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To replace WordPress branding in the admin bar or dashboard, use a plugin that explicitly supports that location, or add a carefully tested code snippet for the admin bar. WordPress’s built-in Custom Logo theme feature changes the logo shown on the public site; it does not, by itself, replace the dashboard logo.
Choose the logo location you want to change
WordPress has separate branding locations. Pick the one you mean before installing a plugin or changing code:
- Admin bar: the toolbar shown at the top of WordPress screens, where the WordPress mark may appear.
- Dashboard: the administration interface; some branding tools also customize dashboard elements such as the footer.
- Login screen: the page where users enter their credentials.
- Public site: the logo visitors see in the site’s theme, often in its header.
A plugin that changes the login-screen logo does not necessarily change the admin bar or dashboard. Check the feature description for the exact placement you want.
Use a plugin for admin-bar or dashboard branding
This is the most direct route if you want to avoid maintaining custom code. WordPress.org’s Custom Site Logo listing describes branding for the admin bar and dashboard footer. The White Label listing describes dashboard customization. These are different products, so compare their current descriptions and settings rather than assuming they affect the same parts of the interface.
- Open the plugin’s WordPress.org listing and confirm that it names the admin-bar or dashboard location you want to change.
- Install and activate the plugin from your WordPress administration area, following the plugin’s current installation instructions.
- Open the plugin’s settings and choose the logo or branding option for the intended location. The listings establish feature scope, but do not specify a settings path that applies to every current version.
- Upload or select your logo image if the plugin requires one, save the settings, and inspect the result in the relevant admin screens.
- If the option is missing or the image does not appear, check the plugin’s current documentation and compatibility information before trying another method.
Replace the admin-bar mark with code
A code-based method can target the admin bar as it is rendered. WPBeginner’s guide shows CSS output through the wp_before_admin_bar_render hook to style or replace the mark. See the guide’s example as a starting point, not as code verified for every WordPress installation.
Before using a snippet, make sure you understand where it runs and how it identifies the logo element. The CSS selector, image URL, and scope must suit your site’s WordPress version and any theme or admin customizations. Test on a staging copy or with a safe recovery path, then check the admin bar in the screens and user contexts where you expect it to appear. If the logo is missing or other admin styling changes, remove or revise the snippet.
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Use the built-in Custom Logo feature for the public site
If you meant the logo visitors see on the site rather than the WordPress administration interface, use the theme’s Custom Logo support. WordPress’s Custom Logo documentation describes theme support enabled with add_theme_support( 'custom-logo' ) and displayed with the_custom_logo(). This is a theme feature for the public-facing site logo; it is not the setting for replacing the admin-bar mark.
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Keep login branding separate
For a logo on the sign-in page, the WordPress.org listing for Change WordPress Admin Logo describes changing the login-page logo. Use it for that placement only; its listing does not establish that it changes the dashboard or admin bar.
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