diff --git a/src/actions/jaeger-api.js b/src/actions/jaeger-api.js
index 6e9b024591..bf7e825088 100644
--- a/src/actions/jaeger-api.js
+++ b/src/actions/jaeger-api.js
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ import JaegerAPI from '../api/jaeger';
  * async wrapper to get the api object in case we're in demo mode.
  */
 
+export const fetchConfig = createAction('@JAEGER_API/FETCH_CONFIG', () => JaegerAPI.fetchConfig());
+
 export const fetchTrace = createAction(
   '@JAEGER_API/FETCH_TRACE',
   id => JaegerAPI.fetchTrace(id),
diff --git a/src/api/jaeger.js b/src/api/jaeger.js
index 266f04ad15..9373ca1450 100644
--- a/src/api/jaeger.js
+++ b/src/api/jaeger.js
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ export const DEFAULT_DEPENDENCY_LOOKBACK = moment.duration(1, 'weeks').asMillise
 
 const JaegerAPI = {
   apiRoot: DEFAULT_API_ROOT,
+  fetchConfig() {
+    return getJSON(`${this.apiRoot}config`).catch(err => ({ error: err }));
+  },
   fetchTrace(id) {
     return getJSON(`${this.apiRoot}traces/${id}`);
   },
diff --git a/src/components/App/Page.js b/src/components/App/Page.js
index 8a28a5bc25..915901ce6b 100644
--- a/src/components/App/Page.js
+++ b/src/components/App/Page.js
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import { connect } from 'react-redux';
 import type { Location } from 'react-router-dom';
 
 import TopNav from './TopNav';
+import type { Config } from '../../types/config';
 import { trackPageView } from '../../utils/metrics';
 
 import './Page.css';
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ import './Page.css';
 type PageProps = {
   location: Location,
   children: React.Node,
+  config: { data: Config },
 };
 
 class Page extends React.Component<PageProps> {
@@ -52,11 +54,12 @@ class Page extends React.Component<PageProps> {
   }
 
   render() {
-    const { children } = this.props;
+    const { children, config } = this.props;
+    const menu = config && config.data && config.data.menu;
     return (
       <section className="jaeger-ui-page" id="jaeger-ui">
         <Helmet title="Jaeger UI" />
-        <TopNav />
+        <TopNav menuConfig={menu} />
         <div className="jaeger-ui--content">
           {children}
         </div>
@@ -66,8 +69,9 @@ class Page extends React.Component<PageProps> {
 }
 
 function mapStateToProps(state, ownProps) {
+  const { config } = state;
   const { location } = state.routing;
-  return { ...ownProps, location };
+  return { ...ownProps, config, location };
 }
 
 export default connect(mapStateToProps)(Page);
diff --git a/src/components/App/TopNav.css b/src/components/App/TopNav.css
index 73315ece98..05ed71e3ff 100644
--- a/src/components/App/TopNav.css
+++ b/src/components/App/TopNav.css
@@ -20,10 +20,18 @@ OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
 THE SOFTWARE.
 */
 
-.ui.menu.jaeger-ui--topnav {
-  border-radius: 0;
+.TopNav {
+  /* !important is to override styles from semantic UI */
+  border-radius: 0 !important;
+  margin: 0 !important;
   padding: 5px;
   position: fixed;
   width: 100%;
   z-index: 1000;
 }
+
+.TopNav--DropdownItem {
+  display: block;
+  margin: -1em;
+  padding: 1em;
+}
diff --git a/src/components/App/TopNav.js b/src/components/App/TopNav.js
index 835356661b..001f892463 100644
--- a/src/components/App/TopNav.js
+++ b/src/components/App/TopNav.js
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+// @flow
+
 // Copyright (c) 2017 Uber Technologies, Inc.
 //
 // Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
@@ -20,12 +22,45 @@
 
 import React from 'react';
 import { Link } from 'react-router-dom';
+import { Dropdown, Menu } from 'semantic-ui-react';
 
 import TraceIDSearchInput from './TraceIDSearchInput';
+import type { ConfigMenuItem, ConfigMenuGroup } from '../../types/config';
 import prefixUrl from '../../utils/prefix-url';
 
 import './TopNav.css';
 
