{"id":4686,"date":"2020-10-13T06:36:19","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T06:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ithemelandco.com\/?p=4686"},"modified":"2025-04-12T11:14:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T11:14:49","slug":"getting-familiar-with-wordpress-and-using-dashboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ithemelandco.com\/blog\/getting-familiar-with-wordpress-and-using-dashboard\/","title":{"rendered":"Step 2: Getting Familiar with WordPress and Using Dashboard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WordPress<\/a> Dashboard allows you to control all of the behind-the-scene details of managing your site. Once you find your way around the dashboard, you\u2019ll realize it\u2019s really easy to use and navigate. If you\u2019ve logged into WordPress even once, you\u2019ve seen the WordPress Dashboard<\/strong>, the first thing you see when you log into WordPress \u2014 not the entire WordPress admin area, which is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting familiar with Dashboard Sections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To access the WordPress dashboard<\/strong>, you\u2019ll need to first log in to your WordPress site.  If you do not know how to build a website in WordPress, please refer to the previous step of Learning WordPress for Beginners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Download and Install WordPress<\/strong><\/a> <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After you first log in, you\u2019ll see a top welcome box from WordPress with some quick links to help you get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wordpress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next section is the \u201cRight Now\u201d or \u201cAt a Glance\u201d section. Here you\u2019ll see the number of post, pages, categories and tags for your site\u2019s content. You\u2019ll also see discussion information for comments, like the total number of comments, and numbers for those approved, pending or marked as spam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WP<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cActivity\u201d section is the pulse of your website. The Activity module displays the title of the most recent posts and snippets from the latest comments. If something happened recently on your site, you\u2019d find it listed here in the WordPress dashboard. Click any of the Activity links to jump right to the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WP<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cQuick Draft\u201d module is the quickest way to create a new post. That being said, this feature is quite limited. It\u2019s unlikely that most users will ever take advantage of the Quick Draft module.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can see the latest news from the WordPress world in a constantly updated feed in the \u201cWordPress News\u201d section. Keep an eye on this module for news about WordPress updates and security releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customizing the WordPress Dashboard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can edit what is on your dashboard by clicking on screen options at the top right. Click the arrow to expand this section and you\u2019ll see checkboxes for each of the sections usually included in the WordPress Dashboard<\/strong>. To remove any of the sections, just unclick the checkbox beside the section you\u2019d like to hide. You can also choose the number of columns for the screen layout, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Left-hand Navigation Menu<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Wordpress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the WordPress Dashboard<\/strong> Home screen, the other major component of the WordPress Dashboard<\/a> is the \u201cleft-hand navigation menu<\/strong>\u201d. This navigation menu provides links to all of the WordPress administration screens for posts, the media library, pages, comments, appearance options, plugins, users, tools and settings. If you return to the Dashboard Home<\/strong>, you can also expand each of the sections by clicking the arrow to the right. You can also drag and drop the boxes to change the order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Posts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Posts are where your blog posts will be located. You can select to view all posts from the WordPress dashboard, add a new post, view categories or tags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Next up is media. This is where any of your photos, videos, PDFs, and more are located. If you are just starting out the website, your library will be empty. Don\u2019t worry. We will completely described using all kind of media in the WordPress websites in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pages<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The next option after media in the WordPress dashboard Pages. Pages are the main anchors of your website. You can either view all of your pages or click to add a new page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Then you will see comments. These include all of the comments that have been left on your blog. If you are brand new, you won\u2019t have any comments yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appearance<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The appearance option in the WordPress dashboard is where people can start to get confused. This is where any of your themes and anything related to the appearance of your website is hosted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wordpress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Themes will include the standard WordPress theme options (which we wouldn\u2019t recommend using if you are starting a business) as well as any other themes you have uploaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customize is where you can edit the details of the current theme that is activated on your WordPress account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Widget, menus, header, and background can be accessed both through the appearance option or once you click Customize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theme settings is where the XML format is located for your theme. You most likely won\u2019t need to use that for anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theme editor is where all of the style sheets and backend code is for your site. This is where you wouldn\u2019t want to edit anything, unless if you have experience with coding because you could run into trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plugins<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Wordpress<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plugins are ways to extend and add to the functionality that already exists in WordPress. In this section of WordPress dashboard<\/strong>, you can install new plugins by choosing Add New<\/strong>, or you can manage your existing plugins. All you have to do to turn a plugin like this on is click Activate(although there will often be additional setup steps).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Users<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If you need to have multiple users with various login permissions, this option from WordPress dashboard can help you. \u201cUsers\u201d is where the admin can add new members or edit their profile and permissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tools<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTools\u201d contains options to perform some non-routine management tasks. As a beginner, you most likely won\u2019t need to use this option. We will discuss about it later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Settings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Your settings options in WordPress dashboard may look different from the above picture, depending on the plugins that you have downloaded. You should at the very least have general, writing, reading, discussion, media, and permalinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wordpress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGeneral\u201d settings is where you can edit your site title, tagline, URL, contact email address, time zone and more. \u201dWriting\u201d is where you can edit your default categories and blog formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wordpress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiscussion\u201d settings is where you can edit the settings for comments. \u201cReading\u201d is where you can edit what the front page displays (either your latest posts or a static page), how many blog posts are shown, and how much of each blog article you want to be shown. \u201c<\/strong>Media\u201d is where you can determine the maximum dimensions in pixels to use when adding an image to the Media Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wordpress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally, \u201cpermalinks\u201d as an applicable option in the WordPress dashboard is where you can customize the URL structure for your blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress Dashboard Updates Screen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Wordpress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From time to time, themes, plugins & WordPress will require updating. Updates typically happen when developers release security patches or add extra functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s good practice to keep your themes, plugins & WordPress version updated to the latest versions. The top two reasons for sites being hacked are insecure passwords & outdated (vulnerable) software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an effort to promote better security and to streamline the update experience, WordPress will automatically update itself, if it\u2019s able to, whenever a minor version is released (e.g. v5.2.4, v5.3.2). These minor releases are usually for maintenance and security purposes or translation file updates. You should note that only core WordPress files will be auto-updated. Your themes or plugins won’t be automatically updated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once your site is auto-updated your site administrator will be notified by email. If your WordPress installation can\u2019t update itself automatically for one reason or another, your site administrator will be notified of this as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cDashboard Updates Screen\u201d provides the links necessary to install a core WordPress upgrade automatically, or to download the file necessary to complete a manual upgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the \u2018core\u2019 update process, this Screen of WordPress dashboard provides the ability to upgrade all plugins and themes, active or inactive, that have available updates. For installs that have set the language to a language different from English (United States), you can also install translation updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Updating WordPress<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Before making any changes to your WordPress site, it\u2019s essential to be prepared for any possible missteps. This includes backing up your files and deactivating any plugins that might interfere with WordPress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n