Add a span around WordPress menu links

I often have the requirement to add an additional element in the standard WordPress menu – usually adding a span around the anchors.

This is very easy to do using the link_before and link_after functions:

<?php wp_nav_menu( array( 'container_class' => 'menu-header', 'theme_location'
 => 'primary', 'link_before' => '<span>', 'link_after' => '</span>') ); ?>

Depending on your theme, you’ll probably find this code in header.php.