Menu Cleaner
Menu Cleaner lets you customize the WordPress admin menu for your selected Audience.
You can hide unnecessary menu items, rename menu labels, and reorder the admin navigation to create a simpler and more focused experience for clients and other users.
Menu Cleaner changes how the admin menu is presented. It does not modify WordPress roles or capabilities.
Menu Cleaner displays the WordPress admin menu as an editable tree.
How Menu Cleaner Works
Menu Cleaner scans the available WordPress admin menu and displays it as a tree containing top-level menu items and their submenus.
From this interface, you can configure how those items should appear to users who match your AUC Audience settings.
Depending on the menu item, you can:
- Hide it.
- Rename its displayed label.
- Change its position in the admin menu.
- Configure submenu items independently where supported.
Your changes are applied only to users affected by the current AUC configuration.
Hide Menu Items
Use Hide when a menu item is unnecessary for the selected audience.
For example, a client who only manages website content may not need to see:
- Plugins
- Tools
- Appearance
- Settings
- Plugin-specific configuration pages
Hiding these items can make the WordPress admin area easier to navigate and reduce distractions.
Hide admin menu items that are not relevant to the selected audience.
After saving your changes, affected users will no longer see the hidden items in their WordPress admin menu.
Hiding Is Not Access Restriction
This distinction is important:
Hiding a menu item does not necessarily prevent access to the underlying admin page.
If a user knows the direct URL and still has the required WordPress capabilities, WordPress may allow that user to open the page.
Menu Cleaner is intended to simplify the admin interface, not replace WordPress permissions.
If a page must not be accessible to the selected audience, use Page Locks.
Hide Submenu Items
Menu Cleaner can also control supported submenu items.
This is useful when users need access to a main WordPress section but do not need every page inside it.
For example, you may want a user to access Posts while hiding a submenu they do not use.
Top-level menus and supported submenu items can be configured independently.
Be careful when hiding all submenu items beneath a parent menu. Always preview and test the resulting navigation to make sure the remaining menu structure still behaves as expected.
Rename Menu Items
Menu Cleaner allows you to replace the displayed label of supported admin menu items.
For example, you could rename:
Posts → Articles
or:
Media → Files
This can make the WordPress admin terminology easier to understand for a particular client or workflow.
Rename supported admin menu items using terminology that is more familiar to your users.
Renaming a menu item changes its displayed label only.
It does not change:
- The underlying WordPress page.
- The page URL.
- WordPress capabilities.
- Stored content or post types.
When possible, use short and clear labels so the admin navigation remains easy to scan.
Reorder Menu Items
You can reorder supported menu items to place frequently used sections in more convenient positions.
For example, a content-focused website might place:
- Pages
- Posts
- Media
- Form submissions
near the top of the admin navigation while moving less frequently used sections lower.
Reorder admin menu items to prioritize the areas your users access most often.
Reordering changes the presentation of the admin navigation for the affected audience. It does not change the functionality of the underlying WordPress pages.
Plugin Menu Items
WordPress plugins can register their own top-level menus and submenus.
Menu Cleaner can detect many of these menu items and include them in the menu tree alongside standard WordPress items.
This allows you to clean up admin navigation created by both WordPress and installed plugins.
Because third-party plugins control how their own admin pages are registered, behavior can vary between plugins.
After configuring third-party menu items, always preview and test the affected user experience.
Newly Added Menu Items
Your WordPress admin menu can change when you:
- Install a new plugin.
- Activate or deactivate a plugin.
- Change themes.
- Enable new features.
- Update software that adds new admin pages.
A newly registered menu item may not automatically match an existing Menu Cleaner configuration.
After making significant changes to your WordPress installation, review Menu Cleaner to make sure the admin navigation still matches the experience you want to provide.
Default Safety Considerations
Some WordPress admin areas can have a significant impact on the website.
AUC is designed to help reduce unnecessary exposure to these areas, but Menu Cleaner should not be treated as a security boundary.
For pages that require actual access restriction, combine a cleaner admin menu with the appropriate WordPress capabilities and, where applicable, Page Locks.
Preview Your Menu
After making changes, use Preview to inspect the admin menu for the role or user you are configuring.
Preview the selected role or user to verify the customized WordPress admin menu.
Check that:
- Required menu items are still visible.
- Hidden items are no longer displayed.
- Renamed labels are clear.
- Menu ordering feels natural.
- Important workflows remain accessible.
For production websites, we also recommend testing important workflows with an appropriate WordPress user account.
Example: Simplifying a Client Dashboard
Suppose a client is responsible only for editing website content and reviewing form submissions.
Their default WordPress menu might contain:
Dashboard
Posts
Media
Pages
Comments
Appearance
Plugins
Users
Tools
Settings
Forms
SEO
A simplified menu could become:
Dashboard
Pages
Articles
Media
Forms
Menu Cleaner can hide the unnecessary items, rename Posts to Articles, and reorder the remaining navigation.
The underlying WordPress installation remains unchanged. The selected audience simply receives a cleaner admin experience.
Recommended Approach
When configuring Menu Cleaner:
- Start with the Audience that will receive the configuration.
- Hide only items that users do not need for their normal work.
- Rename labels only when the new terminology is genuinely clearer.
- Put frequently used sections in convenient positions.
- Use Page Locks when a page requires access restriction.
- Preview the result.
- Test important user workflows before handing over the website.
Avoid hiding items simply to make the menu as small as possible.
The goal is to create an admin interface that is easier to use, not an interface where users cannot find the tools they actually need.
Next Step
If you need to prevent users from directly opening specific WordPress admin pages, continue to Page Locks.
To verify how your customized menu appears to different users, see Preview.