Understand

How ThemeRouter WorksLearn the route-by-route workflow

FeaturesExplore routes, private preview, and controls

Route RulesTarget pages, types, and taxonomies

Private Theme PreviewReview another theme before visitors see it

Route ControlsDraft, enable, pause, or remove a route

Migrate safely

Gradual Theme MigrationUnderstand the benefits and tradeoffs

WooCommerce RedesignMove discovery before transaction routes

Enterprise RedesignReduce the scope of each release

Classic to Block ThemesModernize only the sections that are ready

Controlled, gradual migration

Modernize one ready section at a time.

Route selected content to the redesigned theme while everything else stays on the established theme.

Diagram showing selected WordPress content routes moving through ThemeRouter to a redesigned theme while other routes remain unchanged

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Send support the route, themes, environment details, and exact result you are seeing.

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Synchronize Classic Menus and Block Navigation

Review and synchronize menu data when a migration crosses classic and block theme navigation systems.

Developer Reference Updated July 26, 2026 6 min read

Classic themes commonly use menu locations backed by wp_nav_menu. Block themes commonly use Navigation blocks and wp_navigation entities. Switching the selected theme does not make these two storage models identical.

Before synchronization

  • Back up the database.
  • Identify the source menu and destination navigation entity.
  • Review custom links, hierarchy, labels, descriptions, and plugin-added item data.
  • Confirm which theme owns the header and footer templates.
ThemeRouter Menu Sync screen showing classic menu mappings, block navigation destinations, synchronization status, and update controls
Menu Sync maps a classic menu to block navigation and shows whether each mapping is synced or needs an update.

Safeguards

ThemeRouter runs a preflight, asks for confirmation before mutating larger mapped menus, enforces a hard item limit, and preserves navigation item data during classic-to-block synchronization.

Validate the result

  • Desktop and mobile navigation structure.
  • Dropdown keyboard behavior and focus order.
  • Current-menu state, external links, and custom attributes.
  • Header and footer navigation in every routed theme.

Menu synchronization changes stored WordPress navigation data. Treat it separately from theme preview and keep a database backup before running it.

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