{"id":11528,"date":"2021-12-08T17:04:58","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T17:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getdevdone.com\/blog\/?p=11528"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:16:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:16:01","slug":"customize-wordpress-dashboard-without-plugins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getdevdone.com\/blog\/customize-wordpress-dashboard-without-plugins.html","title":{"rendered":"Customize a WordPress Dashboard Without Plugins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Editor’s Note<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress is a popular CMS that has been around for years. It has tons of features for each and every purpose. If no feature covers certain functionality, users are sure to find a fill-the-gap plugin among thousands of available solutions<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As useful as plugins are, though, they can cause what has been dubbed as the plugin hell. Too many add-ons may conflict with one another, disrupting the normal operation of the site. A vendor may also decide to discontinue supporting their plugin, thus creating security threats<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valerie Muradian believes that users shouldn\u2019t rely on plugins alone. In many cases, they can benefit by learning about the native WordPress capabilities and implementing them with their own hands. An example that she describes in her post below is manually customizing the WordPress dashboard. Read it. It will be interesting. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We all love WordPress for its flexibility and possibilities for customization. No matter how many new, shiny website builders appear on the market (and it feels like we get a new one every week or so), a lot of people prefer to stick with WordPress. It\u2019s reliable, it\u2019s been around for years, and if you need to add a new feature to your website\u200a\u2014\u200athere is always a plugin for that<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plugins or Code?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A lot of my clients love WordPress and run multiple websites using this platform. What they notice over the years, though, is that \u201ctoo many plugins\u201d is a real thing. When there are plugins for anything<\/em>, even tiny things that can be achieved with one line of code, they don\u2019t hesitate to install it. Why not? Some of them are free, they are easy to use, most of them get regular updates and quality support. But then, the website gradually becomes slower and the menu panel gets crowded with links, buttons, annoying requests to rate this plugin and leave a 5-star review. The updates also pile up and sometimes, one update can ruin your day by breaking everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong\u200a\u2014\u200aplugins are great but<\/strong> sometimes it\u2019s better to modify the code a little bit instead of adding another plugin to the pile. Some things can be achieved by copying and pasting a piece of code or by just learning more about the native features of WordPress. A good example would be a WordPress dashboard. Yes, that boring gray page a lot of people don\u2019t even use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, I\u2019ll share a few code snippets that can be easily added to your function.php<\/strong> page (located in Appearance > Theme Editor<\/strong>). If you are a confident WP user, chances are you edited that file before. But even if it\u2019s your first time, just be careful and always do a full website backup<\/strong> before adding anything to that file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Add a Custom Widget with Buttons and Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Widgets are those small boxes you see on any standard WordPress dashboard. Basically, they are just boxes with information that can be moved around, opened, or closed. The most popular ones you probably saw a lot are standard widgets from WordPress\u200a\u2014\u200aAt a Glance, Activity, WordPress News. Let\u2019s add another block in this area\u200a\u2014\u200athe widget you will actually use.
Almost all website owners have some important links, information, or things they want to be reminded about. This can be achieved with a few lines of code:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\/\/add a custom dashboard widget for admins\nadd_action('wp_dashboard_setup', 'my_custom_dashboard_widget');\n  \nfunction my_custom_dashboard_widget() {\n    global $wp_meta_boxes;\n    wp_add_dashboard_widget('custom_help_widget', 'Admin Links', 'custom_dashboard_help');\n}\n \nfunction custom_dashboard_help() {\n    echo 'My text. My link <a href=\"https:\/\/mywebsite.com\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.\n    <button type=\"button\">My button<\/button><\/a>.';\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n

Copy the whole block and change the content in the custom_dashboard_help() function after the echo. If you want your link to open on a new page, leave the target=\u201d_blank\u201d next to the link. To customize the widget even further, you\u2019ll need to know the basics of HTML and CSS that you can easily find online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Getting errors? Double-check your closing and opening quotes and tags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Add a Custom Settings Page<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Noe, when we can add links and buttons, it\u2019s time to create a settings page with your custom content. It can be anything from a simple how-to guide or a text reminder to global fields and buttons that perform some actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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In this example, we have a new page settings page with a globally defined field that can be used anywhere on the website, a button to update the value in that field, and another button that runs a clear_shows()<\/strong> function. This is a very basic example but it\u2019s a good start if you need more than a standard WP settings page can provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The code below will create a new page with a new menu item called Global Custom Fields under settings and the following URL:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/{your-website}\/wp-admin\/options-general.php?page=functions<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
