Getting Started with Your New WordPress Dashboard and Basic Settings

Learn how to find your way around the WordPress Dashboard and safely adjust the most important basic settings on a brand?new site.

Who This Guide Is For

This article is for brand?new WordPress site owners who have just received login details from Compass Production (or your host) and want a clear, safe first walkthrough of the Dashboard and core settings.

Step 1: Log In and Reach the Dashboard

Most WordPress sites use a login address like /wp-admin or /wp-login.php. Your welcome email from Compass Production will include the exact link, username, and a temporary or generated password.

• Open your login link in a browser.
• Enter your username and password.
• Select “Remember Me” only on your own trusted computer.
• Click Log In.

What You Should See

After logging in, you land on the Dashboard ? Home screen. On a typical modern WordPress install you’ll see:

• A dark left sidebar with main menu items (Dashboard, Posts, Media, Pages, Comments, Appearance, Plugins, Users, Tools, Settings).
• A top admin bar with your site name, a “+ New” shortcut, and your user profile menu.
• Several info boxes in the center such as “At a Glance,” “Activity,” and “Quick Draft.”Source

Step 2: Understand the Main Dashboard Menu

You do not need to memorize everything on day one. Focus on these core areas:

• Dashboard – Overview and health/status widgets.
• Posts – Blog posts, news, or updates.
• Media – Your images, documents, and other uploads.
• Pages – Static pages like Home, About, Services, Contact.
• Appearance – Themes, menus, widgets, and sometimes the Site Editor.
• Plugins – Add or manage extra functionality.
• Users – Manage who can log in and what they can do.
• Settings – Global site options (title, timezone, reading behavior, etc.).

What you see may vary slightly depending on your user role and any plugins Compass Production has installed for you.Source

Step 3: Confirm Your User Role and Account Basics

Your user role controls what you can and cannot do in the Dashboard. For most site owners, this will be Administrator, which grants full control over settings, plugins, and users.Source

How to Check Your Role

1. Go to Users ? All Users.
2. Find your username in the list.
3. Look at the Role column (Administrator, Editor, Author, etc.).

Update Your Profile Details

1. Go to Users ? Profile (or click your name in the top?right corner and choose Edit Profile).
2. Set a clear Nickname and choose how your name is displayed publicly.
3. Scroll down and click Generate Password to create a strong new password, then save.

What You Should See: A profile screen with fields for name, contact info, profile picture (via Gravatar), and account management, including password reset.

Step 4: Review the Most Important General Settings

Next, you’ll confirm a few site?wide settings that affect how your website appears and behaves.

Site Title and Tagline

1. Go to Settings ? General.
2. Set your Site Title – usually your business or organization name.
3. Set your Tagline – a short descriptive phrase, or leave it blank if your brand doesn’t use one.

These values may appear in browser tabs, search results, and some theme headers.Source

Timezone, Date, and Time Format

1. On the same Settings ? General screen, choose your local Timezone (ideally by city, not UTC offset).
2. Pick your preferred Date Format and Time Format.
3. Click Save Changes.

This ensures that scheduled posts, logs, and backups line up with your real?world time.

What You Should See

A simple form with fields for site title, tagline, WordPress Address (URL), Site Address (URL), administration email, membership options, timezone, and date/time formats. Compass Production will normally have already set the URL fields correctly—do not change those without guidance.

Step 5: Learn Where to Edit Content (Pages and Posts)

Most everyday changes you’ll make are content edits: updating text, swapping images, or adding new pages.

Open an Existing Page

1. Go to Pages ? All Pages.
2. Hover over a page like “Home” or “About.”
3. Click Edit (for the WordPress block editor) or Edit with Elementor if your site uses Elementor for that page.

What You Should See in the Block Editor

In the default WordPress block editor you’ll typically see:

• A title field at the top.
• A large content canvas made of “blocks” (paragraphs, headings, images, buttons, etc.).
• A right?hand sidebar with Page and Block settings.
• Top toolbar buttons for Update, Preview, and block tools.Source

You can click any block to edit its text or settings. Use Preview to see changes before publishing.

If Your Site Uses Elementor

When you click Edit with Elementor, you’ll see a different layout:

• A left panel with widgets (Headings, Text Editor, Image, Button, etc.).
• A live preview of the page on the right.
• Update and responsive preview controls at the bottom of the left panel.

Elementor is a visual layout tool; Compass Production will show you which pages are safe to edit there during training.

Step 6: Create a Safe Practice Page

To build confidence, create a private “sandbox” page that only logged?in users can see.

Create the Page

1. Go to Pages ? Add New.
2. Enter a title like “Practice Page – Do Not Publish.”
3. Add a few sample blocks: a heading, a paragraph, and an image from the Media Library.

Set Visibility to Private

1. In the right sidebar, find the Summary or Status & visibility panel.
2. Change Visibility to Private.
3. Click Publish (or Update if already saved).

Now you can safely experiment with blocks, layouts, and formatting without affecting your public site.

Step 7: Basic Reading Settings (How Your Homepage Works)

WordPress can show either a blog feed or a static page as your homepage. Compass Production usually configures this during your build, but it’s useful to know where it lives.

Check Your Homepage Setting

1. Go to Settings ? Reading.
2. Look at Your homepage displays:

• Your latest posts – homepage shows a blog list.
• A static page – homepage shows a specific page you choose, and optionally a separate “Posts page” for your blog.

Unless Compass Production instructs you otherwise, do not change these values on your own; they’re tied to your site’s design and navigation.

Step 8: Use Screen Options and Help Tabs

Many Dashboard screens have extra controls at the top?right:

• Screen Options – lets you show or hide columns and boxes on that screen.
• Help – provides a short explanation of what the screen does and links to documentation.

These tools are especially helpful on crowded screens like Dashboard ? Home or Posts ? All Posts.Source

Step 9: Know Where to Get Official Help

When you’re unsure about a setting or feature, it’s best to rely on official, up?to?date documentation rather than random search results. The main places to bookmark are:

• WordPress.org Documentation – general user guides, including getting started, settings, and content editing.
• Developer Resources – deeper technical references if you ever grow into advanced customization.
• Learn WordPress – free tutorials and workshops, including Dashboard and editor walkthroughs.Source

Quick Daily Checklist for New Site Owners

As you get comfortable, a simple routine helps keep your site healthy:

• Log in and glance at Dashboard ? Home for any alerts.
• Check Comments for anything that needs moderation (if comments are enabled).
• Review recent content changes and make sure key pages still look correct on the front end.
• Only update plugins, themes, or WordPress core after confirming your backup strategy with Compass Production.

With these basics in place, you’ll be ready for deeper training on content editing, navigation, SEO, and performance—without feeling lost in the Dashboard.