5 Wordpress Admin Themes
Design is a crucial element of your website. The design of your website is a personal expression, so first and foremost you are designing the site for yourself. Your design also must appeal to and not drive away readers, and good design also is made with navigation and monetization options in mind so that functionality isn’t sacrificed for form. When you are finished, hopefully you end up with a good looking website that is easy to navigate, easy on the eyes, machine-friendly, and ready for profit.
The fact is, just about every facet of your life has a design-centric aspect to it as well. The furnishings and decoration of your living space, your vehicle, and how you dress and groom yourself are all important to you, aren’t they? I’m guessing that you have also spent a little time customizing your operating system’s desktop. After all, your computer workspace is a place you spend a considerable amount of time in. It’s only natural that you would want to personalize it. Some of us go to much greater lengths than others when it comes to customizing the GUI we use on our computers, but even setting a wallpaper is design.
So how about the back end of your website? The part no one but you is going to see. You spend a bit of time there too, don’t you? Have you taken any measures to personalize your interface or are you content to use what the designers of your CMS have given you?
PHP based content management systems and blogging engines render their interface with a combination of PHP and CSS. Changing your back end’s stylesheet to something a little more appealing is easy enough, but PHP? Most of you have a degree of proficiency with HTML and CSS, but PHP is for code geeks, right?
Well, fortunately most content management systems are open source, and like most things open source, they spawn large development communities. This means that if you use a larger CMS like Joomla! or Wordpress there are a lot of third party extensions available for you to turn the default system into something that suits your needs better.
If you find the Wordpress administrative interface bland, or just plain ugly like I do, don’t despair. You have some options that won’t require you to master any scripting languages. Here are 5 Wordpress Admin Themes that you may find easier on the eyes than the default interface:
1. AFD Wordpress2 Admin Theme
The AFD Wordpress2 Admin Theme is less a reworking of the default backend and more of a new stylesheet. The look is subdued silver grays, and while it doesn’t win any points on functionality, the look is more sophisticated than the default backend.
If you are pleased with the default interface, this may be the admin template for you to take a look at.
2. JS Style Admin Theme
The JS Style Admin Theme is based on the MIA Spotmilk theme, which seems to have disappeared. This admin theme supplies drop down menus and is available in both a green and a blue color scheme.
3. Tiger Admin Theme
I used the Tiger Admin Theme as my backend interface the last couple of months I was a Wordpress user. I found the style much less clunky in appearance, easy to navigate and thoughtfully designed. This admin interface may not be for everyone, but it is very well done. Where most of the Wordpress admin themes are really little more than new stylesheets, Tiger Admin changes the interface altogether. You may find the author’s choices more to your liking. The theme is very well done, but may not work with all plugins.
4. Shuttle Admin Theme
The best way to describe the Shuttle Admin Theme is to say that while it doesn’t deviate too far from the default layout and color scheme, it is how the original should have looked in the first place. This is a nice template that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but the design is superior to the out-of-the-box layout.
5. Planet X7 Wordpress Admin Theme
Planet X7 is a good looking blue admin theme for Wordpress. Those of you who find darker colors easier on the eyes may find this one to your liking. The author didn’t stray too far from the default template, but it looks good.
A point worth mentioning is that it’s not a bad idea to also alter the administrative login from something other than the default. A custom login that doesn’t reference what your backend software is won’t keep the real predators from knowing what you’re running, but it may deter some malicious kid with a script, and we know that the internet is full of those.
Good design is appealing. It’s more comfortable working in an environment that is easy on your eyes but at the same time provides strong visual cues for important, frequently used functionality. Don’t feel like you are stuck with whatever bland administrative interface your content management system provides. An attractive administrative template will make you as comfortable working on your site as your readers are using it.
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Comment by mlankton on 28 April 2008:
My guess would be “no”
Comment by Sridhar Katakam on 28 April 2008:
Which among these work w/ WordPress 2.5?