Do you want to create a distraction-free WooCommerce admin panel? If you are looking for a simple guide, keep reading this article.
Running a WooCommerce store means spending a lot of time inside the WordPress admin dashboard. With too many menus, notices, and third-party plugin elements, the admin panel can quickly become cluttered and distracting.
In this guide, you will learn how to create a distraction-free WooCommerce admin panel so you can manage orders, products, and customers with better focus and efficiency.
Before going further, let’s see why you should create a distraction-free WooCommerce admin panel.
Table of contents
Why You Should Create a Distraction-Free WooCommerce Admin Panel
A distraction-free WooCommerce admin panel helps store owners work faster and make fewer mistakes when managing daily operations. By removing unnecessary elements and focusing only on essential features, you can create a cleaner workspace that improves productivity and decision-making.
- Helps you process orders faster by reducing visual clutter in the WordPress admin dashboard
- Improves focus when managing WooCommerce products, customers, and inventory
- Makes the admin interface easier to use for new staff members or virtual assistants
- Reduces the risk of clicking the wrong menu or setting while handling important store tasks
- Creates a more professional and organized backend environment for store management
- Improves performance slightly by limiting unnecessary admin-side scripts and notices
- Makes long working sessions in WooCommerce admin less tiring and mentally overwhelming
- Allows you to prioritize core WooCommerce features like orders, analytics, and payments
- Helps you maintain better control over plugins that add unwanted admin panels or alerts
How to Create a Distraction-Free WooCommerce Admin Panel
Now, let’s see how to achieve this. By default, WooCommerce doesn’t come with this feature. So you have to use a custom snippet. You can add the code to the functions.php file of your child theme or a site-specific plugin.
In this case, we will be using the Code Snippets plugin to add the code. So, install and activate the plugin on your website.
Now, add a new snippet.
The code you need to paste is:
function yaycommerce_add_store_admin_toggle_button( $wp_admin_bar ) {
if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_woocommerce' ) ) return;
$is_store_admin = isset( $_COOKIE['store_admin'] ) && $_COOKIE['store_admin'] == '1';
$url = add_query_arg( 'toggle_store_admin', $is_store_admin ? '0' : '1', admin_url( 'admin.php?page=wc-orders' ) );
$wp_admin_bar->add_node( [
'id' => 'store-admin-toggle',
'title' => $is_store_admin
? '<span class="ab-icon dashicons dashicons-admin-generic"></span> Switch to WP Admin'
: '<span class="ab-icon dashicons dashicons-cart"></span> Switch to Store Admin',
'href' => $url,
] );
}
add_action( 'admin_bar_menu', 'yaycommerce_add_store_admin_toggle_button', 100 );
// ================================
// SET / DELETE COOKIE ON TOGGLE
// ================================
function yaycommerce_handle_store_admin_toggle() {
if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_woocommerce' ) ) return;
if ( isset( $_GET['toggle_store_admin'] ) ) {
if ( $_GET['toggle_store_admin'] == '1' ) {
setcookie( 'store_admin', '1', time() + DAY_IN_SECONDS, COOKIEPATH, COOKIE_DOMAIN, is_ssl() );
$_COOKIE['store_admin'] = '1'; // so it's immediately available
} else {
setcookie( 'store_admin', '', time() - 3600, COOKIEPATH, COOKIE_DOMAIN, is_ssl() );
unset( $_COOKIE['store_admin'] );
}
// Redirect to clean URL (remove toggle param)
wp_safe_redirect( remove_query_arg( 'toggle_store_admin' ) );
exit;
}
}
add_action( 'admin_init', 'yaycommerce_handle_store_admin_toggle' );
// ================================
// FILTER ADMIN MENU IN STORE MODE
// ================================
function yaycommerce_filter_admin_menu_for_store_admin() {
if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_woocommerce' ) ) return;
if ( ! isset( $_COOKIE['store_admin'] ) || $_COOKIE['store_admin'] != '1' ) return;
global $menu;
foreach ( $menu as $key => $item ) {
$slug = $item[2];
$is_woo = (
$slug === 'woocommerce' ||
strpos( $slug, 'wc-' ) === 0 ||
strpos( $slug, 'woocommerce' ) !== false ||
strpos( $slug, 'edit.php?post_type=shop_' ) === 0 ||
strpos( $slug, 'edit.php?post_type=product' ) === 0
);
if ( ! $is_woo ) {
remove_menu_page( $slug );
}
}
}
add_action( 'admin_menu', 'yaycommerce_filter_admin_menu_for_store_admin', 9999 );
// ================================
// APPEND COOKIE MODE TO ADMIN_URLS
// ================================
function yaycommerce_add_store_admin_param_to_admin_urls( $url, $path, $scheme ) {
