Logging into your WordPress site with the latest upgrade to 3.8 you will be greeted with a look that is completely different to past versions of WordPress. They have undergone a big interface change, following the trends of a flat, modern interface. Don’t be scared! Much of the user functionality is the same. It is just the look and feel that has changed. Let’s talk about it a bit.
The Dashboard
You’ll notice that your Dashboard looks a little bit different. A couple of the changes:
- “Right Now” widget is now called “At a Glance” (may not be on all Dashboards)
- This still gives you some of the basic information about your website such as how many posts and pages you have, which version of WP you’re running
- There is an “Activity” feed that displays your most recently published posts (may not be on all Dashboards)
- Your Forms, Vivid Image Info, Welcome To, and Analytics widgets all remain
Dashboard Colors
The first thing you will notice is that dashboard colors have changed. The black and blue is the default options, but WP also has five other colors options to choose from. Each user can set their preferred color palette.
To change the colors go to Users > Your Profile and select a color scheme under the “Admin Color Scheme”.
The Widget Area
The other spot that you’ll notice looks a bit different is the widget area. Instead of all your widget areas being stacked on the far right side, they are now split into 2‐columns for easier viewing. Your widget options are to the left, similar to how they were before, just in a 2‐column grid and a bit smaller in size than the widget areas to the right.
The functionality remains the same. You still click the down arrow in your widget sections to access the widget options. You are still able to drag and drop widgets into widget sections like before.
Responsive
The Dashboard of WP has always been responsive to the device it is being viewed on. With 3.8 that is a bit more apparent and works much better than it has in the past. You’ll notice it a bit more when you’re in the Dashboard and Widget areas. If you change the size of your browser you’ll see some of the areas change size, stack and unstack.
The Editor of Pages and Posts is also responsive. This is important to note for when you’re adding and editing content. If your browser window is small, the content may look different from when you are adding it to when you are viewing it on the front end.
*NOTE: This does NOT mean the front end of your website is responsive.