{"id":36746,"date":"2025-09-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhblog.dream.press\/blog\/?p=36746"},"modified":"2026-02-17T22:31:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T06:31:56","slug":"wordpress-settings-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-settings-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"WordPress Settings: A Complete Screen-By-Screen Guide (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WordPress<\/a> is about as flexible and powerful as an Olympic gymnast. You can ask it to perform any task, and the platform will put on a medal-winning performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge is knowing how to get the version of WordPress you <\/em>want. With so many settings, it\u2019s not easy to identify which boxes to check and which dropdowns to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help you navigate through the forest of options, we decided to take a closer look at WordPress settings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well\u2026that\u2019s underselling it, actually. This guide is a complete screen-by-screen walkthrough, helping you understand every option in forensic detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to sweat the small stuff? Keep scrolling to jump right in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting To Know WordPress Settings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cSettings\u201d area of your WordPress dashboard is a central hub for the tools that define, customize, and control the various sections of your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While plugins<\/a> often add further options, there are seven main areas to traverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. General Settings: Setting Your Site\u2019s Foundations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First up is the \u201cGeneral\u201d screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The settings here allow you to customize the basic, overarching elements of your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Site Branding<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

First up, you can set your \u201cSite Title\u201d and \u201cTagline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The former will show up in the title bar of your browser and search engines once your site is published. The latter is usually displayed underneath your site\u2019s title and is a short explanation of what your site is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Annotated<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both elements provide an excellent opportunity for improving your site\u2019s search engine optimization (SEO)<\/a>. For example, you could include terms related to the topic of your site in the Tagline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this section, you can also upload your \u201cSite Icon.\u201d This is the little picture that appears in browser tabs when your site is loaded. Not essential, but a nice addition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress and Site Address<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Moving down, we have boxes for your \u201cWordPress Address (URL)\u201d and \u201cSite Address (URL).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These are usually the same; they would only differ if you\u2019re using WordPress in a subdirectory of your main site or you\u2019re doing a little staging<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cEmail Address\u201d field lets you choose the primary address to which admin-specific emails should be sent. We\u2019d always recommend choosing your main personal or work email; that way, you won\u2019t miss any important notifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

User Options<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Next up are the basic user registration options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cMembership\u201d checkbox toggles whether anyone can register on your site. Uncheck this unless you want to build a community on your site<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want people to sign up? The \u201cNew User Default Role\u201d drop-down menu sets a default role for any new site users. We recommend sticking with \u201cSubscriber\u201d initially, as this offers the least amount of site access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Site Language<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cSite Language\u201d menu lets you set the mother tongue of your WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bear in mind that this doesn\u2019t affect what visitors see; it\u2019s only about what you<\/em> see while managing your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time and Date<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The final grouping is centered around time. You can select a \u201cTimezone,\u201d along with your preferred \u201c<\/strong>Date Format\u201d and \u201cTime Format.\u201d Make your choice based on your business location or where most of your visitors are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cWeek Starts On\u201d drop-down lets you choose any of the seven days to start your week!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve made your updates, click on Save Changes<\/strong>. You should see your changes applied immediately. But wait! You\u2019re not done yet\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Writing Settings: Configure Your Content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cWriting\u201d screen is focused on default formatting options for your posts and pages editor screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These options are divided into three parts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post Settings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The first part relates to post formatting. These dropdowns allow you to set the \u201cDefault Category\u201d and \u201cDefault Format\u201d for posts you write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The category choice is mainly about organizing your content. If you would prefer something more specific than \u201cUncategorized,\u201d be sure to make the change!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll only need to change the default post format if your WordPress site isn\u2019t a blog. For instance, you could make new image or video posts by default if your site is a portfolio<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post via Email<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the time being, WordPress still supports posting articles via email. The next section allows you to configure this feature. It\u2019s much like setting up an email client; you just put in your SMTP details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But don\u2019t get too attached. This feature is already deprecated (no longer recommended), and it will be removed for future versions very soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you still want to publish via email, you can use the Post by Mail<\/a> tool in Jetpack<\/a> or grab the Postie Plugin<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update Services<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"WordPress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your most devoted readers want to know whenever you publish a new post<\/a>, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, good news! WordPress lets you notify users via XML-RPC ping services. The \u201cUpdate Services\u201d box lets you select the services you want to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most popular is Ping-o-Matic<\/a> \u2014 partly because this platform can alert multiple other services, including search engines. You can see a list of other popular providers in the official WordPress documentation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n

Get Content Delivered Straight to Your Inbox<\/h2>

Subscribe now to receive all the latest updates, delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>

<\/div>