So you include the top bar if the user is logged in, do you @else to display a different one for guests?

I thought about creating two different menus, each with their own nav elements - but many will be common between the two so it seemed a little repetitive to build the menu twice.

You could simply have one header, but use Auth::check() and @include to include a partial when the user is logged in.

Yeah that makes the most sense - ill put the 'my account' bit in a partial, cheers.

Thanks :)

This is a really good idea. I had been using two layouts, but will wrap the header in an if statement. Every bit helps I suppose.

IMO, if you are controlling access to only a few menu items then you should keep one layout, and there is no need for partials. Simply:

@if (Auth::guest())
// login link
@else
// logout link