+type TopNavProps = {
+  menuConfig: (ConfigMenuItem | ConfigMenuGroup)[],
+};
+
+function CustomNavItem({ label, url }: ConfigMenuItem) {
+  return (
+    <a href={url} className="header item" target="_blank">
+      {label}
+    </a>
+  );
+}
+
+function CustomNavDropdown({ label, items }: ConfigMenuGroup) {
+  return (
+    <Dropdown text={label} pointing className="link item">
+      <Dropdown.Menu>
+        {items.map(item => {
+          const { label: itemLabel, url } = item;
+          return (
+            <Dropdown.Item key={itemLabel}>
+              <a href={url} className="ui TopNav--DropdownItem" target="_blank">
+                {itemLabel}
+              </a>
+            </Dropdown.Item>
+          );
+        })}
+      </Dropdown.Menu>
+    </Dropdown>
+  );
+}
+
 const NAV_LINKS = [
   {
     key: 'dependencies',
@@ -39,23 +74,38 @@ const NAV_LINKS = [
   },
 ];
 
-export default function TopNav() {
+export default function TopNav(props: TopNavProps) {
+  const { menuConfig } = props;
+  const menuItems = Array.isArray(menuConfig) ? menuConfig : [];
   return (
-    <nav className="ui top inverted menu jaeger-ui--topnav">
+    <Menu inverted className="TopNav">
       <Link to={prefixUrl('/')} className="header item">
-        {'Jaeger UI'}
+        Jaeger UI
       </Link>
-
+      <div className="ui input">
+        <TraceIDSearchInput />
+      </div>
+      {NAV_LINKS.map(({ key, to, text }) =>
+        <Link key={key} to={to} className="item">
+          {text}
+        </Link>
+      )}
       <div className="right menu">
-        <div className="ui input">
-          <TraceIDSearchInput />
-        </div>
-        {NAV_LINKS.map(({ key, to, text }) =>
-          <Link key={key} to={to} className="item">
-            {text}
-          </Link>
-        )}
+        {menuItems.map(item => {
+          if (item.items) {
+            return <CustomNavDropdown key={item.label} {...item} />;
+          }
+          return <CustomNavItem key={item.label} {...item} />;
+        })}
       </div>
-    </nav>
+    </Menu>
   );
 }
+
+TopNav.defaultProps = {
+  menuConfig: [],
+};
+
+// exported for tests
+TopNav.CustomNavItem = CustomNavItem;
+TopNav.CustomNavDropdown = CustomNavDropdown;
diff --git a/src/components/App/TopNav.test.js b/src/components/App/TopNav.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8b99ff23c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/App/TopNav.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2017 Uber Technologies, Inc.
+//
+// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+// of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+// in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+// to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+// copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+// furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+//
+// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+// all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+//
+// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+// IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+// FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+// AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+// LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+// OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+// THE SOFTWARE.
+
+import React from 'react';
+import { shallow } from 'enzyme';
+import { Link } from 'react-router-dom';
+
+import TopNav from './TopNav';
+
+describe('<TopNav>', () => {
+  const labelGitHub = 'GitHub';
+  const labelAbout = 'About Jaeger';
+  const dropdownItems = [
+    {
+      label: 'Docs',
+      url: 'http://jaeger.readthedocs.io/en/latest/',
+    },
+    {
+      label: 'Twitter',
+      url: 'https://twitter.com/JaegerTracing',
+    },
+  ];
+
+  const defaultProps = {
+    menuConfig: [
+      {
+        label: labelGitHub,
+        url: 'https://github.com/uber/jaeger',
+      },
+      {
+        label: labelAbout,
+        items: dropdownItems,
+      },
+    ],
+  };
+
