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To customize your WordPress admin dashboard, open Dashboard > Home, use Screen Options to show or hide dashboard widgets, then drag widget title bars to rearrange them. These controls change your logged-in admin view—not the design or navigation visitors see on your website.
Customize the Dashboard widgets
The Dashboard is the admin landing page that summarizes site activity and offers shortcuts. WordPress’s Dashboard screen documentation describes Screen Options as the control for choosing which widgets are displayed.
Show or hide widgets
- Sign in and go to Dashboard > Home.
- Open the Screen Options tab near the top of the page.
- Check a widget’s box to show it, or clear the box to hide it. Select the tab again to close the panel.
WordPress’s default Dashboard includes At a Glance, Activity, Quick Draft, WordPress Events and News, and Welcome. Quick Draft saves a draft; it does not publish a post. Plugins, hosting configuration, and personal settings can change which panels appear, so not every site will show an identical set.
Rearrange or collapse widgets
To change the layout, hover over a widget’s title bar until the move cursor appears, then drag and release it in the desired position. Select a title bar to expand or collapse that widget. Keep the panels that help with your regular tasks and hide those you do not use.
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Use Screen Options on other admin pages
Screen Options is contextual: it controls settings for the page you are currently viewing, not one global dashboard layout. Depending on the screen, it may control columns or editing modules. For example, the Pages Add New screen can offer controls for modules such as Custom Fields, Discussion, Slug, and Post Author. Those display preferences are saved for the user’s editing screen.
If a control or screen is missing, the active user’s role and capabilities may limit access. WordPress explains that roles determine what users can do; ask the site administrator to provide only the access needed for your work rather than requesting administrator rights just to change a personal dashboard preference.
Hide the Toolbar on the public-facing site
If by “dashboard bar” you mean the Toolbar that appears while viewing the public site while logged in, go to Users > Your Profile and toggle the Toolbar option. This setting applies to the front end. WordPress’s Toolbar documentation notes that the Toolbar cannot be hidden while viewing Administration Screens.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Change the site’s appearance or navigation instead
Dashboard widget settings do not redesign the website. Appearance controls depend on the active theme: a block theme uses the Site Editor, while classic themes may provide Customize, Menus, or Widgets screens. Some hybrid themes and site configurations expose a mixture of controls.
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| Goal | Where to look | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Change admin Dashboard panels | Dashboard > Home > Screen Options | Widgets shown on your Dashboard |
| Hide the Toolbar while viewing the site | Users > Your Profile | Toolbar display on the public-facing site for your account |
| Edit a block theme’s site design or navigation | Appearance > Editor; use the Navigation block for navigation | Public-facing templates, design, and navigation |
| Edit a classic theme’s design or navigation | Appearance > Customize, Menus, or Widgets, when available | Theme-supported site appearance, menus, or widget areas |
WordPress documents that block themes use the Site Editor and Navigation block for menus, while classic themes may use the separate Menus screen. The Appearance Menus documentation explains this distinction, and the Customizer documentation notes that theme support determines its availability. If Appearance > Customize is missing, first check whether your active theme is a block theme; also consider your role, plugins, and hosting configuration. Labels and available controls can vary by WordPress version and site setup.
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