How to Add and Customize Admin Columns in WordPress

Are you looking for a way to add and customize admin columns in WordPress?

By default, the WordPress dashboard has columns for posts, pages, comments, users, and more. However, you may be able to work faster and improve the editorial flow by creating your own custom columns.

In this article, we will show you how to add and customize admin columns in WordPress.

Why Add Admin Columns in WordPress?

By default, the WordPress dashboard shows different built-in columns in different areas. For example, if you go to Posts » All Posts then you’ll see columns for each post’s title, author, categories, tags, comment count, and the date the post was published or last modified.

If you run a multi-author WordPress blog or have lots of content, then managing all of this content can be a lot of work, especially if you don’t have easy access to all the information you need.

That’s where custom admin columns come in.

By adding more columns to the WordPress admin area, you can show all the information that editors, admins, and other users need to complete their work successfully. This can improve the editorial workflow, and help you get more work done.

With that being said, let’s see how you can add and customize admin columns in WordPress.

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Adding and Customizing Admin Columns in WordPress

The easiest way to add more columns in the admin area is by using Admin Columns. This free plugin allows you to add custom columns and even edit the built-in admin columns.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the Admin Columns plugin on your website. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, head over to Settings » Admin Columns to configure the plugin.

Admin Columns allows you to customize the columns on the pages, posts, comments, media, and users screens.

At the very top of the screen, open the dropdown menu and choose the page that you want to change. Then, click on ‘View.’

With that done, you can change the order of the built-in admin columns using drag and drop.

You can also customize any column by hovering your mouse it and then clicking on the ‘Edit’ link when it appears.

After that, you can change the column’s label by typing into the ‘Label’ field.

You can also change the column’s width to make sure all the information fits comfortably on the screen.

Finally, you can change the ‘Type’ which is the information that appears in the column.

When you’re happy with how the built-in columns are set up, you may want to add your own custom columns.

For example, you might add a ‘Featured Image’ column to the Posts » All Posts screen. This would allow admins to see all the featured images on your WordPress website without having to open each post individually.

To get started, click on the ‘+ Add Column’ button. This adds a blank ‘Actions’ column ready for you to customize.

Simply use the different dropdown menus and settings to add a label and set the width. After that, you can use the ‘Type’ dropdown to choose the information you want to display.

Depending on your selection, you may get access to some extra settings. For example, if you select ‘Featured Image’ from the ‘Type’ dropdown, then you can choose between the different WordPress image sizes.

When you’re happy with the changes you’ve made, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save’ button.

If you want to, then you can customize other areas of the WordPress admin dashboard. Simply scroll to the top of the page and use the dropdown menu to choose a new section of your site.

For example, if you choose ‘Media’ then you might add columns for the image dimensions, EXIF data, image alt text, and captions.

Customize Other Admin Columns in WordPress

Some popular WordPress plugins automatically add columns in the admin area.

For example, All in One SEO for WordPress adds columns where you can bulk edit SEO titles, meta descriptions, and more.

To remove a plugin-specific column from the admin screen, click on the Screen Options menu in the top right corner.

In the panel that appears, simply uncheck the box next to each column you want to remove.

We hope this article helped you customize and add admin columns in WordPress. You may also check out our guide on how to create automated workflows in WordPress or see our expert pick of the must have WordPress plugins for business websites.

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