The WordPress Dashboard: this is how it works!
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Written by Celine Klooster

augustus 25, 2019

I regularly get the question of how certain parts of the WordPress dashboard actually work. This is, of course, important to know, because without this knowledge you can’t follow tutorials at all. This is the reason why I wrote an extensive blog post for you that explains the WordPress dashboard step by step. Do you need more information about this dashboard? Then read this blog.

Home page and landing page

Your homepage is the most important page of your website. You have two options for this homepage. Or you make it a static page, such as The Blog Boss. This is a home page with various sections, such as an about me page, a link to my shop and a number of other websites. In addition, you can also create a fluid page with your recent blog posts. However, if you want more than just a blog, then a static page is important.

The WordPress Dashboard

To change your homepage, go to settings & read. Here you can choose from “last posts”, that is your blog page or a “static page”, for a regular home page.

If you choose the blog page, you can choose whether the article should show the full text or a summary. I would choose the summary if you have a blog page. Then people can see a good overview of your blog posts and choose which blog post they want to read.

In addition, make sure that the checkmark behind “search engine visibility” is unchecked.

Tip: Are you wondering how I have made my homepage and landing page? Then definitely check my blog post about Divi.

The WordPress Dashboard > title, tagline, and favicon

Go to your WordPress Dashboard and view the left menu. Here you then see the display and then customizer. Then go to general settings or directly to site identity.

The WordPress Dashboard

Under site identity, you can then adjust your title, tagline, and favicon. The title is simply the name of your blog, the tagline is a small description of your blog and the favicon is a small icon next to your name.

Logo

It is of course also important that you add a logo. This logo represents your brand and it really has to be a logo that stands out and matches the rest of your website. For example, it is important to connect the different colors that you use on your website.

You can use Canva to create a logo. This is a (free!) Website with all kinds of different designs so that you can easily and quickly create a logo. However, you must keep in mind that your logo is not very original and you can also come across this logo on other websites.

Als je wel origineel wil zijn, dan kan je bijvoorbeeld gebruik maken van Adobe Illustrator om een eigen logo te maken, maar daar is natuurlijk wel wat inspiratie voor vereist.

The WordPress Dashboard > Pages

The WordPress Dashboard

There are a number of important pages that you must add to make your blog or website a success. For a website where you also sell things, a number of different pages are recommended. Of course, it is important to have a home page, but also an about me page and a contact page are important. Of course, you also need a page with the shop, testimonials, possibly a portfolio and a blog.

Bloggers need slightly fewer pages. For example, an about me, contact and the home page is, of course, important and I also recommend having a recommended page. On this page, you can put everything you recommend. For example, I created a page with all the tools I use for blogging and which other software I use to make my blog a success. It is therefore highly recommended to use affiliate links on this page.

The WordPress Dashboard

What you see on my page is “edit with Divi”. This is an editor that I use to take my blog to another level. Divi gives so many more options when it comes to web design and with Divi, I have put together my entire website. Definitely recommended to have a look at this great program.

To add a new page, click on “new page” and if you want to edit something quickly, click on “edit quickly”.

(Blog) posts

posts

This is the section where you write all your blog posts and as a blogger, this is probably the section where you come the most. It actually comes down to a bit the same as the pages section.

To create a new blog post, click on “new post”. If you want to edit a current blog post then click on “edit”, but if you want to make a small adjustment, such as changing the category, then click on “quickly edit”.

It is of course also possible to delete a post and then click on “trash”.

Widgets

Widgets are an important part of your blog. This way you can add many different widgets to your blog, for example, a social media feed, a list of your recent blogs, advertising space or an about me widget.

widgets

Anyway, how do you add these widgets? First, you go to appearance > widgets.

You will then see the various widgets that you can add on the left side of your screen. This can differ from the screenshot above because some themes (for example my Divi theme) add other widgets. On the right, you then have the different widget sections to which you can add widgets.

To add widgets to your sidebar, simply drag the widgets from the left to the corresponding section. For the sidebar, the widget section is called “sidebar” for me, but this can also have a right-hand widget or a different name, for example.

The order in which you place the widgets is then also the order on your website.

The WordPress Dashboard > Menu

A menu is very important. In your menu, you place the most important pages of your website, or your home page, contact, about me and possibly your shop, blog and recommended page.

The WordPress Dashboard

First, go to appearance > menus.

At the top, choose which menu you want to edit. If you do not have a menu yet, click on “new menu”. If you have subsequently chosen which menu you want to edit, view the different pages that you can add on the left. Here you can choose from the most recent, show or search for everything. I usually press show everything, because I don’t have too many pages anyway. However, if you have a lot of pages, then it’s best to choose search.

You can do two things to add the pages. Firstly, you can very easily drag the pages to the corresponding location or you can click on “add to menu”, which adds the page to the menu.

Another useful thing to keep in mind is that you can easily change the names of your menu items. So you probably have very long names that you would like to change. Well, you can! To do this, add to your menu. Then you press the arrow at the far right of the menu item, expanding the number of options. Under “navigation label” you then change the name of the menu item.

Did you figure the WordPress dashboard out?

Hey!

I am Celine. Enthusiastic, passionated, and a bit perfectionistic, but I especially love blogging. I love to share my blogging and social media tips and to help other people. Go to my about me page to get to know me.
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