+  let wrapper;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    wrapper = shallow(<TopNav {...defaultProps} />);
+  });
+
+  describe('renders the default menu options', () => {
+    it('renders the "Jaeger UI" button', () => {
+      const items = wrapper.find(Link).findWhere(link => /Jaeger UI/.test(link.text()));
+      expect(items.length).toBe(1);
+    });
+
+    it('renders the "Search" button', () => {
+      const items = wrapper.find(Link).findWhere(link => /Search/.test(link.text()));
+      expect(items.length).toBe(1);
+    });
+
+    it('renders the "Dependencies" button', () => {
+      const items = wrapper.find(Link).findWhere(link => /Dependencies/.test(link.text()));
+      expect(items.length).toBe(1);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('renders the custom menu', () => {
+    it('renders the top-level item', () => {
+      const item = wrapper.find(TopNav.CustomNavItem);
+      expect(item.length).toBe(1);
+      expect(item.prop('label')).toBe(labelGitHub);
+    });
+
+    describe('renders the nested menu items', () => {
+      it('renders the <CustomNavDropdown> component', () => {
+        const item = wrapper.find(TopNav.CustomNavDropdown);
+        expect(item.length).toBe(1);
+        expect(item.prop('label')).toBe(labelAbout);
+        expect(item.prop('items')).toBe(dropdownItems);
+      });
+
+      it('the <CustomNavDropdown> renders the links', () => {
+        const dropdown = shallow(<TopNav.CustomNavDropdown label={labelAbout} items={dropdownItems} />);
+        const links = dropdown.find('a');
+        expect(links.length).toBe(2);
+        const linkTexts = links.map(node => node.text()).sort();
+        const expectTexts = dropdownItems.map(item => item.label).sort();
+        expect(expectTexts).toEqual(linkTexts);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/App/index.js b/src/components/App/index.js
index 3e27b5d5fb..c7432d56c8 100644
--- a/src/components/App/index.js
+++ b/src/components/App/index.js
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 
 import React, { Component } from 'react';
 import createHistory from 'history/createBrowserHistory';
-import PropTypes from 'prop-types';
 import { Provider } from 'react-redux';
 import { Route, Redirect, Switch } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { ConnectedRouter } from 'react-router-redux';
@@ -32,39 +31,26 @@ import NotFound from './NotFound';
 import { ConnectedDependencyGraphPage } from '../DependencyGraph';
 import { ConnectedSearchTracePage } from '../SearchTracePage';
 import { ConnectedTracePage } from '../TracePage';
+import { fetchConfig } from '../../actions/jaeger-api';
 import JaegerAPI, { DEFAULT_API_ROOT } from '../../api/jaeger';
 import configureStore from '../../utils/configure-store';
 import prefixUrl from '../../utils/prefix-url';
 
 import './App.css';
 
-const defaultHistory = createHistory();
+const history = createHistory();
 
 export default class JaegerUIApp extends Component {
-  static get propTypes() {
-    return {
-      history: PropTypes.object,
-      apiRoot: PropTypes.string,
-    };
-  }
-
-  static get defaultProps() {
-    return {
-      history: defaultHistory,
-      apiRoot: DEFAULT_API_ROOT,
-    };
-  }
-
-  componentDidMount() {
-    const { apiRoot } = this.props;
-    JaegerAPI.apiRoot = apiRoot;
+  constructor(props) {
+    super(props);
+    this.store = configureStore(history);
+    JaegerAPI.apiRoot = DEFAULT_API_ROOT;
+    this.store.dispatch(fetchConfig());
   }
 
   render() {
-    const { history } = this.props;
-    const store = configureStore(history);
     return (
-      <Provider store={store}>
+      <Provider store={this.store}>
         <ConnectedRouter history={history}>
           <Page>
             <Switch>
diff --git a/src/components/TracePage/index.css b/src/components/TracePage/index.css
index 018a9241f0..4e5953b662 100644
--- a/src/components/TracePage/index.css
+++ b/src/components/TracePage/index.css
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ THE SOFTWARE.
   padding: 0.5em 0.5em 0 0.5em;
   position: fixed;
   width: 100%;
-  z-index: 1000001;
+  z-index: 3;
 }
 
