diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1f12375..54bc90d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,6 +34,37 @@ Optional params: `title`, `height` (a CSS length such as `60vh`, which
 crops the image with `object-fit: cover`) and `class`.
 
 
+## Navigation
+
+The navbar renders the `main` menu. A top-level entry that has child
+entries (other entries pointing at it with `parent:`) is rendered as a
+Bootstrap dropdown; entries without children stay as plain links. Only
+one level of nesting is supported (Bootstrap 5 has no nested submenus).
+
+```yaml
+# hugo.yaml / menus.yaml
+menu:
+  main:
+    - name: Home
+      pageRef: /
+      weight: 1
+    - name: Research
+      weight: 2
+    - name: Proposals
+      parent: Research
+      pageRef: /proposals
+      weight: 1
+    - name: History
+      parent: Research
+      pageRef: /history
+      weight: 2
+```
+
+The entry matching the current page (and its parent, for a dropdown
+child) gets Bootstrap's `active` class. A parent entry acts only as the
+dropdown toggle, so it does not need its own `url`/`pageRef`.
+
+
 ## Custom error page
 
 The theme has a custom 404 error page.
diff --git a/layouts/_partials/header.html b/layouts/_partials/header.html
index 72e6b0f..255be65 100644
--- a/layouts/_partials/header.html
+++ b/layouts/_partials/header.html
@@ -5,44 +5,49 @@
       {{- if os.FileExists "static/img/logo.svg" -}}{{- $logo = "img/logo.svg" -}}{{- end -}}
       <img src="{{ $logo | relURL }}" alt="{{ .Site.Title }}" title="{{ .Site.Title }}">
     </a>
-    
-    <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" 
-            data-bs-target="#navbarNav" aria-controls="navbarNav" aria-expanded="false" 
+
+    <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse"
+            data-bs-target="#navbarNav" aria-controls="navbarNav" aria-expanded="false"
             aria-label="Toggle navigation">
       <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
     </button>
-    
+
     <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarNav">
       <ul class="navbar-nav ms-auto">
-        {{ range .Site.Menus.main }}
-          {{ if .HasChildren }}
-            <!-- Dropdown menu for items with children -->
+        {{- /* Current page, without a trailing slash, for menu-item highlighting. */ -}}
+        {{- $current := strings.TrimSuffix "/" .RelPermalink -}}
+        {{- range .Site.Menus.main -}}
+          {{- $isActive := and .URL (eq (strings.TrimSuffix "/" .URL) $current) -}}
+          {{- if .HasChildren -}}
+            {{- /* A menu entry with sub-entries (set `parent:` on them) becomes a dropdown. */ -}}
+            {{- range .Children -}}
+              {{- if and .URL (eq (strings.TrimSuffix "/" .URL) $current) }}{{ $isActive = true }}{{ end -}}
+            {{- end -}}
+            {{- $id := printf "navbar-%s" (.Identifier | default (.Name | urlize)) -}}
             <li class="nav-item dropdown">
-              <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" id="navbar{{ .Name | urlize }}" 
-                 role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
+              <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle{{ if $isActive }} active{{ end }}" href="#"
+                 id="{{ $id }}" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">
                 {{ .Name }}
               </a>
-              <ul class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="navbar{{ .Name | urlize }}">
-                {{ range .Children }}
+              <ul class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="{{ $id }}">
+                {{- range .Children }}
                   <li>
-                    <a class="dropdown-item {{ if eq .URL ($.RelPermalink) }}active{{ end }}" 
-                       href="{{ .URL | relURL }}">
+                    <a class="dropdown-item{{ if and .URL (eq (strings.TrimSuffix "/" .URL) $current) }} active{{ end }}"
+                       href="{{ .URL }}">
                       {{ .Name }}
                     </a>
                   </li>
-                {{ end }}
+                {{- end }}
               </ul>
             </li>
-          {{ else }}
-            <!-- Regular menu item -->
+          {{- else -}}
             <li class="nav-item">
-              <a class="nav-link {{ if eq .URL ($.RelPermalink) }}active{{ end }}" 
-                 href="{{ .URL | relURL }}">
+              <a class="nav-link{{ if $isActive }} active{{ end }}" href="{{ .URL }}">
                 {{ .Name }}
               </a>
             </li>
-          {{ end }}
-        {{ end }}
+          {{- end -}}
+        {{- end }}
       </ul>
     </div>
   </div>