Until a recent update, SharePoint team sites always had a left side vertical navigation menu. Communication sites always had a top horizontal navigation menu that could be a cascading or mega menu style. Recently, Microsoft rolled out the ability to change a team site’s navigation from vertical (side) to horizontal (top).

Note: This change only applies to team site types. Communication sites are still top horizontal only.
Below are the steps to swap your team site’s navigation orientation. You must be a site owner to perform these steps.
How to change SharePoint team site navigation from left side to top
- Navigate to the team site for which you’d like to switch the navigation orientation.
- Click the settings wheel in the upper-right corner.
- Select Change the look.
- Select Navigation.
- Choose Horizontal and then choose either Mega menu or Cascading for menu style.