 .trace-timeline-section {
diff --git a/src/constants/default-config.js b/src/constants/default-config.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..531cf5c876
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/constants/default-config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2017 Uber Technologies, Inc.
+//
+// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+// of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+// in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+// to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+// copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+// furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+//
+// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+// all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+//
+// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+// IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+// FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+// AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+// LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+// OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+// THE SOFTWARE.
+
+export default {
+  menu: [
+    {
+      label: 'About Jaeger',
+      items: [
+        {
+          label: 'GitHub',
+          url: 'https://github.com/uber/jaeger',
+        },
+        {
+          label: 'Docs',
+          url: 'http://jaeger.readthedocs.io/en/latest/',
+        },
+        {
+          label: 'Twitter',
+          url: 'https://twitter.com/JaegerTracing',
+        },
+        {
+          label: 'Discussion Group',
+          url: 'https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/jaeger-tracing',
+        },
+        {
+          label: 'Gitter.im',
+          url: 'https://gitter.im/jaegertracing/Lobby',
+        },
+        {
+          label: 'Blog',
+          url: 'https://medium.com/jaegertracing/',
+        },
+      ],
+    },
+  ],
+};
diff --git a/src/reducers/config.js b/src/reducers/config.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4233402aaf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/reducers/config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2017 Uber Technologies, Inc.
+//
+// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+// of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+// in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+// to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+// copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+// furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+//
+// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+// all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+//
+// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+// IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+// FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+// AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+// LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+// OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+// THE SOFTWARE.
+
+import { handleActions } from 'redux-actions';
+
+import { fetchConfig } from '../actions/jaeger-api';
+import defaultConfig from '../constants/default-config';
+
+const initialState = {
+  data: {},
+  loading: false,
+  error: null,
+};
+
+function fetchStarted(state) {
+  return { ...state, loading: true };
+}
+
+function fetchDone(state, { payload }) {
+  const data = payload;
+  // fetchConfig action creator is set to handle rejected promises
+  if (data.error) {
+    const { message, stack } = data.error;
+    return { ...state, error: { message, stack }, loading: false, data: defaultConfig };
+  }
+  return { ...state, data, error: null, loading: false };
+}
+
+function fetchErred(state, { payload: error }) {
+  return { ...state, error: error.message, loading: false, data: defaultConfig };
+}
+
+export default handleActions(
+  {
+    [`${fetchConfig}_PENDING`]: fetchStarted,
+    [`${fetchConfig}_FULFILLED`]: fetchDone,
+    [`${fetchConfig}_REJECTED`]: fetchErred,
+  },
+  initialState
+);
diff --git a/src/reducers/index.js b/src/reducers/index.js
index 3fd240269c..b406fbe604 100644
--- a/src/reducers/index.js
+++ b/src/reducers/index.js
@@ -20,11 +20,13 @@
 
 import { reducer as formReducer } from 'redux-form';
 
+import config from './config';
 import dependencies from './dependencies';
 import services from './services';
 import trace from './trace';
 
 export default {
+  config,
   dependencies,
   services,
   trace,
diff --git a/src/types/config.js b/src/types/config.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7779b88743
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/types/config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+// @flow
+
+// Copyright (c) 2017 Uber Technologies, Inc.
+//
+// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+// of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+// in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+// to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+// copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+// furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+//
+// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+// all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+//
+// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+// IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+// FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+// AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+// LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+// OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+// THE SOFTWARE.
+
+export type ConfigMenuItem = {
+  label: string,
+  url: string,
+};
+
+export type ConfigMenuGroup = {
+  label: string,
+  items: ConfigMenuItem[],
+};
+
+export type Config = {
+  menu: (ConfigMenuGroup | ConfigMenuItem)[],
+};