The WordPress dashboard is the first thing you see when you log in, and on most sites it’s a mess. Welcome panels, Quick Draft, WordPress Events and News, plugin promo widgets — they all compete for space and push the content you actually care about below the fold.
ID Dashboard Cleanup gives administrators site-wide control over which dashboard widgets appear, in what order, and across how many columns. Toggle visibility with checkboxes, drag-and-drop widgets between columns, and choose a 2-, 3-, or 4-column layout. Your choices apply to every user on the site.
Site-Wide Control
Unlike the built-in Screen Options (which only affect your own view), Dashboard Cleanup enforces a consistent layout across all users. When you hide a widget, it’s hidden for everyone. When you reorder widgets, everyone sees the same arrangement. This is essential for client sites where you want a clean, focused dashboard without the clutter.
Multi-Column Drag-and-Drop
The settings page mirrors the actual dashboard layout with sortable columns. By default you get two — Main and Side — but you can switch to 3 or 4 columns with a dropdown. Widgets appear as draggable cards with grip handles. Drag a widget from one column to another to change its placement. Drag within a column to reorder. Toggle the checkbox to show or hide a widget. Changes save when you click the submit button.
Column Layout Selector
Choose between 2, 3, or 4 dashboard columns from the settings page. The column count is enforced site-wide, overriding each user’s Screen Options. WordPress may display fewer columns on smaller screens — the setting controls the maximum.
Automatic Widget Detection
Dashboard Cleanup automatically detects all registered dashboard widgets, including those added by other plugins. When you install a new plugin that adds a dashboard widget, it appears in the settings list on your next visit — no need to rescan or refresh. New widgets default to visible so you never miss a feature, but you can hide them in seconds.
Lightweight Implementation
The plugin hooks into WordPress at exactly the right priority to capture widgets after all plugins have registered theirs, then applies your visibility and order preferences. A single database option stores your configuration, and a persistent fallback ensures the settings page works reliably even if the cached widget list expires. jQuery UI Sortable handles the drag interaction using WordPress core dependencies.