What is: Admin Area?

The admin area, also known as the admin panel or dashboard, is a crucial component of a WordPress website. It’s the interface where administrators and other authorized users can manage and customize the content, appearance, and functionality of the website.

The Admin Area is also where you can activate features and install plugins, et cetera. This panel is what makes WordPress such a powerful piece of CMS software because it allows you to administer your website without having to learn or implement any coding.

Accessing The Admin Area

Usually, the way to access your Admin Area is to use your browser to go to the “wp-admin” page of your website. For example, if your website’s URL is “www.MyAwesomeBlog.com”, then the Admin Area would be accessed at “www.MyAwesomeBlog.com/wp-admin/”. If you’re the administrator of a WordPress site, it’s a really good idea to bookmark this URL because you’ll be accessing it quite often.

Once you’re logged into the admin area, you have access to various features and tools, depending on your user role. Here are some of the things you can do in the WordPress admin area:

Purpose Of The Admin Area

The purpose of the admin area is to provide a user-friendly interface for managing your WordPress site. It’s designed to be easy to use, even for people without a lot of technical knowledge.

For those that are savvy with code though, it is flexible enough to accommodate experienced developers too. While not to be tampered with by anyone inexperienced with CSS script or HTML, you can access and edit code in files directly from the access panel too.

Things You Can Do From The Admin Area

Here are some of the things you can do in the WordPress admin area, depending on your role and access permissions:

• Create and Edit Content: The admin panel is where you can choose to write new posts and pages. You can also edit existing ones, and publish or delete content. You can also manage categories and tags for your posts. Admins and editors are able to access this feature, but other user types are restricted.
• Manage Media: The Media Library in the admin area allows you to upload, edit, and delete images, videos, and other media files that you can then insert into your posts or pages.
• Customize Appearance: Under the Appearance section, you can choose and customize your theme, manage menus and widgets, and in some cases edit your site’s CSS.
• Install and Manage Plugins: Plugins can add extra and sometimes critical functionality to your WordPress site. In the admin area, you can install new plugins, update existing ones, and configure their settings. You can also switch between active and deactivate if any conflict occurs or for root cause analysis.
• Configure Settings: The Settings section allows you to manage global settings for your site, including the site title and tagline, the URL structure for your posts (permalinks), comment settings, and more.
• Manage Users: If your site has multiple users and user types, you can manage them from the admin area. This includes adding new users, editing existing users, and assigning user roles. If you have an eCommerce site that uses accounts for existing customers, these can also be managed from this area.
• Monitor Comments: The Comments section lets you manage comments on your posts. You can approve or delete comments, reply to comments, and manage comment settings.

Admin Area Layout

Note: Everyone with a defined user role on your website can access the Admin Area, however, the available options depend on the privileges granted to their user role. For example, a Subscriber’s Admin Area will only let them modify their profile.

At the top of the Admin Screen is a toolbar that lets you quickly access some of the most commonly used functions. Immediately underneath the toolbar on the righthand side are the Screen Options.

On the left side of the Admin Area is a black column that functions as the main navigation menu. Hovering your mouse over each option usually brings up more information about the option. Clicking on an option often opens a submenu with additional choices.

The middle of the Admin Area is called the work area. You can do many things directly from this work area, including writing and editing posts and pages.

At the bottom of the Admin Area is a footer section that contains links to WordPress’s main website and WordPress help documents.

If you are building a WordPress site, the admin area will become your second home. Whether you’re a blogger creating posts, a business owner updating product pages, or a developer installing plugins, the admin area is where you’ll do most of your work. Understanding how to navigate and use the admin area is a fundamental part of using WordPress effectively.