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Wondering what is the WordPress toolbar, and how to hide it, perhaps? In short, the WordPress toolbar is the horizontal admin bar at the top of your screen that shows up when you are logged in to your WordPress site.

WordPress toolbar

This post will help you navigate the toolbar, understand its purpose, and learn how you can hide it if desired.

What is the WordPress toolbar in detail

What is the WordPress toolbar, exactly? The WordPress toolbar, also known as the admin bar, is a handy horizontal navigation menu that appears at the top of the WordPress website to every logged-in user. It serves as a powerful tool, providing quick access to various administrative functions and enabling you to manage your website efficiently.

Some of the toolbar default shortcuts include:

  • WordPress Info: Click on the logo to access WordPress.org for resources and support.
  • Site Homepage: Your site title on which you can click to see your site’s homepage.
  • Create New: Shortcuts to create new posts, pages, and media.
  • Updates: Contains the available updates for your website (WordPress version, plugins, themes).
  • Comments: Allows you to perform pending actions in your comment section.
  • Howdy, User: Personalized greeting with a dropdown menu to manage your user profile.
  • Other extras based on the plugins that you have installed on the site.

By default, the toolbar is visible on both the back-end and front-end of your site while you’re logged in and remains hidden for regular site visitors.

Hiding the WordPress toolbar

While the WordPress toolbar is useful, you may prefer to hide it for a cleaner front-end view or to minimize distractions during website editing. Let’s explore a few methods to hide the toolbar:

  • Using the User Profile settings: WordPress gives you control over the toolbar’s visibility. To disable it for your user account, navigate to your user profile by clicking on “Users” in the admin menu and selecting “Profile.” From there, uncheck the “Show Toolbar when viewing site” option.
  • Utilizing plugins: Plugins offer additional flexibility to hide the toolbar for all users or specific user roles. One popular option is the “Adminimize” plugin. Install and activate the plugin, and then access its settings to hide the toolbar according to your preferences.
  • Customizing the theme: If you have coding experience or access to your theme’s files, you can hide the toolbar by modifying the theme’s code. Locate the functions.php file of your theme and add the following code snippet: add_filter(‘show_admin_bar', ‘__return_false');. Save the changes and refresh your website to witness the toolbar disappear.

Besides hiding your toolbar, there are other ways for you to customize it to match your preference. Doing so can help you improve your workflow, enhance the features of your page, and achieve a better look.

Conclusion

Now, you can easily answer the question: what is the WordPress toolbar and how do you hide it? With this knowledge in hand, you can customize your WordPress experience to suit your preferences. Whether you choose to hide the toolbar through user profile settings, plugins, or custom code modifications, gaining control over this feature empowers you to create a cleaner and distraction-free environment.

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