if ( ! isset( $_COOKIE['store_admin'] ) || $_COOKIE['store_admin'] != '1' ) return $url;
return add_query_arg( 'store_admin', '1', $url ); // purely cosmetic if needed
}
add_filter( 'admin_url', 'yaycommerce_add_store_admin_param_to_admin_urls', 10, 3 );
// ================================
// STYLES FOR TOGGLE BUTTON
// ================================
function yaycommerce_store_admin_button_styles() {
?>
<style>
#wp-admin-bar-store-admin-toggle > .ab-item {
background-color: #d63638;
color: #fff;
}
#wp-admin-bar-store-admin-toggle:hover > .ab-item {
background-color: #b52d2f;
}
#wp-admin-bar-store-admin-toggle > .ab-item .dashicons {
color: #fff;
}
</style>
<?php
}
add_action( 'admin_head', 'yaycommerce_store_admin_button_styles' );
Save and activate the snippet. Now, if you go to the WooCommerce dashboard, you will see a switch to store admin button on the top bar.
By default, on the left-hand side, you will have too many options.
Once you enable the store admin mode, all the unnecessary options will disappear. Now, you will only see WooCommece-specific options.
If you need to see all the settings, you can switch back to WP admin. This is how you can create a distraction-free WooCommerce admin panel.
If you like the article, feel free to check out these posts:
- How to Add a Refund Request Button to WooCommerce
- How to Allow Only Simple Products in WooCommerce
- How to Programmatically Mark Products as Featured in WooCommerce
- How to Automatically Hide WooCommerce Products Without a Featured Image
- How to Add a Complete Order Button in WooCommerce Admin
Frequently Asked Question
Now, let’s take a look at some of the frequently asked questions and answers regarding this topic.
Yes, you can simplify the WooCommerce admin panel without affecting core functionality as long as you only hide or reorganize interface elements instead of removing system files. Using admin hooks, custom code snippets, or trusted plugins allows you to clean up menus, notices, and widgets while keeping order management, product editing, and reports fully functional.
No, hiding menus does not change user permissions by default. It only changes what is visible in the admin interface. User roles and capabilities still work the same way in WooCommerce and WordPress, so staff members will only lose visual access to menus you intentionally hide, not their actual access rights.
Yes, you can target specific roles such as shop managers, editors, or support staff. This is useful when you want store managers to focus on WooCommerce orders and products while hiding advanced settings meant only for administrators. Role-based customization helps keep each user’s workspace relevant to their tasks.
Yes, WordPress dashboard widgets can be removed or rearranged to create a cleaner admin screen. By doing this, you can replace generic WordPress widgets with WooCommerce-focused content like order summaries, revenue reports, or quick product shortcuts, which improves daily workflow.
Yes, reducing visual clutter helps store owners complete tasks faster and with fewer errors. When the admin panel only shows essential WooCommerce menus and tools, it becomes easier to process orders, update products, and manage customers without constantly navigating through unrelated sections.
Many plugin notices can be hidden safely, especially promotional or informational ones. However, important system or security notices should not be completely removed. A balanced approach is best, where you suppress unnecessary alerts while keeping critical WooCommerce and WordPress warnings visible.
Yes, a simplified admin panel makes training easier because new users see only what they need for their role. Instead of being overwhelmed by dozens of menu items and settings, they can focus on core tasks such as managing WooCommerce orders, updating product details, and handling customer requests.
Conclusion
Creating a distraction-free WooCommerce admin panel is a simple but powerful way to improve how you manage your store. By removing unnecessary menus, widgets, and notifications, you make it easier to focus on core tasks like processing orders, updating products, and handling customers.
Over time, this cleaner workspace reduces errors, speeds up daily operations, and makes the WooCommerce dashboard more comfortable to use for both store owners and staff.
We hope you found this article helpful and enjoyed reading it. If you need to learn more WooCommerce tips and tricks, check out the YayCommerce blog. Also, feel free to check out our social media handles, such as Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube, for more interesting content.
How else would you customize your WooCommerce store?
Let us know in the comments.
