Understand Your WordPress Dashboard Menu

Use the WordPress Dashboard to manage your entire site.

Toggle between your dashboard and page views

On the Admin Toolbar (black) at the top of your WordPress page, the name of your site (often, your name) is displayed. Selecting this name toggles you between your Dashboard view and your page view.

WordPress admin toolbar with site name highlighted

Dashboard menu options

On the left side of your Dashboard view is the menu you will use to manage your site and develop your pages and posts. Hovering over each of the main menu items displays a submenu with related options. Selecting a menu item displays the related tools and controls in the larger area to the right of the menus.

Main Menu Option Description
Dashboard Display your Dashboard Home view with summary info for your site.
Posts Create new Blog Posts and update your Categories and Post Tags. By default, for new sites, the blog features are turned off.
Media Upload images, documents and other files. From here, you can browse through your media library and edit and update the files.
Links Add links to be displayed on your site. These links are usually displayed within a Widget.
Pages Create and maintain all your Pages.
Comments Manage all your Comments within this section, including replying to comments or marking them as spam.
Appearance Control how your site looks. Choose a new Theme, manage your Widgets and Menus, and even edit your site theme files.
Plugins Browse and activate Plugins to extend the functionality of WordPress.
Users Add and remove site users and manage their roles (permissions).
Tools Access tools to import content to your WordPress site or export all your WordPress content to a file, creating an offline backup of sorts. (The site export XML file includes the text and structure of the site, but not the images and other files. When you import the XML file into another WordPress account, WordPress copies the media files from the source site. Thus, it is crucial that the source site remain available in its original location until the import is complete.) 
Settings Configure your site name, tagline, available fonts, visibility and much more. In most cases, once your site is set up, there is little need to change the settings in this section.
Plugin Menus Occasionally, when you install a Plugin, it will add its own configuration or setup page. Plugin menus usually appear in this area.
Subscriptions Manage your site subscribers' access.
Collapse menu Select Collapse menu to collapse the menu panel into a narrow column of icons to free-up space to the right. Select the Collapse menu icon to expand the panel to its full width.
Next Part of the Series: The WordPress Toolbar
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[Students, Faculty and Staff] Within the university's WordPress environment, TU students can create and manage individual/personal websites. As a self-contained web publishing platform, WordPress is a comparatively easy way to showcase your interests, education, ideas and accomplishments on the web. The articles linked below are intended to orient students to WordPress basics, but they apply to faculty and staff use as well.