How to customize your dashboard widgets
Your dashboard is the first thing you see when you log into WooShop. Customizing it ensures that your most important data—like today’s sales, pending orders, or site health—is visible immediately, saving you from digging through menus to find basic stats.
How to customize your view
You can hide, show, and rearrange widgets in just a few clicks.
- Log in to your WooShop admin area. You should land on the main Dashboard automatically.
- Click "Screen Options." Look for the tab at the very top right of your screen, just below the black admin bar.
- Check or uncheck the boxes. A drawer will slide down showing a list of available widgets (e.g., WooCommerce Status, Sales Reports, Activity). Check the ones you want to see and uncheck the ones you find distracting.
- Drag and drop. Click and hold the title bar of any widget to move it. You can arrange them into multiple columns to suit your screen size.
- Minimize for later. If you want to keep a widget visible but out of the way, click the small arrow in the top right corner of the widget box to collapse it.
Practical setups
Depending on what you sell, your ideal dashboard might look different:
- For Retailers: Keep the WooCommerce Status and Recent Reviews widgets at the top. This lets you quickly see if any orders need shipping or if a customer needs a response.
- For Restaurant Owners: Focus on the Activity widget. This shows your most recent orders in real-time so you can monitor the kitchen’s pace.
- For Bloggers & Content Creators: Use the WordPress Events and News and Quick Draft widgets to stay updated on the platform and jot down post ideas quickly.
Troubleshooting common issues
I don’t see the "Screen Options" tab.
Make sure you are on the main Dashboard page. If you have clicked into "Orders" or "Products," the Screen Options menu will change to reflect those specific pages instead of your dashboard widgets.
A specific widget is missing from the list.
Most widgets are tied to specific plugins. For example, if you don’t see the Google Analytics widget, ensure your analytics plugin is active. If a WooCommerce widget is missing, ensure WooCommerce is up to date.
The dashboard looks cluttered on my phone.
The dashboard is responsive, but too many widgets can make it difficult to scroll on mobile. If you frequently manage your shop from a phone, uncheck everything except "WooCommerce Status" to keep the interface clean.
Summary
Customizing your dashboard keeps your workspace organized and focused on the metrics that drive your business. You can change these settings at any time as your shop grows.
Related resources:
- How to view your WooCommerce sales reports
- Managing your shop from a mobile device
- Updating your profile and notification settings
