What are WordPress Dashicons?
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WordPress Dashicons are a set of vector icons made just for fitting right into the WordPress admin area. Ever since they first showed up in version 3.8, they’ve been a big deal for making the admin experience better.Before Dashicons came along, if you were making themes or plugins, you’d have to come up with your own icons for the admin side of things. Dashicons changed the game by offering a built-in set of icons that matched up well, making everything look consistent and clearer. Since they were introduced, Dashicons have gotten even better, with more icons and features for WordPress admins.
Section 1: Understanding WordPress Dashicons
Overview of Dashicons
WordPress Dashicons are a series of vector icons designed specifically for the WordPress admin interface. These icons primarily serve two purposes:
Visual representation: Dashicons stand for different tasks, kinds of content, and actions in the admin area. Having these icons makes things clearer and navigation easier for users.
Consistent design: Dashicons help make the whole admin interface look consistent and nice because all the icons have a uniform design.
The role of Dashicons in the WordPress
Dashicons contribute to the WordPress ecosystem by: Icons significantly simplify WordPress web design within the admin dashboard. They create a cohesive and visually appealing look, promoting consistency across the interface. By visually representing functions, content, and actions, icons make the admin area significantly easier to navigate and understand. This leads to a smoother user experience, as the interface becomes more intuitive. Their vector format ensures icons remain crisp on any screen size, providing a scalable and flexible design solution. Furthermore, icons empower developers with a standardized visual language, helping them create themes and plugins that look polished and professional.
History and development
Dashicons, introduced in WordPress version 3.8, have become a vital element within the WordPress ecosystem. Their initial release offered a wide-ranging collection of icons for essential website features. Though the project later shifted its focus to maintaining compatibility with updates and preserving existing icons instead of frequent new additions, Dashicons continues to be a core WordPress component, receiving ongoing support and maintenance.
Section 2: The Dashicons library
Exploring the library
The Dashicons library offers an extensive collection of vector icons for various functions in the WordPress administration area. These icons cover a wide range, including:
Icons in WordPress streamline your design process by providing clear visual cues for various elements within your website. They distinguish different content types (posts, pages, media, comments) with unique icons. Actions like adding, editing, deleting, saving, and publishing become instantly recognizable. Icons within the administration menu enhance navigation for areas like settings, plugins, and user management. Customization options for themes, menus, and widgets become more intuitive with the help of icons, and they can even clearly represent different statuses like success, warnings, and errors.
Dashicons have a ton of different icons, so pretty much everything in the admin area can have its own picture. This makes it easier for people to get what’s going on and move around the site.
Examples of commonly used Dashicons
Here are some of the most commonly used Dashicons within the WordPress admin:
- Dashicon-admin-appearance: Represents the Appearance section of the admin menu.
- Dashicon-edit: Used to indicate the edit functionality for various content types.
- Dashicon-media-library: Represents the Media Library within the admin area.
- Dashicon-menu: Used for menu-related functionalities.
- Dashicon-plus: Represents the “add” function for new posts, pages, or other content types.
Categories of Dashicons
For easier navigation and identification, the Dashicons are divided into specific categories. Some of the main categories are:
- Post formats: Icons for different post formats such as standard, sidebar and gallery.
- Media: Icons for media types such as images, audio and video.
- Other: Icons for more general functions such as location, search and clock.
- Administration menu: Icons for different areas of the administration menu such as settings, plugins and users.
These categories help people quickly spot the icons they need based on what they’re doing. This tidy setup makes using the WordPress admin area a lot smoother and more user-friendly.
Section 3: How to use Dashicons in WordPress
For theme and plugin developers
Using Dashicons in your themes and plugins can really make a difference in how people experience the WordPress admin area. Here’s a quick guide on how to use them well:
Integrate Dashicons: To use Dashicons in your theme’s functions.php or plugin file, you need to queue the Dashicons style. Here is the code:
PHP
wp_enqueue_style( ‘dashicons’ );
For custom projects
Dashicons can also be useful for custom WordPress projects beyond themes and plugins. Here are some tips for integration:
Use a child theme
If you are customizing an existing theme, create a child theme to avoid conflicts with future theme updates.
Queue Dashicons
Similar to themes and plugins, use wp_enqueue_style to load Dashicons in your child theme’s functions.php file.
Integrate with the front-end
Although Dashicons are primarily designed for the admin area, they can be used sparingly on the front end for specific functions to ensure consistency with the overall WordPress experience.
