Although the WordPress admin panel is very straight forward, some have said it’s not as polished as the Movable Type or Expression Engine admin areas. That is about to change.
The WordPress Shuttle project, an endeavor to beautify the WordPress admin panel featuring the Silk Icon set from FamFamFam, will help to make the WordPress admin area more user friendly, accessible, and polished.
From the mock ups, it looks as though the team has developed a gem, however, one thing I would like to see is a way to integrate the current blog’s theme into the login/registration areas. Another thing that appears to be missing (according to the mock ups) is the optional post excerpt in the post writing screens. Aside from that and a few other nuances that can be added, this is certainly going to be a vast improvement over the current WordPress admin panel.
Though the project has officially launched, there is no immediate date for its incorporation into WordPress. I am anxious to see this rolled out in future versions of WordPress, however, it makes me wonder whether I should rethink that “using the WordPress admin” guide I have been planning…



I would love to see it rolled out as soon as possible…any update to the admin section is better than what we have now.
-Brandon Hopkins
# May 16th, 2006
I agree that the new admin panel layout will be an improvement, Brandon, but I don’t think what’s there now is that bad.
It’s straight forward, easy to use, and gets the job done - that is what’s truly important.
~ Teli
# May 16th, 2006
Steve Smith of “the Ordered List” has had out for several months a vastly easier to use Admin plug-in.
# May 17th, 2006
Hi Bob,
Easier to use than…?
WP Tiger Admin looks like a nice plugin, however, I’ve not tested it so can’t offer my opinion of it.
The admin redesign is just that, a redesign, no plugin necessary. Also, looking at the mock ups, the redesign will reorganize and add some additional functionality to the admin panel.
In the meantime, until the Shuttle project officially lifts off, I believe the plugin would be a viable solution.
~ Teli
# May 18th, 2006
“Easier to use” than the supplied or default adminstration panel. I am using it and love it.
# May 19th, 2006
Thanks for the clarification Bob
~ Teli
# May 22nd, 2006