The Complete Guide to Simplifying Your WordPress Admin Interface

Published on August 24th, 2023 by Content Team | Reviewed by: Jane Doe

Are you looking to make the WordPress admin area easier to use? The WordPress admin area, also known as wp-admin, can be overwhelming with its array of options and clutter. But by customizing it to fit your users’ needs, you can create a more streamlined and focused experience. In this extensive guide, we will walk you through the process of removing unnecessary elements from your WordPress admin.

The Significance of a Clean WordPress Admin Area

The WordPress admin area is filled with menus, submenus, and options that can be personalized at any time. While these features offer flexibility, they can also create a cluttered and distracting admin screen. If you manage a WordPress website with multiple authors or have clients accessing the admin area, it becomes crucial to clean it up. By curating the menus and options to include only what’s necessary, you can provide a seamless experience for your authors and clients. Additionally, you have the option to customize the admin panel for different user roles, ensuring unique admin interfaces for various users on your WordPress site.

Removing Menu Items from the WordPress Admin

Important Note: This guide focuses on customizing the backend admin menu visible to registered users upon login. If you wish to customize the navigation menus visible to your website visitors, please refer to our beginner’s guide on navigation menus in WordPress. If you prefer written instructions, keep reading.

The easiest way to hide menus and items from the WordPress admin dashboard is by using the Admin Menu Editor plugin. This free WordPress plugin allows you to modify menu titles, URLs, icons, and more. You can effortlessly hide menu items from the admin sidebar, configure user role permissions, and even rearrange menu items in your WordPress admin bar using drag-and-drop functionality.

Here is a step-by-step process:

1. Install and Activate the Admin Menu Editor Plugin: Begin by installing and activating the Admin Menu Editor plugin. For detailed instructions, please refer to our guide on installing WordPress plugins.

2. Access the Menu Editor Settings: Once activated, go to the Settings » Menu Editor section in your WordPress dashboard.

3. Rearrange or Remove Menu Items: In the settings page, you will find all your menu and submenu items under the ‘Admin Menu’ tab. Simply drag and drop the menu items to rearrange their order. You can also easily remove or add new menu items.

4. Customize a Menu Item: Click the downward arrow next to any menu item to reveal more options. Rename menu titles, change target pages, and make other customizations. To hide a menu item for specific users, use the ‘Extra capability’ dropdown menu. Select the desired user role that can view the menu item from the available options.

5. Hide Menu Items: For example, if you want to hide the Media menu and its submenus for all user roles except administrators, select ‘Administrator’ under ‘Roles’ from the ‘Extra capability’ dropdown menu. Once done, save your changes. As a result, the Media menu item will only be visible to users with the Administrator role and remain hidden from other user roles.

6. Repeat the Process: You can now follow these steps to hide other menu items and plugins from the WordPress admin menu for different user roles.

By following these instructions, you can declutter and customize the WordPress admin area to meet the specific needs of your users, authors, or clients.

We hope this guide has helped you remove unnecessary items from the WordPress admin area. Don’t forget to explore our comprehensive WordPress SEO tutorial and discover the top WooCommerce plugins. If you enjoyed this article, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more informative WordPress video tutorials. You can also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.