The admin panel is the first screen you see when you log into WordPress – you’ll see a list of items down the
left side of the screen. WordPress is a general-purpose content management system, so there are areas
of the admin panel that aren’t used for most client web sites and some that are intended only for use by
developers.
Areas you shouldn’t use include:
- Links (holdover from when WordPress was mainly a blog)
- Tools (used by developers)
- Settings (used by developers)
- Custom Fields (used by developers)
- BackupBuddy (used to backup the site)
- SG Optimizer (manages site cache to speed up site)
- WordFence (a security plugin that protects against hackers)
- Mega Menu (used by developers)
It’s not a problem if you click on any of these panels, just don’t make any changes.
Areas you will be using:
These are the areas you’ll be using on a regular basis. Instructions for each area are provided in this
document. BOLD items are covered in this documentation.
- Posts – this is where you will create blog posts that will appear on the blog pages
- Media – this is the Media Library that shows all images and documents that have been loaded to the site
- Forms – Create forms and manage form submissions
- Pages – all pages are managed under this panel. Pages you cannot edit directly include: Blog, Calendar (if applicable)
- WooCommerce – order processing and e-commerce configuration (for e-commerce sites)
- Products – e-commerce products (for e-commerce sites)
- Analytics – e-commerce reporting (for e-commerce sites)
- Appearance > Menus – if you add or remove a page from the site, the desktop and mobile/responsive menus will need to be updated to reflect those changes. USE CAUTION and follow directions.
- Google Analytics – data on site visitors and their activity
- MetaSlider – manages the home page slider