This hook grants access to Dashboard-related customization options. In particular, this hook is used for adding or removing dashboard widgets from WordPress.
To add a dashboard widget, use wp_add_dashboard_widget()
To remove a dashboard widget, use remove_meta_box()
To remove a dashboard widget, call remove_meta_box() within the hooked function.
add_action('wp_dashboard_setup', 'remove_dashboard_widgets');
function remove_dashboard_widgets () {
//Completely remove various dashboard widgets (remember they can also be HIDDEN from admin)
remove_meta_box( 'dashboard_quick_press', 'dashboard', 'side' ); //Quick Press widget
remove_meta_box( 'dashboard_recent_drafts', 'dashboard', 'side' ); //Recent Drafts
remove_meta_box( 'dashboard_primary', 'dashboard', 'side' ); //WordPress.com Blog
remove_meta_box( 'dashboard_secondary', 'dashboard', 'side' ); //Other WordPress News
remove_meta_box( 'dashboard_incoming_links','dashboard', 'normal' ); //Incoming Links
remove_meta_box( 'dashboard_plugins', 'dashboard', 'normal' ); //Plugins
}