If you’re a first-time blogger or website owner without a background in web or software development, starting your WordPress site can be intimidating. But fear not! In this article, we’ll walk you through each of the ten parts of the WordPress back end and explain what each part is for and how to use it. By the end of this article, you’ll be using WordPress like a pro!
1. The Dashboard
The dashboard is essentially your home page or welcome center, which you will see every time you log in. From here, you can view basic stats for your site, draft a new post, see reminders of what you’ve published recently, and check out what’s new with WordPress.
2. Posts
The Posts section is where you’ll likely spend the majority of your time once your site is up and running – particularly if you write a lot. The All Posts page shows you, in table format, every post that you’ve drafted or published. This is your base for post management.
3. Media
The Media section is where all your images, files, and other uploaded items are housed. To upload items to your library, click Add New. In the screen that pops up, you can either drag and drop something into the space or click to browse for files.
4. Pages
This section is where you add and manage the pages for your site. Pages are not the same thing as posts – a page on WordPress is, for example, your home page or about page; it’s an overview or a quick hit of information, or some kind of gallery.
5. Comments
The comments section is where you moderate the comments on your posts and pages.
6. Appearance
The Appearance section is all about how your site looks on the front end. Here’s where you select and customize your theme, including widgets and menus.
7. Plugins
The Plugins section shows you plugins you have installed and the WordPress plugin directory. The Editor part is just like the theme editor – it’s where you can edit the code for the plugins you have installed.
8. Users
This section is where you manage all the users who have logins for your site.
9. Tools
The Tools section contains tools that make life a little easier when you set up your site.
10. Settings
The Settings element is where you manage everything about your site that is not covered in another area.
Bonus: Theme Panel
Many premium themes come with extra features not found in free themes, and another one of those features is a Theme Panel.
In conclusion, starting a WordPress site may seem intimidating at first, but with this guide, you should have a better understanding of the different parts of WordPress Admin and what they do. Soon enough, you’ll be managing your back end like a pro!
