How to Add or Change WordPress Admin Icons: A Simple Guide 

You know there are many ways to improve a website’s user experience in website design, and one of them is to add or change WordPress admin icons. Personalizing your WordPress dashboard isn’t just about looks—it’s about making your site easier and more enjoyable to use! A quick way to get started is by adding or changing your admin icons. 

Custom icons can streamline your workflow and make navigation a snap, especially for new users. Plus, a personalized dashboard just feels more welcoming and fun to work with! 

Today, we will explore what WordPress admin icons are all about, show you how to add icons easily using a plugin and explore how to use a WordPress icon font. Ready to boost your site’s user experience? So, let’s get started!

Understanding WordPress Admin Icons 

WordPress Admin icons are those little images you see next to each menu item in the WordPress dashboard. They help make the navigation panel more intuitive and visually organized. By default, WordPress uses Dashicons—an icon font that’s been around since 2013 and hasn’t changed much since. 

If you’re looking to freshen up your WordPress admin area, changing these icons can be a great place to start! You can swap out the default icons for ones that better fit your style or even add your own custom icons for a truly personalized look.

Icons are powerful because they are universally recognizable and make it easy for people to find what they need, whether it’s a sign-in page, a particular article, or other key sections of the site. This can be especially helpful if you’re working on a multilingual site or have an international audience.

For web design clients who are unfamiliar with WordPress, custom icons can simplify navigation in the admin dashboard and make the experience feel tailored to them. 

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How to Add  or Change WordPress Admin Icons: Two Methods

Now that you know the function of WordPress admin icons, it’s time to understand how to add or change admin icons in WordPress. There are two ways in which you can easily modify your WordPress admin icons. The first is to use a plugin and get it done quickly and easily. The second one is to change admin icons using a code snippet. 

We’ll look at both methods to help you decide which one works best for you. Let’s dive into it: 

How to Add or Change WordPress Admin Icons Using a Plugin

If you’re new to adding icons in WordPress, using a plugin is the easiest way to start. For this guide, we’ll show you how to add icons using the Font Awesome plugin.

To get icons on your WordPress site with Font Awesome, follow these simple steps:

Install and activate the plugin.

First, log into your WordPress dashboard, then go to Plugins and install and activate the Font Awesome plugin.

Adjust the plugin settings as needed.

After activation, you’ll be redirected to the Installed Plugins page. Find Font Awesome and click Settings. The plugin is set up to use free web icons through the Font Awesome CDN by default, so if you’re happy with that, you’re all set.

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If you want both free and pro icons, you’ll need to create a Font Awesome Kit, get an API token, and add it to the plugin settings. (But if you’re just looking for basic icons, feel free to skip this step!) Once you’re done, don’t forget to click Save Changes.

Add the icon where you want it to appear.

Now for the fun part! Font Awesome icons can be added using a shortcode or an HTML snippet. The shortcode format is [icon name= “value”]. Just replace “value” with the name of the icon you want. For instance, to add an award icon, use [icon name= “award”].

If you’re more comfortable with HTML, you can use the standard Font Awesome syntax instead. Font Awesome provides HTML snippets for each icon, so you just need to copy and paste it wherever you’d like the icon to appear.

Preview your changes.

Before publishing, preview the post or page to make sure your icon looks just right. If it doesn’t appear, double-check that you’re using a free icon and not a premium one.

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Method 2: How to Manually Add or Change Admin Menu Icons Using a Code Snippet

If you’re up for a little hands-on work, you can customize your admin icons by adding a bit of code.

Before jumping in, we recommend checking out a quick guide on safely adding custom code in WordPress if you haven’t done it before.

The easiest and safest way to do this is with the WPCode plugin, which is great for adding custom code, CSS, and HTML without the risk of breaking anything. Plus, there’s a free version (WPCode Lite) that does the trick, though the pro version includes some extra handy features.

Example: Replacing an Icon Using the Default Dashicons

For this example, we’ll use Dashicons (WordPress’s built-in icon set) to replace an existing icon. Since Dashicons are optimized for WordPress, they won’t slow down your site.

Here’s what you’ll need before you start:

• The URL of the menu item you want to update
• The name of the icon you want to use

Let’s say you want to change the icon for the ‘Posts’ menu. Just hover over the Posts menu item in your dashboard, and you’ll see the URL in the status bar at the bottom of your browser. You only need the last part—here, it would be edit.php.

Next, head over to the Dashicons website, find the icon you want, and copy its “slug” (like dash icons-format-aside).

Now, let’s add the code:

1. Go to Code Snippets » Add Snippet in your dashboard.
2. Click on + Add Custom Snippet and give your snippet a title.
3. Choose PHP Snippet under Code Type, and then paste the following code in the editor:

function change_post_menu_icon() {global $menu;// Loop through the menu itemsforeach ($menu as $key => $menu_item) {// Find the “Posts” menu item (default URL is ‘edit.php’)if (isset($menu_item[2]) && $menu_item[2] == ‘edit.php’) {// Change the icon to a different Dashicon class$menu[$key][6] = ‘dashicons-format-aside’; // Change this to your preferred Dashicon slug}}}add_action(‘admin_menu’, ‘change_post_menu_icon’);

Just replace dashicons-format-aside with the slug of the icon you copied earlier.

Once the code’s in place, scroll down to the Insertion section, set the Location to ‘Admin Only,’ and switch the snippet to Active. Then click Save Snippet.

Now, WordPress will start using your chosen icon for the Posts page—just like that!

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Wrapping Up

So, you see, it’s not difficult to add or change your WordPress Admin icons. Once you understand the gist and function of these icons, they will help you improve and amplify your website design and user experience. 

Whether you go with a plugin for quick icon swaps or try adding custom code for a more hands-on approach, the process is straightforward and can make a big difference, especially for clients or users unfamiliar with WordPress. So go ahead—give your admin area a little makeover and make it truly your own!