In this guide you will learn how to navigate your site’s dashboard to edit your site, your sites list to manage multiple sites, and your profile to manage your account settings.
Edit your site’s content, design, and core functionality through the site’s dashboard. When you visit WordPress.com and log in, you will be in your site’s dashboard by default (unless you have changed your default landing page.)
WordPress.com offers two dashboard styles:
- Default style: Modern, clean interface, integrated into WordPress.com.
- WP Admin: Traditional WordPress interface, familiar to power users of WordPress.
Both styles have the same features – they just look different. You can switch between them anytime or set your preference to always use one style.
Learn how to choose and switch between dashboard styles in our admin interface style guide.
In your site’s dashboard, you can edit your site’s content through these primary menu items:
- Write posts: Use the Posts menu. Learn how to create a post.
- Create pages: Use the Pages menu. Learn how to create a page.
- Manage site media: Use the Media menu. Learn how to manage your site’s media.
You will use the Appearance menu to change themes, edit your site’s layout, and customize your site’s styles.
- Launch your website through the Settings menu.
- Manage your subscriptions and billing under the Upgrades menu (or, Hosting → Upgrades if using WP Admin.)
- Add and manage domains under Upgrades → Domains (or Hosting → Domains if using WP Admin.)
If you have more than one site under your WordPress.com account, you will use the Sites list to manage all of your sites in one place.
From anywhere in WordPress.com, click the WordPress W icon in the upper-left corner. This takes you to your Sites list, where you can:
- See all your sites.
- Access any site’s dashboard or hosting dashboard, where you manage server settings and technical configurations.
- Manage domains for all sites.
- Manage themes and plugins for all sites.
You can also visit your profile, access help, or view notifications using the respective icons at the top right using the admin bar.
To move from one site to another within your WordPress.com account, follow these steps:
- From anywhere within your WordPress.com dashboard, click the WordPress W icon in the upper-left corner.
- Click on the site name of the site you want to edit.
- You’ll see your site’s hosting overview page.
- Click the “My Home” or “WP Admin” button (depending on your interface) in the top-right corner to access that site’s dashboard.
You can make the Sites list your default page in Account Settings. This is helpful if you manage multiple sites.
To set your default home page to display all your sites, follow these steps:
- In your WordPress.com account, hover over your profile icon in the top-right and select the “My WordPress.com account” button to access your profile.
- Click the “Account Settings” option under your profile picture.
- In the Interface settings section, locate the “Default landing page” option.
- Toggle the setting to “Sites“.
Your settings will be updated automatically. The next time you visit WordPress.com, you will start on the Sites list page.
Switch between a grid view or table view using the Layout icon (a grid or a table) in the top-right corner of the Sites list. Or, click the Settings icon (a gear/cog) to choose which columns to display in the Sites list or Domains list views.
Your profile contains account-wide settings that affect all your sites.
In your WordPress.com account, hover over your profile icon in the top-right and select the “My WordPress.com account” button to access your profile.
- Profile: Edit your display name, bio, and public information. Learn more about your WordPress.com profile.
- Account Settings: Manage email, password, security, and interface preferences. Learn more about account settings.
- Purchases: View billing history and manage payments for all of your sites. Learn more about managing purchases and billing.
- Email and password: Update your login credentials. Learn how to change your password.
- Security: Enable two-factor authentication for account protection. Learn how to secure your account with two-factor authentication.
- Notifications: Control which email updates you receive. Learn about notification settings.
