Customize Your WordPress Admin Interface

As more and more developers and designers are using WordPress as a CMS rather than just as a blogging platform, the demands from users grow and change.

For many end users the standard WordPress Admin is both over featured and scarily complicated.

standard write page

The experience of an overly permissioned user destroying a site will be one that is only too familiar, as is the experience of sites going unmaintained out of intimidation even after training.

What is needed is a tailored approach, to give users what they need and no more.

Enter a bunch of WordPress plugins that aim to do just that.

Cloak allows you to remove elements from the write screens that your writers do not need.

Cloak Options


Flutter allows you to create custom write screens, optionally forcing the new content into a certain category.

edit write panel

This is not just useful for limiting the user, you might also have created a site with content areas such as sidebar, featured posts, etc. Using category logic and a specific write form you could allow the site maintainer to enter content for these featured spots in the theme without having to remember which category does what. For example, below shows a form I built to allow the user to input reviews.

new write panel

Finally Role Manager allows you to completely remove options for certain users so they can only do what you want them to.

Role Management WordPress

Added: JonnyA from WP-CMS tells me you might already know Flutter as “Fresh Post”

Do you know of any other plugins that make customizing WordPress admin easy?

Posted on July 22, 2008 by Chris Garrett 
Filed Under Blogging

Comments

5 Responses to “Customize Your WordPress Admin Interface”

  1. FutureGov » Useful links » links for 2008-07-22 on July 23rd, 2008 2:31 am

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  2. links for 2008-07-22 | DavePress on July 23rd, 2008 2:34 am

    [...] Customize Your WordPress Admin Interface : Codswallop Alter the options that appear on WP-admin for different roles…simplify users’ experience. Brilliant stuff. (tags: wordpress plugin roles administration customise) [...]

  3. Jonnya on July 29th, 2008 12:50 pm

    I just thought you and your readers might like to know that I have taken over development of the ‘Cloak’ plugin and added a couple of new features (many more planned!).

    I have re-named it ‘WP-CMS Post Control’ and you can find it over at http://wp-cms.com/our-wordpress-plugins/post-control-plugin/

  4. Bookmarks about Customize on October 15th, 2008 8:15 pm

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  5. Antonio Wells on November 20th, 2008 9:07 pm

    Awesome! Just what I was looking for! Thanks!

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