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What is WordPress and How it Works?

The WordPress Dashboard is the administrative area where you manage your website. After logging in, you'll arrive at the Dashboard, with the main navigation menu located on the left side of the screen.
Most day-to-day tasks are accessed from this navigation menu.

Common Dashboard Sections

The following sections are the areas you’ll use most frequently.

Pages

 Create and manage static website content, such as:
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Portfolio

Posts

 Create and manage time-based content, including:
  • Blog posts
  • News articles
  • Announcements
  • Updates

Appearance

 Manage the overall design of your website, including:
  • Themes
  • Templates
  • Menus
  • Site-wide styling

Plugins

 Install, activate, and manage plugins that extend your site’s functionality.

How WordPress Is Organized

Understanding how WordPress is organized makes it easier to know where changes should be made.

Content

 Content is the information displayed on your website. Content includes:
  • Pages
  • Posts

Design

Design controls how your content is presented. Design includes:
  • Themes
  • Templates
  • The Site Editor
  • The Customizer (when available)

These tools control the visual appearance of your website.

Structure

 Structure determines how visitors navigate your website. Structure includes:
  • Menus
  • Navigation

Features

Features extend the capabilities of your website. Features include:
  • Plugins
  • Widgets (depending on your theme)

Understanding Site-Wide Changes

Some editing tools affect only a single page, while others affect your entire website.

  • Editing a Page or Post changes only that individual page or post.
  • Using the Site Editor or Customizer can affect your site’s overall design, templates, navigation, or other site-wide settings.

If you notice changes appearing across multiple pages, you were likely editing a site-wide setting rather than an individual page.

Recommended Workflow

Although WordPress allows you to work in any order, the following workflow is recommended when building a new website:

  1. Create your content (Pages and Posts).
  2. Configure your homepage and navigation.
  3. Customize your site’s design and appearance.
  4. Add additional features using plugins as needed.