The WordPress Dashboard may look a bit overwhelming to the first-time blogger. With all the different menus, or panels as I call them, and subpanels, it can be hard to figure out where to get started. This quick little WordPress Guide will help familiarize you with the WordPress dashboard.

To login to the WordPress Dashboard - If your blog is setup in the root directory of your site the URL will be www.yourBlogURL/wp-admin, if your blog is in a sub-directory called blog for example, the URL will be www.YourWebsit.com/blog/wp-admin.

Within the WordPress dashboard there are usually nine main menus or panels, clicking one of them will open a submenu or subpanel with more options. Keep in mind that the contents of some subpanels vary depending on the plugins you currently have installed and activated. We will dig a little deeper into some of the subpanels and discuss plugins later on so for now an overview.

The main Dashboard has the recent activity on your blog, the latest information about WordPress and links to more documentation, plugins, themes and the support forum.

The Write panel is self-explanatory; you create posts and pages here.

The Manage panel is for editing posts, pages, uploads and adding and editing categories. From here you can see lists of all your posts, pages, and categories and edit or view anything in those lists. Within this subpanel you can also edit some your themes templates and other files used by your blog, import content from various sources, and export your blog.

The Comments panel is where you can moderate comments by others made about your posts.

The Blogroll is a list of other blogs or websites you think your readers my find interesting. The default install of WordPress comes with a few blogs in here, you can delete them if you wish, but be sure to add “WordPress Guides” http://www.WordPressMax.com/. (I know, a shameless plug).

The Presentation panel is where you change the look of your blog. Here you can change the theme, customize a themes templates, manage themes and add sidebar widgets if your current theme is “widget ready”. Widgets will be covered in detail later.

Older versions of WordPress will need the Sidebar Widgets plugin, and will look like this, with the Sidebar Widgets option on the far right side:

Widgets are now integrated into WordPress version 2.2.1; if you see Widgets within the Presentation subpanel there is no need to use the Sidebar Widgets plugin. Newer versions will have Widgets integrated and the Widgets subpanel will be right next to the Themes subpanel like this:

The Plugins panel is for activating and deactivating plugins. Plugins are used to extend the functionality of WordPress. The core of WordPress is designed to be lean, to maximize flexibility and minimize code bloat. Plugins offer custom functions and features so that each user can tailor their site to their specific needs. Plugins will be covered in more detail later.

The Users panel is for adding and editing users that will be posting on your blog. Click the Users panel and then the Your Profile subpanel, make any changes and additions here you need to make and click Update Profile. You can also change your password within this subpanel.

Click Options on the far right. Check your settings in here and change what you want. The Tagline appears in the header of your blog, usually under the blog name. The Tagline should be a catchy phrase relevant to your blog, try to include your main keyword within your tagline. Make sure the URL’s are correct, and check or add your email address. When everything is correct, click Update Options.

Once you are comfortable with the WordPress dashboard you will find it isn’t as intimidating as it looks.

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