<?php \n\/\/ Custom Theme Settings\nadd_action('admin_menu', 'add_gcf_interface');\nfunction add_gcf_interface() {\n    add_options_page('Global Custom Fields', 'Global Custom Fields', '8', 'functions',     'editglobalcustomfields');\n}\nfunction editglobalcustomfields() {\n?>\n<div class='wrap'>\n    <h2>Update Season<\/h2>\n    <form method=\"post\" action=\"options.php\">\n        <?php wp_nonce_field('update-options') ?>\n        <p><strong>Season:<\/strong><br \/>\n            <input type=\"text\" name=\"season\" size=\"45\" value=\"<?php echo get_option('season'); ?>\" \/>\n        <\/p>\n        <p><input type=\"submit\" name=\"Submit\" value=\"Update Options\" \/><\/p>\n        <button onclick=\"clear_shows()\">Advance to a new season<\/button>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"action\" value=\"update\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_options\" value=\"season\" \/>\n    <\/form>\n<\/div>\n<?php\n} \n?><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
At first, the new season field will be empty but enter a date and run an update\u200a\u2014\u200anow that value can be used anywhere on the website by simply calling the name of the field:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<?php echo get_option('season'); ?><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
If you are familiar at all with HTML, you should have no issues with removing fields or adding new areas. Just make sure that each new field has a unique label and unique name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Remove the Widgets You Don\u2019t Use<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Remember those boring, standard widgets from WordPress that we\u2019ve seen earlier? Here is another useful piece of code to declutter your dashboard that simply hides the widget you don\u2019t use. The code below hides 3 common WordPress widgets but you can remove any widget using the same technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
function remove_dashboard_meta() {\n    remove_meta_box('dashboard_incoming_links', 'dashboard', 'normal'); \/\/Removes the 'incoming links' widget\n    remove_meta_box('dashboard_plugins', 'dashboard', 'normal'); \/\/Removes the 'plugins' widget\n    remove_meta_box('dashboard_primary', 'dashboard', 'normal'); \/\/Removes the 'WordPress News' widget\n    remove_meta_box('dashboard_right_now', 'dashboard', 'normal'); \/\/Removes the 'At a Glance' widget\n}\nadd_action('admin_init', 'remove_dashboard_meta');<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
4. Change the Color Scheme of the Dashboard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This one is simple and doesn\u2019t require any code. In my experience, a lot of users forget about this standard WordPress feature that allows setting a unique color palette for each user. In order to do this, go to Users > All Users<\/em> and click on the Edit<\/em> link under the user you want to customize the dashboard for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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5. Change the WordPress Logo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is nothing wrong with using a WP login page but customizing its appearance can make a big difference and reinforce your brand. Again, you can use a plugin or follow this helpful guide<\/a> from WordPress. If you decide to do the changes yourself, all you need to do to change the logo is to modify the CSS styles of your header files. Once you find the right file, replace the site-login-logo.png<\/em> file with the file name of your logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Add an Interactive Chart to Your Dashboard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The last tip is probably my favorite simply because I\u2019m a visual person and it\u2019s hard for me to imagine a functional dashboard without any charts. But don\u2019t worry\u200a\u2014\u200awe are not going to write the code for charts ourselves. Instead, we can use any online charting tool or a very popular data visualization software called Tableau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you don\u2019t have a Tableau license, try experimenting with charts from Tableau Public <\/a>first. Once you are there, open the gallery and choose any chart you like. Below, you\u2019ll see a share button that opens a menu with an embed code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Copy this code and try adding it to the custom widget we created at the beginning of this post. Again, you\u2019ll need to use echo, <\/strong>surround your code with double quotes and put a semicolon in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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As a result, you\u2019ll see a fully interactive data viz on your dashboard! Using the same approach, you can add more stuff from other websites that provide embed code for their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Top-Quality WordPress Development Services from GetDevDone<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We are sure you found Valerie\u2019s material engaging and useful. Apart from the Dashboard, many other WordPress areas can be customized to suit your specific business needs. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In many situations, this involves more than just adding a few lines of code and calls for assistance from professionals such as the GetDevDone WordPress development team<\/a>.  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
With 16+ years of industry experience and thousands of successfully completed WP projects, we know everything about the world’s most popular CMS.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contact<\/em><\/a> us for any WordPress-related task, from building brand-new custom themes or customizing existing ones to page load speed optimization and security.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helping your business succeed is our top priority!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n
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WordPress Dashboard Customization FAQs<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
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