wp_list_pages vs wp_nav_menu, need help…

Heya,

I understand the differences between wp_list_pages and wp_nav_menu, but what I don’t understand is the following (in relation to defining the *primary* navigation):

wp_nav_menu offers integration with the Appearance -> Menus UI. Which is excellent. But because the hierarchy set there doesn’t affect the *permalink structure* the user is still required to set the hierarchy of items, a second time, in the Pages section. This leads me to ask “Why am I using wp_nav_menu then?” So I switch back to wp_list_pages… Of course, I quickly realize that there isn’t a drag-n-drop UI for page ordering, nor is there a UI to exclude pages (without plugins).

As a result, my clients are confused as to how to manage their menus in both scenarios. As a user, and someone who trains people in WordPress almost daily, I would expect this to be more unified.

As I side, I understand the difference between the two on a UI level as well as on the code level but what I don’t understand is why these have not yet been merged. It’s such a foundational aspect of WordPress.