Understanding the features in your WordPress admin panel is a great way to start your journey into WordPress web design. The WordPress admin panel serves as the administration center of your WordPress website. This is where you control almost all of the functionality of your WordPress site.
Learning the dashboard can appear overwhelming to those transitioning from HTML-only design, which deters some from using WordPress.
How Do You Access Your WordPress Admin Panel?
How to login to the WordPress admin panel?
The WordPress admin panel can be found by adding /wp-admin to your site URL:
https://YourWebsiteName.com/wp-admin
If not logged in, WordPress redirects to:
https://YourWebsiteName.com/wp-login.php
Username and password are assigned during initial WordPress installation. It’s recommended to change the default login URL as a security measure, since automated hacker scripts tend to crawl the internet looking for websites with similar URLs.
What Is The WordPress Dashboard?
The default dashboard includes five main widgets:
- Welcome to WordPress! – Shortcut links for WordPress functions.
- At a Glance – Displays post/page/comment counts, WordPress version, and installed theme.
- Quick Draft – Allows quick notes for potential posts.
- Activity – Shows latest posts and comments with timestamps.
- WordPress Events and News – Displays WordPress news and WordCamp event dates.
Add and Remove WordPress Panel’s Screen Options
Users can customize their dashboard by:
- Clicking the Screen Options tab (top right).
- Checking boxes for items to display.
- Unchecking boxes to hide unused elements.
WordPress Admin Panel Side Menu
The left sidebar contains these primary options:
- Dashboard – Overall website options overview.
- Posts – Create blog posts, manage categories and tags.
- Media – Image, document, and PDF file gallery management.
- Pages – Create new website pages.
- Comments – Manage, reply to, or mark comments as spam.
- Appearance – Control website appearance, themes, widgets, menus.
- Plugins – Download WordPress plugins that extend functionality.
- Users – Manage website users and assign roles.
- Tools – Import/export data and check site health.
- Settings – Customize site name, URL, and functionality.
The Bottom Line
Further explore your WordPress admin area to understand every little thing that adds extra functionality for your site.