed PHP notice in
Nav_Menu_Images_Admin::attachment_fields_to_save() - Wrap image in AJAX response in
<div>tag - Change translations text domain
- Removed
languagesfolder
3.2
- Released on 14 January 2014
- Fixed PHP notice in NMI_Walker_Nav_Menu_Edit::start_el()
- Don’t pass class object by reference
- Maybe fixed issues with “Missing argument 3 for Nav_Menu_Images::register_menu_item_filter()” errors
- Add ‘has-image’ class to the menu item that has image
3.1
- Released on 12th August 2013
- Don’t cache media frame and instead load new each time
- Don’t overwrite
wp.media.view.settingsbut extend it, and only with post data - Force listing of images uploading only to current post
3.0
- Released on 26th March 2013
- Add support for active and hover menu item images
2.0
- Released on 11th February 2013
- Use new media views for WordPress 3.5+
- Add more hooks for developers
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Nav Menu Images alternatives
All image plugins →
FAQ
Nav Menu Images: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is Nav Menu Images free?
Yes. Nav Menu Images is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Nav Menu Images safe to use in 2026?
Nav Menu Images works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 6K+ sites, is rated 4.2/5 and was last updated 9 years ago, and scores 42/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Nav Menu Images?
Nav Menu Images is active on 6K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 149,144 times since it launched in October 2012. It was downloaded 293 times in the last 30 days.
Does Nav Menu Images work with WordPress 7.1?
Nav Menu Images is officially tested up to WordPress 4.6.30, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Nav Menu Images last updated?
The latest version, 3.4, was released on November 28, 2017 (9 years ago).
Who makes Nav Menu Images?
Nav Menu Images is developed and maintained by Milan Dinić.
What are the best alternatives to Nav Menu Images?
The most popular alternatives to Nav Menu Images are Imsanity (200K+ installs), Firelight Lightbox (200K+ installs) and Responsive Lightbox & Galle… (100K+ installs).
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