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What’s the right way to add a custom dashboard widget in WordPress admin?

Asked on Sep 26, 2025

Answer

To add a custom dashboard widget in WordPress, you can use the `wp_dashboard_setup` action hook to register your widget. This involves creating a function to output the widget's content and another function to register the widget itself.

<!-- BEGIN COPY / PASTE -->
    function my_custom_dashboard_widget() {
        echo "Welcome to my custom dashboard widget!";
    }

    function add_my_custom_dashboard_widget() {
        wp_add_dashboard_widget(
            'custom_dashboard_widget', // Widget slug.
            'My Custom Widget', // Title.
            'my_custom_dashboard_widget' // Display function.
        );
    }
    add_action('wp_dashboard_setup', 'add_my_custom_dashboard_widget');
    <!-- END COPY / PASTE -->

Additional Comment:

Place this code in your theme's `functions.php` file or a custom plugin.
The `wp_dashboard_setup` hook is used to ensure the widget is registered at the right time.
Customize the widget content by modifying the `my_custom_dashboard_widget` function.

✅ Answered with WordPress best practices.

Ask any question about WordPress here... and get an instant response.

What’s the right way to add a custom dashboard widget in WordPress admin?

Asked on Sep 26, 2025

Answer

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