When you log in to WordPress you land in the admin area — the control room behind your site. Everything you need lives in three places: the panels on the Dashboard, the toolbar across the top, and the menu down the left.

## The Dashboard panels

The Dashboard is the first screen you see after logging in, and it gives you a quick snapshot of your site.

**Site Health Status** tells you whether anything needs your attention. **At a Glance** counts your posts, pages, and comments, and each count links to that list. **Activity** shows what you have published and what visitors are saying about it. **Quick Draft** is a scratchpad: type a title and some text, then save it as a draft without leaving the page. **WordPress Events and News** brings you the latest from the WordPress project.

The panels are yours to arrange. Drag a panel by its title bar to move it somewhere that suits you, or use **Screen Options** in the top right of the screen to hide the panels you do not need.

![The Dashboard panels](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6ODkwNCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--29b5bb4215f1f1cb7151814e6ecb0b70251b2ea4/block_the-dashboard.png)

## The toolbar across the top

The dark bar across the top of every admin screen is the toolbar, and it stays with you wherever you go.

On the left, the **WordPress** logo holds links about WordPress itself, and **My Site** takes you to the public side of your site. **New** starts a post, a page, an upload, or a user without leaving what you are doing. The comments bubble beside it keeps count of the comments waiting for you to read.

On the far right, **Howdy, admin** is your account. Open it for **Edit Profile** and **Log Out**.

![The toolbar across the top](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6ODkwNiwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--53b8c7638ab982b09de6425aea276716e8edcf9c/block_the-toolbar.png)

## The menu down the left

The menu down the left-hand side is how you move around the admin area. Every item opens its own screen, and hovering over one reveals its submenu — hover **Posts** and you will see **All Posts**, **Add Post**, **Categories**, and **Tags**.

A number beside an item, like the one on **Comments**, shows how many things are waiting for you.

At the bottom of the menu, **Collapse Menu** shrinks it down to a strip of icons so your content gets more room. Click it again to bring the labels back.

![The menu down the left](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6ODkwNSwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--d549f98c62d88dd5829bb400a45e8e4e74253825/block_the-left-menu.png)

## Tips

- Prefer the keyboard? **Ctrl+K** opens the command palette, which jumps to any admin screen by name.
- The toolbar follows you onto the public side of your site, so there is always a way back to the admin area.
- **Help** in the top right of any screen explains what that screen does.

## Summary

That is the whole admin area: the menu on the left to get around, the toolbar across the top for quick actions, and the Dashboard panels for a snapshot of your site. From here you can find whatever you need.