The WordPress dashboard is the first screen you will see right after you log into your web site.
It is the main screen of the admin area and is the control panel for your entire WordPress website.
The Dashboard Home Screen
Once you first log-in, you’ll see a "Welcome Box" from WordPress with some links to help you get started.
Widgets
The following widgets are included by default with WordPress.
At a Glance
This widget provides a summary of the number of posts, pages, and comments on your site. Each of these content types are displayed in the form of a link. When clicked it will direct you to the specific area to manage that content
A statement at the bottom of this widget tells you what WordPress version as well as the current theme that is activate.
Activity
The Activity widget shows upcoming scheduled posts, recently published posts, and the most recent comments on your posts. Which you can moderate
A list of the most recent comments on your blog is shown in this widget. Each comment that is listed has a link to the related post title. By clicking this link at allows you to edit the post. Hovering the mouse over each comment activates a menu of choices: to approve (or unapprove) the comment, edit the comment, reply to the comment, mark the comment as spam, or delete the comment.
QuickDraft
The QuickDraft widget allows you to write a new draft. A post title, Upload or insert media, Post content, add tags, click the Publish button or click the Save Draft button.
WordPress Events and News
This events and news widget lists upcoming local events and the latest news from the official WordPress site
Find out an upcoming event near you, or, what WordPress developers have been up to. Keep up with the latest WordPress related news. In addition to software developments. Version announcements and security notices. News about the WordPress community in is periodically posted.
The "Recent Comments" Section
This shows you just that, Recent Comments. Here you can quickly approve or un-approve comments, reply, edit, mark as spam or delete them.
The "Plugins" Section
You will find information on the most popular newest and recently updated plugins from the WordPress.org Plugins Directory.
"Quick Press" Section
QuickPress will allow you to publish or save a draft of a post which is great for quickly publishing content. Although you will not have all of the formatting options like you do in the WordPress post editor.
The "Next" Section
This is for recent drafts of posts. Once you start creating posts and if they’re saved as drafts, the five most recent drafts will be visible here.
WordPress "Blog" and "WordPress News" Sections
These are updates from the official WordPress project and the WordPress Planet feeds.
"Customizing" Sections in the Dashboard
If you’d like to customize what sections you see from the WordPress dashboard, see the "Screen Options" tab on the top right side of your screen. Click the arrow to expand this section and you’ll see check-boxes for each of the sections usually included in the WordPress Dashboard. To remove any of the sections, un-click the check-box beside the section you’d like to hide. You can also choose the number of columns for the screen layout.
Returning to the Dashboard Home, you can also expand each of the sections by clicking the arrow to the right. You can also drag and drop the boxes to change the order.
In addition to the WordPress Dashboard Home screen, the other major component of the WordPress Dashboard is the "left-hand navigation menu". This navigation menu provides links to all of the WordPress administration screens for posts, the media library, pages, comments, appearance options, plugins, users, tools and settings.
If you ever find yourself needing help, just click the "Help" tab in the upper corner. Click the arrow to expand and you’ll now see helpful information that walks through the overview, navigation, layout and content of the WordPress Dashboard. You will also find a link to the WordPress.org Codex documentation on the Dashboard and to the support forums.
