Here is a compilation of the best plugins to simplify WordPress Dashboard area further. Yes, these are the WordPress Admin area plugins which will aim to simplify the functionalities by replacing the core ones. Do keep in mind, these plugins are from third-party developers and the core developer team at WordPress is already trying their best to come up with simpler solutions with every next upgrade.

As I said, in order to become an expert, we need to know everything and we need to try every possibility with the Dashboard or Admin area. So, here is your chance to start the game of customizations. This time, the customization will not be of the front-end part, rather the back-end part a.k.a. Dashboard/Admin area of your WordPress powered website.

Ready to know more about these plugins? Let’s begin!

#1 InfiniteWP Client

Managing multiple WordPress websites is really a big job and responsibility. You need to devote a lot of time on day to day basis in order to keep every website, its theme and plugins updated. Or, you need to hire a team of WordPress experts who can take care of all these things. These were the two options before the WordPress Multisite feature came in. Now, you can rely on plugins which can take care of every other website on the same network from a single Dashboard. Yes, you can click on a single button and all the websites will be updated to the latest WordPress version released. The same thing applies to the themes and plugins too. The most important part is that these plugins offer a single login screen, thus, bringing everything under the same roof.

InfiniteWP Client is one such plugin which comes with special features, offering a single client login page, bulk manager for plugins and themes, the much-needed one-click updates and on top of all, instant backup and restore. These are the features one must have when he/she is having or managing more than 5-10 WordPress powered websites. It’s the solution to keep you free from the hectic schedule of updating or taking backup of individual websites.

It is best suited for developers and agencies and premium plans are offered in order to best suit their specific requirements. For freelancers, the plugin is available without any price tag. The best feature of this plugin is that it works on a Self-Hosted system, ensuring that you have full control on everything rather than relying on any third-party hosting. It can activate or deactivate a number of plugins on a number of websites from a single screen. Needless to say, there are premium features available for premium plan users. Go ahead and check out the free version!

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#2 Admin Columns

Every Admin login holds a bunch of columns for the Posts and Pages lists. These columns are limited to the default WordPress core doesn’t offer a lot of features. It is simple but not that enhanced or simpler. Here comes a free plugin which not only enhances the overall look of the Posts or Pages lists but makes sure that they look further simplified. Admin Columns is what developers are calling it and you can get it for free from the official plugin repository of the WordPress itself. It replaces the default list system of the core WordPress with its advanced columns. These columns are not limited to Posts or Pages but are also available for Media, Comment, and Users.

For example, in the Posts section, this plugin allows the Admin to add Author, Author Name, Categories, Comment Count, Comment Status, Attachment, Before More Tag, Actions, Excerpt, Featured Image, Page Depth, Modified, ID, Order, Page Template, Shortcodes, Slug, Roles, Post Format, Ping Status, Permalink, Path, Parent, and many more. The basic options out of these are available by default but it’s the Advance Options which makes the change. All these options are customizable through a simpler Drag & Drop interface which further increases the fun. A similar set of options is available for other sections like Pages, Comment, Media, and Users. Yes, a specific set of columns as per the section are available.

You can try the basic version of the Admin Columns plugin for free but to get all the features enabled, you need to buy one out of three premium plans.

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#3 ManageWP Worker

ManageWP Worker is a premium plugin which is one of the best alternatives to our first offering in this compilation. It is a product of a well-known ManageWP WordPress developer team, which has earned a lot of name in the industry. It is a free plugin but, you can get a premium version to check out all the features and compare with the alternatives and its free version. The core product is available for free, for everyone, but the developer is charging for premium add-ons. It is helpful as you can decide if a particular add-on is required or not, and thus, you can decide the pricing model to move forward with.

It not only offers all the features to manage and work on multiple WordPress websites from a single screen but also takes care of their backup and restore requirements. All the backups are done automatically and on monthly basis. A proper Cloud based database is maintained which is a clear indication of how secure everything is. Every month, a single backup is available free of charge and it is stored other than the website. In simpler words, it increases the privacy and security of the backup file itself.

It is not only a perfect solution for freelancers but also for the agencies or developers. Why? Well, it has a system to quickly generate reports which can be quickly shared with the clients. It has integrated Analytics and also has integrated Performance and Security check guards.