Best practices for using Dashicons
To use Dashicons effectively in your WordPress design, keep these guidelines in mind: Prioritize clarity by choosing icons that have a direct and obvious connection to the function they represent. Avoid overwhelming users by using Dashicons sparingly; a few well-placed icons are more effective than cluttering your interface. Maintain a consistent visual language by using the same Dashicon style throughout your themes or plugins. Finally, ensure accessibility by carefully considering colour contrast between your chosen icons and the background, making your site easy to navigate for everyone.
By sticking to these tips, you can make the user interface of your WordPress projects look better with Dashicons. This will make everything clearer and easier to use in the admin area.
Section 4: Customizing and extending Dashicons
Creating custom Dashicons
While the official Dashicons project is no longer accepting icon requests, you can still create custom icons for your specific needs. Here’s an overview of the process:
Design the icon: Use vector design software such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape to create your customized icon. Make sure the design matches the overall style and size (usually 16×16 pixels) of the existing Dashicons.
Convert to font: Several online tools and resources can convert your SVG icon design into a font format compatible with WordPress. Some popular options include Icomoon (https://icomoon.io/) and Font Squirrel (https://www.fontsquirrel.com/).
Integration: Once converted, integrate your custom font into your theme or plugin using CSS. This involves defining the font family, including the font file, and specifying the icon class name for usage within your HTML.
Tools and resources for designing custom icons
Here are some helpful resources for designing custom icons that complement the style of Dashicons:
WordPress Dashicons reference: Review the existing Dashicon library for design inspiration and ensure your custom icons maintain stylistic consistency. (https://developer.wordpress.org/resource/dashicons/)
FontAwesome: A popular and extensive icon library that can serve as a reference point for design style and icon categories. (https://fontawesome.com/)
Icon cheat sheets: Several websites offer icon cheat sheets that showcase various icon styles and categories, providing valuable inspiration for your custom icon designs.
Extending Dashicons
The extension of the official Dashicons library is no longer officially supported. You can achieve a similar effect by creating custom icons and integrating them into your theme or plugin alongside the existing Dashicons.
Case studies or examples of extended Dashicons in action
Dashicons provide a standardized set of icons within WordPress for common actions, content types, and admin menu items. This enhances the user experience, improves visual consistency, and makes the entire platform easier to navigate. While Dashicons are not actively expanding, they remain a part of WordPress, ensuring a polished and professional look. Developers can also extend functionality by using custom icons tailored to their plugins or themes, as long as these icons maintain a harmonious style with the core Dashicons set.
By mixing your own custom icons with the pre-made Dashicons that come with WordPress, developers can make their WordPress projects even better for users without having to mess with the original Dashicons set at all.
Section 5: The future of Dashicons in WordPress
Dashicons and Gutenberg
With the introduction of the Gutenberg block editor in WordPress 5.0, the use of Dashicons within the editor itself has become somewhat limited. Here’s why:
- Focus on blocks: Gutenberg utilizes a block-based interface, where functionality is represented by block types and icons.
- Limited need for dashicons: While some Dashicons are still used for specific actions within the editor, the overall reliance has decreased.
Transition towards new icon libraries
The WordPress developer community is looking into other icon libraries as options. The WordPress Icons (WP Icons) project is an example of this effort, trying to create a bigger and more flexible set of icons for WordPress’s future.
The future outlook
While the future scope of Dashicons within the core WordPress editor remains uncertain, they are likely to continue playing a role in the following areas:
- Admin menu and settings: Dashicons will likely remain the primary icon set for the admin menu and various settings sections due to their familiarity and established usage.
- Theme and plugin development: Looking ahead, developers can keep using Dashicons in their themes and plugins to improve how things feel and work in the admin area of WordPress.
Dashicons have been key in making the WordPress admin interface user-friendly. Their uniform looks and the clear way they show different functions have made it much easier for administrators, no matter their experience level, to get around and use the site.
How do I add free WordPress icons to my site?
You can add free WordPress icons using plugins, custom HTML/CSS, or by integrating icon libraries like MaxiBlocks’ free icon library.
How do I add WordPress icons to my menu?
You can add WordPress icons to your menu by using plugins like “Menu Icons by ThemeIsle” or by incorporating custom HTML and CSS.
- Think about adding Dashicons to your WordPress theme or plugin projects to make the admin area more user-friendly.
- Explore innovative ways to utilize Dashicons alongside custom icons or alternative icon libraries like WP Icons.
- Share your thoughts and experiences with Dashicons in the WordPress community forums. What are some creative ways you’ve used Dashicons in your projects?
Additional resources:
Dashicons library reference: https://developer.wordpress.org/resource/dashicons/
WordPress Block Editor Handbook: https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/components/dashicon/
WordPress developer resources: https://developer.wordpress.org/