WordPress 2.7 New Admin Dashboard Layout

WordPress 2.7 has a new admin dashboard layout. I really like the new layout  but it may take some “getting used to.” If you haven’t upgraded yet, there are a few changes you can expect to see.

The Sidebar

In previous versions, most of the buttons and tabs were at the top of your admin screen. In the 2.7 version, these tabs have been replaced with a sidebar. The sidebar contains drop down boxes and requires fewer clicks to get to where you want to go. There are also some added functions in the sidebar that make life a little easier. For example, take a look at the “Add New” link under the Posts and Media boxes.

The full sidebar also takes up far less space than the buttons and tabs in older versions. But it gets even better! You can turn the sidebar into a mini-sidebar by clicking the arrow/line just above “posts.” This allows room for some great features in the main section.

The Main Section

The First Collumn

The main area contains several “at a glance” type sections and other time saving features.

• From the Right Now section, you can find the number of posts, pages, categories, tags, and comments. You can even see how many comments have been approved and how many are pending.You can also see the name of the theme in use, the number of widgets you have, your current version of WP, and your Akismet (spam) overview.
• In the Recent Comments section, you can see more details concerning the most recent comments made to your site.
• Incoming Links, if configured, shows websites that are linking to your site.
• The Plugins section shows a list of popular and recently updated plugins that you may be interested in.
• And then there is the second column…

The Second Column

• My favorite, the QuickPress section is one of the time saving features in the main section. From this spot, you can make a post or save a draft right from your dashboard. This is great for people who are on the go and have a limited amount of time.

Since this is so easy, I can see the potential for a lot of people to login to create a draft for future post ideas. Then come back later when they have more time to develop the ideas into posts or articles.

• As if the QuickPress wasn’t enough, there is also a Recent Drafts section where you can see the titles and info about drafts that still need work before publishing. This is a great feature, especially since it will work great as a sticky note reminder each time you log in.
• Last but not least, the next two sections include the WordPress Development Blog and a place where you can add a favorite rss feed. For example, if you wanted to keep up with my business tips, you’d simply need to configure the box under WordPress Development to add my rss feed link and give it a name. You’ll then see my latest posts in your dashboard . *Note: Currently I can’t get the default Planet WordPress rss feed to work correctly but hopefully it will work for you.

There are oodles of other great features in this version of WordPress, too many to list here. After you’ve installed 2.7, take time to get to know where things are and how they work. If you don’t know what something on your dashboard does, click it to find out. I had a ball discovering all the neat things that I could do. In fact, it was almost like being on a treasure hunt and finding bits of gold along the way.

Don’t forget, if you need any help with your “new toy” let me know.