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#4 Google Analytics Dashboard By Analytify

Analytics is a big thing to keep a track of, the moment a website starts getting millions of traffic from multiple sources. Now, a normal (or newbie) webmaster will not know the potential of such a traffic, but an experienced one can do wonders. With a right strategy, the conversion can be increased and the sky-touching revenues can be generated. In this case, the webmaster will require help from a much better analytics software. Analytify’s free plugin should be tried once and see if it suits all the requirements you have (or not).

The basic features are available without any price tag, but there is also a premium one. It implements the Google Analytic integrated right within the Dashboard and not just that, but, offers tons of additional features which all improves the analytic reports and help the webmaster to come up with a better strategy. It can even showcase the social media statistics and list of referrers as per location, mobile device, and many other elements. The developers have allowed anyone to customize the overall look by allowing custom CSS. Not just that, but the base code is available on Github, allowing anyone to contribute to the development. One thing which you might not like is that most of the features are available at a price tag. And, very few are available for free.

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#5 Adminimize

Do you have multiple user profiles on your prime blog or website? Well, Adminimize should be your pick as it helps a lot in the management. The plugin is developed by a team of developers who have been contributing to the WordPress community since 2006 and have developed more than 20 useful plugins so far. So, the credibility score is much higher than you expect. Coming to the functionality, the plugin allows users to have a clear set of Admin area, which is customised for each. The Admin or Webmaster can set the specific pages and functionalities which are available to a particular user.

It can hide unnecessary features and webpages inside the Dashboard from a particular set of users or an individual itself. It adds simple Activate/Deactivate switches, offering the options to be enabled or disabled from a single screen. It adds multiple Menu or even Sub-Menu to further increase the overall user experience. It supports all modern features induced by the core WordPress team including the support for Custom Post type. It is compatible with all known plugins and themes and you can avail all these features without paying anything. Yes, it is available for free!

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#6 Client Dash

Although the default WordPress Admin area looks simple to the webmaster but to a client, it might not be the case. In order to further simplify and enhance the WordPress Dashboard area for clients, Client Dash plugin should be your pick. It downgrades the Admin area in terms of available features and functionalities and ensures that the simplicity is achieved. It leaves a clutter-free and a simpler looking Dashboard area which is specifically designed as per client’s requirements or understanding. There is nothing you need to pay to avail the features of this plugin, which is another highlight to be considered.

It allows reordering of all Menu items or removing or rearranging of the same. It even allows customising the same items or even add new ones. First of all, it removes all the default Widgets which comes pre-installed and later offers you a set of functionalities using which you can allow individual Widgets to be part of the new system. It can remove the unnecessary links and leave the Dashboard with only the required ones. It can even remove the WordPress logo which can be replaced with a custom one. The plugin does support Multisite installation and offers specific features.

The best part is that it is highly extensible, allowing the developers or anyone to come up with a suggestion and implement a specific functionality, without affecting the core things.

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#7 Remove Dashboard Access

It’s a simple and very lightweight plugin which does a specific thing. It removes Dashboard access for specific users or limits the access. With this plugin, you can limit the Dashboard access only for Admins or Editors or a specific set of Editors or Authors. For everyone else, the plugin sets a Redirect URL rule, redirecting them to a specific page where they can share their entry and contribute to the blog. The plugin also allows showcasing an optional message to the users at the login page itself. No other features are covered in this, but it does simplify the Login and Management part. The plugin comes handy when a blog has a good number of Editors or Authors. You don’t need to pay anything to use any of its features. Cool, right?

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#8 Download Monitor

If you are offering a lot of digital products and allowing users to download them, then Download Monitor should be installed and activated. It keeps a proper check on everything happening on the website and monitors all the downloads for you. Automatically, it generates related reports which all help the webmaster to come up with a better strategy to increase the conversion and user’s engagement. The plugin supports multisite installation and all the latest features included in the WordPress.

The core features are available without any price tag, but there are premium add-ons which can be purchased in order to increase the functionalities further. The plugin allows the users to categorise downloads using tags or metadata. It adds a panel to quickly add a product for downloading inside a Post or Page. The interface is kept familiar to the core WordPress so that users don’t have to learn a new interface.

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Conclusion

So, how you feeling now? Do you feel educated? Do share the feedback in the discussion section below so that we can come up with more ideas to improve these guides and tutorials. Now is the time for you to go ahead and share this helpful guide for every WordPress developer added in your network.