What is Backend in WordPress?
The backend in WordPress is the area of your website where you manage content, users, settings, and plugins. This is where you add new posts and pages, change themes, and configure your site’s settings. The backend is also where you access the WordPress database to view stats and analytics about your site.
How to Access The Backend in WordPress?
The backend of your WordPress website, also called the dashboard or admin area is solely for users who have logged in. This space lets them configure the site and generate content.
You can access the WP backend by entering /wp-admin/ at the end of your URL.
These modules are included in the WordPress backend:
- For example, ‘Posts’ is where you can do anything from writing a new article to deleting an existing one.
- The ‘Media’ section is where you can upload, view, search, edit, and manage media files.
- In ‘Pages,’ you can view, create, and manage all your static pages.
- In the ‘Comments’ section, you can approve or deny any comments from your site’s visitors.
- In the “Appearance” section, you can change themes and edit menus and widgets.
- ‘Plugins’ refers to external applications that you can install and activate to make your website even more functional than it already is.
- The “Users” tab is where you can add new users, view, and edit existing user information, and define different types of user roles on your site.
- The ‘Tools’ section is where you can import and export content and manage personal data.
- The ‘Settings’ tab is where you go to adjust your site’s general settings.
To change the size of your WordPress admin sidebar, click on the ‘Collapse menu’ link at the bottom. Clicking it once will make the sidebar smaller, and clicking it again will expand it back to its original size.
What is Backend Development?
Backend development refers to the server side of web development, where data is stored and manipulated. In other words, backend development makes everything on the frontend of a website possible.
Think of it this way: the frontend of a website is like the tip of an iceberg. It’s what visitors see and interact with when they visit a website. But on the other hand, the backend is like the iceberg beneath the surface—it’s hidden from view, but the website needs to function correctly.
Why is Backend Development Important?
Backend development may be hidden from view, but it’s actually one of the most important aspects of web development. After all, without a backend database to store information, there would be no way to generate content on the frontend of a website dynamically.
In addition, backend development helps to ensure that data is properly organized and easily accessible. This is especially important for large websites with complex data structures. Without a well-organized backend, it would be nearly impossible to efficiently retrieve and display information on the frontend.
The Difference Between Frontend and Backend
The front end of your website is visible to the public, while the backend can only be accessed by those who are logged in. It’s like the difference between a store’s front and back doors. The front door is where customers come in to buy groceries or other products. The back door is for staff only and leads to places like storage rooms, offices, and cold rooms that customers never see.
Just as the backend is where website owners and their teams set up the site and add content, the front end is what visitors see when they log on – the completed product.
User Roles for Protecting WordPress’s Backend
As we mentioned before, the backend of a WordPress site is only accessible to those who are logged in. By default, there are three user roles in WordPress:
- Subscriber: A subscriber is someone who can read content on your website but can’t create or edit any content themselves.
- Contributor: A contributor is someone who can create and edit content but can’t publish it live on the website.
- Administrator: An administrator has complete control over a WordPress website. They can create, edit, and delete content and add or remove users.
Changing these user roles is essential for protecting your site’s backend. For example, you may want to give a new employee contributor access so they can create and edit content, but you don’t want them to have the ability to publish it live until you’ve had a chance to review it first.
In the same way, you may want to change an administrator’s user role to a subscriber if they no longer need access to the backend of your site. This will prevent them from making any changes to your site’s content or settings.
To change a user’s role, simply go to the ‘Users’ section of your WordPress dashboard and click on the user you want to modify. Then, select the new user role from the ‘Role’ drop-down menu and click ‘Update User. ‘
Customizing WordPress Backend
Now that we’ve covered the basics of WordPress backend development let’s take a look at some ways you can customize the backend of your site to better suit your needs.
One way to do this is by changing the color scheme of the WordPress admin panel. This can be helpful if you want to make the backend of your site more visually appealing or if you want to match the branding of your site.
- To change the WordPress admin panel’s color scheme, go to the ‘Users’ section of your dashboard and click on the ‘Your Profile’ tab. Then, scroll down to the ‘Admin Color Scheme’ section and select the color scheme you want from the drop-down menu. Once you’ve selected it, click ‘Update Profile’ to save your changes.
Another way to customize the backend of your WordPress site is by adding custom fields. Custom fields allow you to add additional information to your posts and pages. This can be helpful if you want to store extra data that doesn’t fit into any of the existing post or page fields.
- To add a custom field to a post or page, simply go to the ‘Edit Post’ or ‘Edit Page’ screen and scroll down to the ‘Custom Fields’ section. Then, click on the ‘Add New Custom Field’ button and enter the name and value of your custom field. Once you’ve added all the custom fields you want, click ‘Update’ to save your changes.
Finally, you can customize your WordPress site’s backend by adding custom Dashboard Widgets. Dashboard Widgets are small blocks of content that appear on the WordPress dashboard. They can be used to display recent posts, upcoming events, or any other information you want to make easily accessible to those logged in to your site’s backend.
- To add a custom Dashboard Widget, go to the ‘Appearance’ section of your WordPress dashboard and click on the ‘Widgets’ sub-menu. Then, find the widget you want to add to the list of available widgets and drag it into one of the widget areas. Once you’ve added all of the widgets you want, be sure to click ‘Save Changes’ to save your changes.
These are just a few of the ways you can customize the backend of your WordPress site. By making these small changes, you can make the backend of your site more user-friendly and efficient for those who need to access it.