WordPress Basics – Using the Dashboard, Also Called the Admin Screen
Your car has a dashboard where you can turn switches and adjust settings. Think of the Admin screen or WordPress Dashboard as another place to turn on features that you want to use.
The WordPress Dashboard has a menu in regular language, no code. There are icons so you can design your website. See video below.
1. Login.
Login to the dashboard for your wordpress site by typing the domaine followed by /wp-admin. A login box will pop up. Put the username and password you chose when you were installing the software in the login box. Click and you will be in the dashboard for your website.
You can add headers, pages, posts, widgets and plugins. Click through the menus and give yourself a tour.
2. Settings
Under Settings click General and add a title and a tagline.
3. Appearance
Under Appearance click Theme. Browse the themes and click to choose one. Under Appearance, Header you can upload a photo or custom header.
4. Plugins
Under Plugins you can add Akismet spam blocker ($5 a month). The Akismet spam blocker is important because if you are allowing comments you’ll get tons of advertising or spam in the comments section without it.
To add plugins it’s a click and activate procedure. Sometimes there are a few other things to do and the directions show up with the plugins. Other basic plugins to add might include Simple Tags and WordPress SEO.
5. Widgets
Plugins that add features to the sidebar will create a widget. You’ll find your new feature labeled by name under widgets and you can drag it over to the sidebar to add that feature to the sidebar.
