WordPress is fully customizable. Not only you can customize the frontend (the visible areas by visitors), but also the backend (dashboard). Customizing the WordPress dashboard is required in some cases. For instance, when you are developing a website for clients. We have curated some plugins that you can use to customize the dashboard of your WordPress website.
WordPress itself actually has a built-in feature to customize the main dashboard but limited to disabling the elements on the screen. You can access this feature by clicking the Screen Options menu on the upper-right corner, next to the Help menu.
For more advanced customizations such as renaming the menu labels or replacing the default dashicons (icons of the menu labels), you need to use a plugin or edit the code if you have PHP knowledge.
Here are the WordPress plugins to customize the dashboard:
Best Plugins to Customize to WordPress Dashboard
1. Ultimate Dashboard
Ultimate Dashboard is a plugin developed by David Vongries. He is the developer of Page Builder Framework, one of WordPress themes we recommend to pair with a page builder plugin like Elementor and Brizy. The plugin offers advanced customization options to white label your WordPress dashboard, including the ability to rename the menu labels, replace the default dashicons, and other elements on the dashboard. You can also white label WordPress by replacing the WordPress attributes inside the dashboard, including the icon.
You also have a chance to set the custom accent color of the dashboard. Other features offered by Ultimate Dashboard include custom login (you can customize the login page and login redirect), the ability to add custom widgets, and more. Ultimate Dashboard is released as a freemium plugin. You need to use the pro version to unlock the advanced customization options.
2. Avada Custom Branding
Avada Custom Branding is a plugin developed exclusively for Avada Theme. In other words, you need to use the Avada Theme to use the plugin. The plugin itself is available in the theme bundle of Avada. No need to make another purchase if you want to use it. Avada Custom Branding offers similar features as the ones offered by Ultimate Dashboard above. You can remove the WordPress attributes on the dashboard. If you need to rename the menu labels, you can also do so. However, there are no options to replace the default dashicons.
There are also options to hide the elements on the main WordPress dashboard such as the Screen Options and Help menus on the top bar. Main menus like Settings, Posts, Pages, etc can also be hiden. Avada Custom Branding also makes it possible to customize the login page. You can set things like the icon, background color, background image, link color, and so on. You can also disable the lost password link if you want it.
3. Ultimate Client Dash
Ultimate Client Dash is developed specifically to allow you to customize the dashboard of a WordPress website you built for a client. After installing and activating the plugin, you will have a new user role called “Client” which you can use when creating an account for your clients. You can use Ultimate Client Dash to customize the dashboard before you hand over the website to a client. You can set which menu items can be accessed by your client. For instance, you can prevent the client from accessing plugin manager and theme manager. There is also a white label feature to allow you to remove the WordPress attributes, but you need to use the pro version to unlock it. Ultimate Client Dash offers no option to rename the menu labels on the dashboard.
4. WPShapere
Want to give a different look to your WordPress dashboard? WPShapere is a plugin you can try. The plugin offers over 10 dashboard themes to choose from. Picking a theme will bring a new look to your dashboard.
WPShapere also offers customization options, of course. First, you can remove the WordPress attributes to replace them with your brand’s attributes. You can also rename the default menu labels or disable some menu items. Furthermore, you can also re-arrange the menu items. Here are the key features offered by WPShapere:
- White label
- Ability to rename menu labels
- Custom login page
- White label email
5. Simple Dashboard Theme
Simple Dashboard Theme is a plugin designed to turn your WordPress dashboard into a minimalist nuance. It brings a new look (theme) to your dashboard. Also, it removes the unnecessary elements brought by the installed plugins. You can also use the plugin to remove the WordPress attributes from the dashboard. Here are the key features offered by Simple Dashboard Theme:
- Brings a minimalist nuance to your dashboard
- Remove ads from plugins like Yoast, etc.
- White label
- Custom login page
6. WpAlter
You can use WpAlter to apply a simpler theme to your WordPress dashboard like Simple Dashboard Theme above, but WpAlter offers more options to customize the elements on the dashboard. For instance, you can rename the labels of the menu items in the dashboard. You can make use of this feature to, for instance, tailor the menu labels according to the language of your clients. WpAlter also comes with a white label feature in case you want to remove the WordPress attributes such as logo and text.
In addition to renaming the menu labels, WpAlter also allows you to rearrange the menu items. You can also replace the default icons with icons from Font Awesome. Furthermore, you can show/hide menu items based on user roles. Here are the key features offered by WpAlter:
- Rename menu labels
- Replace the default menu icons
- White label
- Show/hide menu items by use roles
- Custom login
- White label emails
7. Slate Pro
Slate Pro is another plugin you can use to apply a more minimalist nuance to your WordPress dashboard. There are several color schemes you can choose from. White label feature whereby you can remove the WordPress attributes, as well as the ability to customize the login page, are available in the plugin. If you want to rename the default labels of the menu items, you can also do so. Slate Pro also allows you to hide specific menu items from certain users based on their roles. Other features offered by the plugin include the ability to hide the admin footer, hide the version number of WordPress, hide WordPress update notices, hide plugin and theme update notices, and hide Screen Options and Help tab.
8. Branda
Branda is a white label plugin developed by WPMUDEV. It allows you to customize both the backend (dashboard) and the frontend (login page, registration page) of your WordPress dashboard. In Branda, features are considered modules. You need to enable the features (modules) before you can customize a certain part. For instance, to customize the login page, you need to enable the Login Screen module. When it comes to dashboard customization, Brand allows you to set things like custom logo (you can replace the WordPress logo with your own logo), color scheme, and several other options. Brand offers no feature to rename the labels of the menu items.
9. White Label
White Label, as you can guess, is a WordPress plugin designed to allow you to white label your WordPress site. You can both rebrand the backend and frontend of your WordPress site. There are plenty of customization options offered by White Label, including the ability to rename the default labels of the menu items. However, you need to upgrade to the premium version to unlock the features. The basic features available on the free version are the ability to set the color scheme and to set a custom welcome message.
The Bottom Line
When creating a website for a client, you might want to customize the WordPress dashboard before you hand over the website to the client. You can customize the dashboard to tailor the menu labels as well as the icons. You can also white label WordPress by removing the WordPress logo and other attributes. If you have no coding skills, using a plugin is the most reasonable alternative to customize the WordPress dashboard. We have curated the best WordPress plugins above that you can use to customize the dashboard of your WordPress site, as well as the login page.
