This guide is designed to help you develop a better understanding of the WordPress dashboard.
Right Now
![[G-WP-0004] - Right Now](https://www.nevillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/G-WP-0004-Right-Now.png)
The right now tab within the WordPress dashboard provides you with a snapshot insight of your website here and now. As you can see, there are two core sections split into ‘Content’ and ‘Discussion’.
The section on the left labeled ‘Content’ displays the total number of posts, pages, categories and tags used. Those figures will automatically increase and decrease according to your actions. You will notice that you can also click on a section such as ‘posts’ and go straight through to that section of your content management system.
The discussion section displays a clear break down of any comments your website has received. Below are the different statuses comments can be associated to.
Approved: Live and visible to the public
Pending: Comments held in moderation and invisible to the public eye
Spam: These are comments that have been held within the spam queue and await your action as to whether you want to delete or accept the comment.
Recent Comments
![[G-WP-0004] - Recent Comments](https://www.nevillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/G-WP-0004-Recent-Comments.png)
In this section you can see the latest comments made by people that have visited your website. It’s then up to you to select whether you wish for the comment to be approved, deleted or placed into the spam zone.
Incoming Links
![[G-WP-0004] - Incoming Links](https://www.nevillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/G-WP-0004-Incoming-Links.png)
This section provides you with a quick overview of all incoming links from WordPress blogs. Please note that this section will not display every link pointing to your website. As stated above, only links from wordpress.com blogs will display here.
Plugins
![[G-WP-0004] - Plugins](https://www.nevillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/G-WP-0004-Plugins.png)
The plugins section is basically a recommendation zone where various plugins are suggested to you for installation. Please note that these are not tailored suggestions so please do your research before clicking install.
For speed and compatibility issues we advise that you use as few plugins as possible. We understand that plugins make our lives easier and if they are required please do go ahead and download them, but if you don’t need it then un-install it.
Plugins slow down your website, some more so than others, but essentially your focus should be on user experience and page loading speed is essential for this.
Quick Press
![[G-WP-0004] - Quick Press](https://www.nevillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/G-WP-0004-Quick-Press.png)
Quick press makes it incredibly easy to publish a new post from your dashboard. Simply set a title and type away. You can even upload media straight into the post. Quick Press is not the perfect solution for everyone as it is quite limiting in terms of the features it provides, but if you are in a rush and you just want to get your content typed up quickly then this could be of some use.
Recent Drafts
![[G-WP-0004] - Recent Drafts](https://www.nevillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/G-WP-0004-Recent-Drafts.png)
It’s easy to forget about content that has been created but not published. This is why the Recent Drafts section was introduced to the WordPress dashboard. Never again shall an important piece of information be forgotten.
WordPress Blog
![[G-WP-0004] - WordPress Blog](https://www.nevillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/G-WP-0004-WordPress-Blog.png)
The WordPress team work effortlessly to enhance and develop the platform; this is why they introduced the WordPress Blog news feed within every users dashboard. It’s never been easier to keep up to date with the latest version releases, miscellaneous developments and all other forms of news. Simply click onto the blue hyperlinked text to read the whole story.
Other WordPress News
![[G-WP-0004] - Other WordPress News](https://www.nevillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/G-WP-0004-Other-WordPress-News.png)
The ‘Other WordPress News section is very similar to the WordPress Blog section, the key difference is that unlike the WordPress Blog section, the Other WordPress News tab only displays the titles of news stories and links to those.
Summary
As you can see, the WordPress dashboard makes it very simple to gain a snapshot insight of the website and any key updates. From the dashboard you will be able to use the menu bar on the left hand side to navigate to additional areas of your websites admin interface.