Once you log in to your WordPress administration area, you will see this Dashboard screen.
How do I get to my site?
Look in the top left corner of the screen where it says Dashboard and then to the right, there’s a WordPress logo and the name of your site. The name of your site is actually a link to the front part of your site or the domain name. I suggest you open it in a new window or tab so you can easily switch back and forth between the two.
What are all these boxes and do I need them all?
The boxes that you see can be turned on or off and can be moved around. Just click and drag the title bar area of a box to move it into a different column or above/below another box.
You do not have to keep all of these boxes on your Dashboard. It can be overwhelming to have all of that information in front of you when you log in.
How do I simplify what I see on my screen?
On any screen you go to in the Administration area, you will see a button in the top right corner that says “Screen Options.” Click that to expand the options for the screen you are on. For the Dashboard, I recommend unchecking the box next to WordPress Blog, Other WordPress News, and Plugins. While you are learning, this information would be overload and not necessary. You can always come back here later and turn them back on.
Main Navigation
On the left side of the screen is the main navigation menu detailing each of the administrative functions you can perform. At the very bottom of the main navigation menu is a Collapse Menu link to collapse the area to a set of icons. Each major function such as Posts has a sub-menu that will show when you expand the menu by clicking on the heading. Click the heading again to collapse the sub-menu.
Work Area
The large area in the middle of the screen is the work area. Specific information relating to a certain navigation choice will show here and allow you to edit the information.
Updates
WordPress now alerts you when there are updates to either WordPress itself or Plugins you may load. This information will show up at the top of your Dashboard highlighted in a yellow box with a link to perform the auto-upgrade. Note: Some hosts do not have their file permissions setup to allow for WordPress to upgrade automatically. If you get an upgrade message, click the link and tell it to upgrade, you may get an error message that says Installation Failed – Could not copy files. In this case, you will just have to check in with your hosts one-click install area and wait for them to provide the upgrade that way.
