MenuPilot – Preview-First Menu Import & Export

Features

• Backup & Restore: Automatic backups before every menu update and import
• Manual backup creation from the Menus page
• One-click restore to any previous backup
• Export backups as JSON for portability
• Configurable backup limit (Backup Settings tab)

Import/Export History Logs:

• Dedicated History page under MenuPilot menu
• Logs who, when, and what for every import/export
• Download logs as JSON or plain text
• Clear history with confirmation

Export individual menus (JSON format) Import one menu at a time as a new menu Preview screen before import showing:

• Menu name
• Total menu items
• Source site URL
• Export timestamp
• Matched and unmatched items

Intelligent auto-matching of menu items using:

• Post type + slug
• Taxonomy + slug
• Normalized custom links

Manual mapping override per menu item Clear warnings for:

• Missing pages, posts, or taxonomies
• Items converted to custom links
• Theme location availability

Automatic home URL replacement during import Preserves:

• Menu hierarchy
• Menu order
• CSS classes
• Link attributes (target, rel)
• Descriptions

Visual import progress and clear success/error messages Native WordPress admin UI (no custom frameworks)

Requirements

• WordPress 5.8 or higher
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• Classic WordPress menu system

Configuration

MenuPilot requires no configuration to start using. Once activated, you can immediately export and import menus.

Optional: Go to MenuPilot → Settings and open the Backup tab to configure the maximum number of backups to keep per menu (default: 5).

Usage

Backup & Restore

1. 01When editing a menu, scroll to the MenuPilot Backup & Restore section below the menu form.
2. 02Use the Backup tab to create manual backups, restore previous versions, or export backups as JSON.
3. 03Use the Import tab to import a previously exported backup JSON file.
4. 04Backups are also created automatically before every menu save and before every import.

History Logs

1. 05Navigate to MenuPilot → History in the WordPress admin.
2. 06View all import and export actions with user, timestamp, menu name, and outcome.
3. 07Use the Filter button to narrow results by date range or user.
4. 08Download logs as JSON or plain text for record-keeping or auditing.
5. 09Use Clear History to remove all log entries (with confirmation). Export first if you need a backup.

Exporting a Menu

1. 10Navigate to MenuPilot → Export Menu in the WordPress admin.
2. 11Select the menu you want to export from the dropdown.
3. 12Click the “Export Menu” button.
4. 13A JSON file will be downloaded to your computer.
5. 14Save this file for importing to another site.

Importing a Menu

1. 15Navigate to MenuPilot → Import Menu in the WordPress admin.
2. 16Click “Choose File” and select a previously exported JSON file.
3. 17Click “Upload & Preview” to see what will be imported.
4. 18Review the preview screen: Check menu name (you can edit it)
5. 19Review matched and unmatched items
6. 20Manually map items if needed
7. 21Remove items you don’t want to import
8. 22Optionally assign the menu to a theme location
9. 23Click “Import Menu” to complete the import.
10. 24The menu will be created as a new menu (existing menus are never overwritten).

Important Notes

• MenuPilot always imports menus as new menus – it never overwrites existing menus.
• Always review the preview screen before importing to ensure items are matched correctly.
• Unmatched items will be converted to custom links automatically.
• You can manually map items to different content using the “Map To” dropdown in the preview.