WordPress client dashboard: what to give a client when the site is done

What should a WordPress client dashboard show?

It should show what the client needs to do their own updates, and little else. Start from the jobs they'll do in a normal week, then cut anything that doesn't serve one of them.

WordPress.org's Dashboard screen page, last updated in June 2024, says the screen presents its information in blocks called widgets. By default, it says, WordPress puts five there: "At a Glance, Activity, Quick Draft, WordPress Events and News, and Welcome." Check what the client's own install shows today.

Ask these questions about each widget and menu:

• Will the client use it in a normal week?
• Could it confuse them, or tempt them to change a setting they shouldn't?
• Does it point them to something they'll need, such as their pages or their posts?

The role you give the client sets what they can reach in the first place. WordPress.org's guide to roles says an Administrator can reach every administration feature on a single site. An Editor, by the same guide, can publish and manage posts, including posts other users wrote. A client who only edits content may need the narrower role. A client who owns the site outright may want full control, and that's their call.

If someone keeps the site in good shape after launch, the client may want to know what that work covers. DeskTeam360's websites page, for one, says its plan includes website maintenance: updates to WordPress itself, plugins and the theme, security monitoring and malware scans, speed work, backups, and checks that the site stays up. For the handover steps, see how to hand a WordPress site over.

How do you customize the WordPress dashboard for a client?

You customize it with the client's user role, the Screen Options panel and, when you need more, a widget of your own. Do it on the client's account, then sign in as them to check it.

1. Pick the role. Give the client the role that fits their work. WordPress.org says the install sets up an Administrator account on its own, and you can choose the default role for new users under Settings > General. Check that default before you invite anyone.
2. Hide what they don't need. WordPress.org says the Screen Options panel lets you choose which Dashboard widgets show: check a widget's box to show it, or uncheck it to hide it.
3. Tidy what's left. You can open or close each widget from its title bar, the same page says.
4. Add a widget of your own if it helps. That page also says the people who make plugins or themes can build new Dashboard widgets. One that links to the client's help notes, or to the way they reach you, can save a support email.
5. Sign in as the client. Check the screen exactly as they'll see it.

What does a WordPress client management plugin do?

A client management plugin adds tools for working with clients that the user role and Screen Options don't give you, and what it adds depends on the plugin you pick. So start with the job you want done, and test each option against that job.

Before you install one on a client's site, ask:

• What problem will it solve that the role and Screen Options can't?
• Does it run on the client's site, or on a site of your own?
• Who pays for it, and whose account holds the license after handover?
• What does the client see if the plugin is turned off or removed?
• Who updates it, and what happens if it stops being kept up?
• Does it collect any details from the client's visitors?

If the client needs more than a dashboard, such as a private area for their own customers, a portal may fit better. For adding a client portal, see adding a client portal in WordPress.